Askanian ( uk, Асканійський, Askaniysky, full name: uk, Асканійська тонкорунна вівця) is a

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of domesticated

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

found in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. It is a fine-

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

breed bred for its wool. It was developed by crossing American

Rambouillet Rambouillet (, , ) is a subprefecture of the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its centre. In 2018, the commune had a population of 26,933. Rambouillet lies ...

with Merinos in the early 1900s.

Characteristics

Both sexes display white and are unicolored. Rams are horned and ewes can be either horned or polled (hornless). On average and at maturity, rams weigh . Ewes weigh , grow to at the withers when mature and have approximately 1.27 lambs per litter. In 1980, there were over 1.6 million.

References

Sheep breeds originating in Ukraine {{sheep-stub