C18: Fur producer sheep breeds, hairy sheep

Question 1

what are hairy sheep?

Answer 1

fur / hair sheep:
–> Hairy sheep have little or no wool
–> the lack of fleece means = they don’t need shearing as hair sheep naturally shed their winter coats.
–> They can easily thrive in hot climates which are inhospitable to the woolly members of their species.
–> raised for meat and pelts (animal’s skin, fur and all).
–> for meat and hide (skin for leather production etc.) producers, hair sheep are cheaper to keep, as they do not need shearing.
–> Hairy sheep are also resistant to parasites and hot weather.

Example for pelt: karakul lambs

Question 2

what are the 2 varieties of fur /hairy sheep breeds?

Answer 2

Two Basic Varieties:
* True hair sheep: natural breeds, descended from hairy ancestors.
examples: barbados blackbelly, st. croix (virgin island white).

• Improved hair sheep, intermediate between pure hair and woollen: were crossed with wool breeds to produce larger meat animals who grew wool coats in cold weather, but shed as spring/summer arrived. usually have horns. can also be bred for trophy hunting. meat type also.
  Examples: Katahdin, dorper, texas, somali, damara, sahelian

Question 3

What are the Most important qualitative
(Mendelian) characteristics of wool?

Answer 3

• Fleece colour and inheritance (A, B, E loci):
  – dominant white wool (Awh-B-ee).
  – brownish-black face: not complete dominance (ArAr-B-ee).
  – dominant solid black (A-B-E-).
  – Brown face, brown, brightening wool (bb).
  – in Karakul-Sheep Shiras factor: grey (blue) homozygous –> lethal, heterozygous and black –> viable.
• Polledness (P, dominant):
  – In sheep: sex-influenced expression and differences (Dorset Horn).
  – In goats: pleiotropy to fertility, homozygotes (PP) are intersexes.
• Prolificacy genes (FecB, FecX).
• Blood-groups and other biochemical polymorphic systems.

Question 4

most popular hairy sheep breeds worldwide.

Answer 4

Breeds:
* Africana
* Damara
* Masai
* Somali
* Uda
* Royal white
* Rabo largo

Question 5

if a sheep goes too long without being shorn what problems can occur?

Answer 5

• The excess wool impedes the ability of sheep to regulate their body temperatures. This can cause sheep to become overheated and die.

◦ Urine, faeces and other materials become trapped in the wool, attracting flies, maggots and other pests. This causes irritation, infections and endangers the health of the animal.

◦ Sheep with large amounts of wool can become immobilized by physical obstacles in their path
and are more susceptible to predator attacks.

Question 6

where did the ancestors of hairy sheep originate from?

Answer 6

S africa
W africa

Question 7

how much of the total world sheep population do ahiry sheep make up?

Answer 7

10% world sheeps populaiton
(90% africa)
(10 US)

Question 8

what are the qualities of hairy sheep?

Answer 8

prolific
strong mothering instinct
multiple births
lambing ease
lambing interval
resistant to internal parasites
tolerant to heat and humidity.

Question 9

mention some wool defects

Answer 9

• Trichophagia: Wool eating in sheep → abomasal hair balls.
• Alopecia: Wool loss due to cold stress, mastitis, bad conditions, nutrition is bad, stomach diseases.
• Dermatitis: Inflammation in hair follicles and skin glands.
• Bad Quality: Paratuberculosis, Flourine and molybdenum poisoning, as well as chronic parasitosis.