The Blackhead Persian (also known as Swartkoppersie) is a

fat-tailed breed The fat-tailed sheep is a general type of domestic sheep known for their distinctive large tails and hindquarters. Fat-tailed sheep breeds comprise approximately 25% of the world's sheep population, and are commonly found in northern parts of Af ...

domestic 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 sh ...

from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The sheep is originally from

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

and a direct descendant of the

Somali sheep The Somali sheep, Somali language: Ido Soomaali occasionally known as the Berbera Blackhead, is a hair sheep native to Djibouti, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. Overview The Somali sheep is the direct forebear of the Blackhead Persian, ...

. The breed is also a type of hair sheep, meaning they do not grow

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 ...

and tolerate heat better than wooled breeds and are raised primarily for

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

. The Blackhead Persian has a white body and, as their name would suggest, an entirely black head.

Characteristics

The Blackhead Persian is a polled breed with both sexes lacking horns. It has a black head, with long pendulous ears, and a black neck and a white body, with a clear line demarcating the two colours. The rump and the base of the tail have an accumulation of fat. The breed was specifically bred for the large quantity of fat stored in the tail region which gave resilience in arid conditions and which was prized for cooking. On average at maturity, rams weigh and ewes . At birth, rams and ewes weigh about . Ewes lactate for approximately 84 days, produce of milk with 5.9% fat.

History

Despite its name, the Blackhead Persian originated in

and was imported into South Africa in about 1870. A South African studbook was set up in 1906. By 1930 there were 4000 registered animals. In the 1950s there were estimated to be two million Persian Blackheads in South Africa, and they had also been introduced to Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Ghana. Since then it has been imported into the Caribbean region, Central and South America for cross-breeding purposes.

Crossbreed development

It was crossbred with local breeds in South Africa and also was "improved" by crossing it with such breeds as the

Dorset Horn The Dorset Horn is an endangered British breed of domestic sheep. It is documented from the seventeenth century, and is highly prolific, sometimes producing two lambing seasons per year. Among British sheep, it is the only breed capable of bre ...

creating the successful breed now called

Dorper The Dorper is a South African breed of domestic sheep developed by crossing Dorset Horn and the Blackhead Persian sheep. The breed was created through the efforts of the South African Department of Agriculture to breed a meat sheep suitable to ...

. And the

Ghana black-headed nangue Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

is a cross with a Djallonké sheep and a black-headed Persian. Bernard Faye et Hamadi Karembe, « Guide de l'élevage du mouton méditerranéen et tropical » DF sur doc-developpement-durable.org

References

External links

{{commons category, Blackhead Persian

Sheep101.info Sheep breeds originating in South Africa Sheep breeds

Characteristics

History

Crossbreed development

See also

References

External links