Salsk Sheep

Sal’sk Sheep

 

a breed of fine-wooled sheep raised for wool. It was developed at the S. M. Budennyi Stud Farm in Rostov Oblast, RSFSR between 1930 and 1949 by improving local merinos, which had been bred by crossing Mazaev and New Caucasian merinos with American Rambouillet rams. The Sal’sk breed was registered in 1950.

The Sal’sk breed has a large longitudinal fold of skin on the neck and one or two incomplete transverse folds that end beneath the neck in a small apron. The rams weigh between 80 and 95 kg, and the ewes between 45 and 50 kg. The fleece has a staple structure. The wool has a pronounced twist; it measures 7.5 to 8 cm long and is of 64th quality. The wool clip is 12 to 14 kg for rams and 5.5 to 6.5 kg for ewes. The yield of pure wool is 40–42 percent. Fertility is between 120 and 140 lambs per 100 ewes. The breed is raised in Rostov Oblast, RSFSR.

REFERENCE

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