The Valais Blacknose, german: Walliser Schwarznasenschaf, italic=no, is a
breed of
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 ...
originating in the
Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...
region of Switzerland. It is a dual-purpose breed, raised both for meat and for wool.
History
The breed originates in the mountains of the
canton of
Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...
– from which its name derives – and of the
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...
. It is documented as far back as the fifteenth century, but the present German name was not used before 1884; the breed standard dates from 1962. In the past there was some
cross-breeding
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
with imported sheep, in the nineteenth century of
Bergamasca and
Cotswold
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Jura ...
stock, and in the twentieth century of the
Southdown breed.
Characteristics
The Schwarznasenschaf is a mountain breed, well adapted to grazing on the stony pastures of its area of origin. Both rams and ewes are horned.
Use
The Valais Blacknose is a dual-purpose breed, reared for both meat and wool. The wool is coarse: fibre diameter averages approximately 38
microns
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...
, and
staple length
A staple fiber is a textile fiber of discrete length. The opposite is a filament fiber, which comes in continuous lengths. Staple length is a characteristic fiber length of a sample of staple fibers. It is an essential criterion in yarn spinning ...
is or more. The annual yield of wool is about per head.
See also
*
Scottish Blackface
The Blackface or Scottish Blackface is a British breed of sheep. It is the most common sheep breed of the United Kingdom. Despite the name, it did not originate in Scotland, but south of the border.
History
The origins of the breed are ...
References
External links
Sheep breeds
Sheep breeds originating in Switzerland
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