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Merinizzata Italiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Merinizzata Italiana
Country of originItaly
Distributionsouthern and central Italy
Usedual-purpose, meat and wool
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    70 kg
  • Female:
    55 kg
Height
  • Male:
    79 cm
  • Female:
    69 cm
Skin colourunpigmented
Wool colourwhite
Face colourwhite
Horn statuspolled

The Merinizzata Italiana is a modern Italian breed of dual-purpose sheep from southern Italy.[1]: 246 [2] It was created in the twentieth century by cross-breeding local Italian stock with imported Merino breeds from France and Germany. It is reared in central and southern Italy, principally in Abruzzo.

History

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The Merinizzata Italiana is a modern breed, created over several decades in the twentieth century by cross-breeding of indigenous Gentile di Puglia and Sopravissana stock with imported Merino breeds such as the French Berrichon du Cher and Île-de-France, and the German Merinolandschaf.[1]: 246 [3]: 84  The aim was to produce a good meat breed without sacrificing wool quality.[3]: 84 

It is reared mainly in the southern and central Italian regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, the Marche, Molise, Puglia and Umbria.[1]: 246  It is one of the seventeen autochthonous Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herd-book is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.[3]: 84 

Total numbers for the breed were estimated in the year 2000 at 600000 head, of which 19000 were registered in the herd-book;[1]: 247  in 2013 the number recorded in the herd-book was 27260.[4]

Characteristics

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It is of medium to large size and weight: rams weigh on average 70 kg and stand some 79 cm, while ewes average 55 kg in weight and 69 cm in height.[1]: 247  The fleece and face are both white, and the skin is unpigmented; the fleece covers the whole body, extending far down the legs and sometimes onto the cheeks and forehead. Both sexes are naturally polled (without horns).[1]: 247 

Use

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Lambs are usually weaned at 6–7 weeks, and slaughtered soon after, at a weight of 10–15 kg. Rams yield about 4.5 kg of wool, ewes about 2.5 kg; the wool is of good quality, with a fibre diameter of 18–26 microns.[1]: 247 

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN 9788850652594. p. 246–247.
  2. ^ Breed data sheet: Merinizzata Italiana/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Le razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. Archived 21 September 2013.
  4. ^ Consistenze Provinciali della Razza 31 Merinizzata Italiana Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed January 2014.