Sokolki Sheep

a breed of coarse-wooled, long-thin-tailed sheep bred for lamb pelts and milk. The Sokolki breed was developed in the 19th century by the directed selection and culling of local Poltava-region sheep for high quality lamb pelts. (The local sheep of the Poltava region were generally bred for lamb pelts and milk.) Karakul sheep were used to improve the breed. Sokolki sheep were named after the village of Sokolki (Poltava Province), which had the best flocks of sheep raised for lamb pelts. A center for the preparation and trading of lamb pelts was located in Sokolki.

The principal product obtained from Sokolki sheep are pelts from lambs one to three days old. The lamb pelts are primarily gray with blue and steely tinges, although sometimes they are black. The male weighs 60–70 kg, and the female 42–46 kg. The clip is 3–3.5 kg from a male and 2–2.2 kg from a female. One hundred females produce 115 to 125 lambs. Females produce 60–75 kg of milk during four to five months of lactation. Sokolki sheep are bred in Poltava and Dnepropetrovsk oblasts.