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Merinizzata Italiana
The Merinizzata Italiana is a modern Italian breed of dual-purpose sheep from southern Italy.[1]: 246 [2] It was created in the twentieth century by cross-breeding local Italian stock with imported Merino breeds from France and Germany. It is reared in central and southern Italy, principally in Abruzzo. HistoryThe Merinizzata Italiana is a modern breed, created over several decades in the twentieth century by cross-breeding of indigenous Gentile di Puglia and Sopravissana stock with imported Merino breeds such as the French Berrichon du Cher and Île-de-France, and the German Merinolandschaf.[1]: 246 [3]: 84 The aim was to produce a good meat breed without sacrificing wool quality.[3]: 84 It is reared mainly in the southern and central Italian regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, the Marche, Molise, Puglia and Umbria.[1]: 246 It is one of the seventeen autochthonous Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herd-book is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.[3]: 84 Total numbers for the breed were estimated in the year 2000 at 600000 head, of which 19000 were registered in the herd-book;[1]: 247 in 2013 the number recorded in the herd-book was 27260.[4] CharacteristicsIt is of medium to large size and weight: rams weigh on average 70 kg and stand some 79 cm, while ewes average 55 kg in weight and 69 cm in height.[1]: 247 The fleece and face are both white, and the skin is unpigmented; the fleece covers the whole body, extending far down the legs and sometimes onto the cheeks and forehead. Both sexes are naturally polled (without horns).[1]: 247 UseLambs are usually weaned at 6–7 weeks, and slaughtered soon after, at a weight of 10–15 kg. Rams yield about 4.5 kg of wool, ewes about 2.5 kg; the wool is of good quality, with a fibre diameter of 18–26 microns.[1]: 247 References
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