Tien-Shan Sheep

Tien-Shan Sheep

 

a breed of semifine-wooled sheep raised for their meat and wool. The breed was developed between 1938 and 1966 on farms of the Tien-Shan Experiment Station for Livestock Raising of the Kirghiz SSR by crossing local fat-tailed ewes with Précoce, Novokavkazskii Merino, Würtemberg, and, later, Lincoln rams.

The rams weigh 100–110 kg, and the ewes 60–70 kg. The slaughter yield from adult sheep after fattening is 54–60 percent. The white, lustrous, supple, and strong fleece is of 48–58 quality and measures 12–14 cm in length. The yield of washed wool is 65–70 percent. The animals are adapted to year-round pasturing. The breed is now raised in the Kirghiz SSR.

REFERENCE

Ovtsevodstvo, vol. 2. Edited by G. R. Litovchenko and P. A. Esaulova, Moscow, 1972.