Statistics include about 800 varieties of sheep. They differ from each other in appearance, size and shape of the horns. Let's consider what the largest ram is, because this plays a key role for the breeder. Large varieties are distinguished by an impressive fat tail - a bag of fat that accumulates in the rear part. Animals can rapidly gain weight, regardless of the type of feeding.
Peculiarities
The main characteristic of large breeds of sheep is that they increase weight, although they have a poor, monotonous diet. Features of large rams:
- weight of males – up to 140 kg, females – up to 100 kg;
- endurance – go without food for up to 7 days;
- live mainly in Asian countries;
- unpretentiousness to living conditions.
Large sheep are divided according to the principle of obtaining the main product into the following categories:
- Meat. Animals quickly gain weight. As a result, farmers have a large amount of meat and lard.
- Dairy. After feeding the offspring, lactation in females continues. In its pure form, milk is inferior in quality to cow's milk; the product is used to make cheese.
- Woolen. Such animals are raised for both wool and meat.
With targeted fattening, the fat tail of sheep reaches an impressive size - up to 30 kg in weight.
The largest breeds of sheep
The largest ram in the world was recorded in the American state of Oregon, located on a farm.
Gissarskaya
Gissar sheep are one of the largest breeds in the world. A young lamb gains 0.5 kg of weight per day. The rapid increase in weight is due to the milk production of sheep. The breed is characterized by endurance. The Gissar sheep travels a distance of up to 500 km, feeding only on plant foods. The only drawback of this type of ram is the wool of poor quality. The minus is compensated by a large volume of meat and dairy products.
Description and characteristics:
- height of a ram – 85 cm, height of a sheep – 80 cm;
- male weight – up to 170 kg, female – up to 120 kg;
- strong skeleton;
- large head;
- dense, short neck;
- they prefer to eat plants, grass, drink a lot of water in the warm season, in winter they eat cereals and vegetables;
- profile with a hump.
Gissar sheep were bred in Azerbaijan using a selection method.
Kalmytskaya
The Kalmyk breed of sheep is inferior in size to the Gissar rams. Distinctive features of this variety are a large head, drooping ears, and a huge fat tail. Description of Kalmyk sheep:
- the height of a ram is up to 80 cm, that of a sheep is up to 70 cm;
- weight of a ram – up to 150 kg, sheep – up to 90 kg;
- long limbs;
- endurance;
- meat and lard contain many nutrients, the products are tasty and popular among buyers;
- They feed only on the upper parts of plants.
An interesting feature of Kalmyk sheep is that during grazing, individuals do not gather in a herd, but are dispersed throughout the territory. This allows you to maintain the integrity of the pasture and makes it easier to monitor the animals.
Edilbaevskaya
This breed comes from Kazakhstan and is one of the oldest - about 200 years old. The ancestor is a heavy-weight fat-tailed ram brought from Astrakhan. Features of Edilbaev sheep:
- male height – up to 85 m, female – up to 75 cm;
- male weight – up to 120 kg, female – up to 70 kg;
- females bear offspring 3 times every 1.5-2 years;
- the ribs cannot be felt;
- high milk yield - during the lactation period, sheep produce up to 180 liters of milk.
The Edilbaevskaya sheep produces not only high-quality meat and lard, but also dense wool, which is usually used for the production of carpets.
Lambs are characterized by rapid growth, but subject to feeding with mother's milk. Already at the age of 5-6 months they are ready for slaughter.
The largest sheep in the wild
In the wild there are huge breeds of sheep, reaching 200 kg in weight. The largest representatives are argali (argali) and maned ram. The Argali breed is characterized by the following features:
- powerful but slender physique, strength;
- long, powerful limbs that allow you to climb steep slopes;
- thick and warm fleece;
- The color of the fur on the back is darker;
- good health in any weather, conditions of detention;
- endurance;
- the shade of the coat becomes lighter in the cold season and darker in the summer;
- argali are the owners of heavy arc-shaped horns, their weight reaches 35 kg.
Females become sexually mature at 2 years of age, males at 4-5 years of age. Argali are highly fertile and often produce twins. For the attention and favor of females, rams fight each other using their powerful horns.
Argali horns are often used as souvenir trophies and are very expensive on the black market. The animals are listed in the Red Book, so hunting them is prohibited. The maned sheep is slightly smaller in size than the argali, but is considered a fairly large species in the wild. Animals are found only in North Africa. Description of the breed:
- average height – up to 120 cm;
- weight – up to 140 kg;
- the coat color is beige-brown or brownish, on the limbs and belly much lighter than in other areas;
- horn length – up to 80 cm;
- females are significantly smaller in size than males.
An interesting feature of maned rams is that the animals are able to remain motionless for a long time (about 3-4 hours) if they sense danger towards themselves.
The largest breeds of domesticated sheep are Gissar, Kalmyk and Edilbaevskaya. They belong to the meat varieties according to the type of production of the main product, and have a significant fat tail. Its fat is used in cooking and as a preservative.
