Conservation status | FAO (2007): not at risk [1]: 148 |
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Other names |
|
Country of origin | Tunisia |
Use | meat |
Traits | |
Weight | |
Height | |
Wool colour | white |
Face colour | red or black |
Horn status | Males horned or hornless, ewes always hornless |
|
The Tunisian Barbarin is a Tunisian breed of fat-tailed sheep. It is distributed throughout Tunisia, [3]: 46 and on both sides of the Tunisian border with Algeria, on the Algerian side particularly in the area of Oued Souf. [2] [4] Related to the Awassi [5]
The Tunisian Barbarin descends from the Near East Fat-tailed. Two Italian breeds, the Barbaresca Siciliana of Sicily and the Laticauda of Calabria and Campania, are derived from it. [6]: 753
In 1991 the total population in Tunisia was reported to be 5 million; [2] in 1992, a population of 50 000 was reported in Algeria. [4] In 2008, the Barbarin constituted about 60% of the overall sheep population in Tunisia, which was estimated to count approximately 4 million ewes. [3]: 42
The Barbarin is a coarse-wool breed, and is reared mainly for meat. [6]: 753 It is particularly well adapted to the intense heat of desert areas, and can tolerate brackish water. [4] The coat is white, and the face is either brick-red or black. The black face gives the animal better resistance to sunlight and to photosensitivity caused by eating Hypericum perforatum, "St. John's Wort". [2]
Apart from the two principal types, a further eight sub-populations have been identified within the breed. These include an all-black variant, and two "spectacled" sub-types with a white head and patches of colour only around the eyes and round the muzzle: the black-spectacled type is called sardi, and the red-spectacled one, sagaa. [3]: 43, 46
Conservation status | FAO (2007): not at risk [1]: 148 |
---|---|
Other names |
|
Country of origin | Tunisia |
Use | meat |
Traits | |
Weight | |
Height | |
Wool colour | white |
Face colour | red or black |
Horn status | Males horned or hornless, ewes always hornless |
|
The Tunisian Barbarin is a Tunisian breed of fat-tailed sheep. It is distributed throughout Tunisia, [3]: 46 and on both sides of the Tunisian border with Algeria, on the Algerian side particularly in the area of Oued Souf. [2] [4] Related to the Awassi [5]
The Tunisian Barbarin descends from the Near East Fat-tailed. Two Italian breeds, the Barbaresca Siciliana of Sicily and the Laticauda of Calabria and Campania, are derived from it. [6]: 753
In 1991 the total population in Tunisia was reported to be 5 million; [2] in 1992, a population of 50 000 was reported in Algeria. [4] In 2008, the Barbarin constituted about 60% of the overall sheep population in Tunisia, which was estimated to count approximately 4 million ewes. [3]: 42
The Barbarin is a coarse-wool breed, and is reared mainly for meat. [6]: 753 It is particularly well adapted to the intense heat of desert areas, and can tolerate brackish water. [4] The coat is white, and the face is either brick-red or black. The black face gives the animal better resistance to sunlight and to photosensitivity caused by eating Hypericum perforatum, "St. John's Wort". [2]
Apart from the two principal types, a further eight sub-populations have been identified within the breed. These include an all-black variant, and two "spectacled" sub-types with a white head and patches of colour only around the eyes and round the muzzle: the black-spectacled type is called sardi, and the red-spectacled one, sagaa. [3]: 43, 46