The Ciavenasca is an Italian breed of small domestic sheep from the province of Sondrio, in Lombardy in northern Italy.[2] It is raised in the mountainous terrain of the Val San Giacomo, the Val Bregaglia and the Valchiavenna, from which the name of the breed derives.[3]: 200 [4]: 52 It is raised only for meat; the wool is of very poor quality, and the milk is sufficient only for the lambs.[5] It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.[4]: 52
In 2013 total numbers for the breed were not reported.[6] A population of 3300 was reported in 2003.[2]
^ abcdefBreed data sheet: Ciavenasca/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2013.
^Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN9788850652594.
^ abLe razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. Accessed September 2013.