The Acıpayam 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 that originated in
Turkey. They are a dual-purpose breed (
wool and
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 ...
). They are a mix of
Awassi,
Ost Fries and
Daglic breeds.
Characteristics
They average 54.6kg in weight.
Both have white, coarse wool.
[
]
Production
Ewes have a mean daily milk yield of 906.2g, with a lactation period of 199 days. Lambs have an average growth rate of 83.77g/day. However, there is wide variation in production traits between individual sheep.
They produce 34.7 micron wool and cut 3.1kg of greasy fleece on average. Their fleece is best suited to carpet making.
Development
The Acipayam was developed in the 1990s in
Denizli
Denizli is an industrial city in the southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about . Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region. ...
, a city in the
Aegean region
The Aegean Region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya.
Located in w ...
of Turkey, in an effort to improve production traits of local breeds. The Awassi and Daglic were chosen for their ability to withstand local conditions, and the Ost Fries for its milk yield. The genetic contribution from each of these breeds was 50% Awassi, 25% Ost Fries and 25% Daglic.
References
Sheep breeds originating in Turkey
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