Gorky Sheep

a semifine-wooled breed of meat and wool-bearing sheep, introduced on the kolkhozes of Gorky Oblast from 1936 to 1950 by interbreeding the local coarse-wooled sheep with Hampshire rams.

The Gorky sheep are large with light but strong bones and a well-defined muscle structure. The average weight of the ram is 90 kg (some to 120–130 kg); the ewes average 60 kg, reaching as much as 90 kg. The sheep are early-maturing. The weight of the young at six months averages 35–40 kg. The dressing percentage averages 50–55 percent. Wool yield of the ewe is 3–4 kg, and of the ram, 5–6 kg. The wool is of uniform length and thickness (generally grade 56). The length of the wool is 9.5–10 cm, reaching a maximum of 17 cm. The fertility rate approaches 160 lambs per 100 ewes. The breed is used to improve coarse-wooled sheep. Gorky sheep are bred in Gorky Oblast, the best breeding farms of which are found in the Bogorodsk and Dal’nee Konstantinovo raions.