Merino Sheep: Characteristics, Wool, Meat and Management

The Merina or Merino, originates in theNorth Africa, there is some doubt if it was inCarthageor in the Middle East. Although the breed is veryrooted in Spain, due to its use, since it was adapted in the beginning in the South of the country, ending with the dominance it had until thenthe Manchega race.

It was influenced by races close to the regions of theNorth Africaand of a few other races carried by theRomans.

They are characterized by theirhigh wool productionWhat’s more, it is considered the onlybreed of sheep producing fine wool.

Until the mid-18th century the breed was only found in Spain. Later it was adopted in France under the nameRambouillet. The Merino sheep breed was introduced in several countries, havingdifferent modificationsand adaptations depending on the areas where they are present. They can be found in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America, the United States and the Iberian Peninsula.

In the following map we can see how the adaptation of the breed was worldwide. Starting with Spain, indicated with the star. Then he moved to France, from there to Germany, to England and then to South Africa.

Characteristics of the Merino sheep breed

Areanimals with a strongherd instinct. They tend to be a verylong-lived, with great adaptation and resistance to conditionsextreme or arid. Males usually presenthorns, except the Polled variety. Females do not have horns.

Modern merinos have theuncovered face, covered with white hair. The ears are medium in size and covered with hair. The snout is pink like its skin.

It is possible to find some sheep of this breed with a certain presence of wrinkles on the skin. In South America you can see that variety.

Another characteristic to highlight or that differentiates it is the «three ties» or folds that appear on your chest. Thewoolthat producethin and white, with curly fleeces and free of medullated fibers. Round between18 and 24 microns.

Generally thefleeces can weigh between 4 and 5 kilograms dirty. Although we can find animals in cabins with fleeces that can reach up to 12 kg dirty.

It is worth clarifying that the size and weight of thissheep breedIt depends a lot on the variety and the region where it is produced.

ThefemalesThey can weigh between 40 and 60 kilograms. While themalesThey can weigh between 100 and 130 kilograms.

Reproductive parameters of the Merino breed

They have a stationwide mating, so they can mate throughout the year. Fertility is around80%, Prolificacy of1.1 to 1.2 lambs per lambing. They have a medium to low milking ability, having an average growth rate in the lambs.

The merino has given rise to other well-known breeds, such as:Corriedale, Columbia, Targhee (or Polipay) and Polwarth. It is believedamong producers, it is one of the most widespread breeds in the world..

Merino Genetics

It is a genetic that has contributed to the development of many species of sheep, for this reason it is highlighted as «merino trunk» instead of just calling it a Merino breed. Since there are varieties of lambs that have absorbed a set of genes that are shared by the breed.

One of the main reasons is that it is one of the oldest breeds. It is a breed that has a very great importance due to its participation in synthetic breeds. We leave an image that shows some of the variants.

Shearing record in a merino sheep

Chris the sheep rose to fame in the years2015. A group of people found her wandering in a bush many kilometers from a farm on the outskirts of Canberra. The first thing they were surprised by was the size of their wool.

After rescuing her, one of the best Australian shearers, Ian Elkins, took charge of shearing the sheep. He managed to get 42.3 kilograms of wool from it, which made it the sheep with the largest and most famous fleece in the world, taking the place fromShrek, a specimen from New Zealand with theGuinness world recordof the heaviest sheep’s wool.

The shearersit took more than 40 minutesto shear theaustralian sheepwhich has broken the world wool record. The animal had not been sheared in more than five years and walked with difficulty due to its weight. Normally, this type of specimen is sheared every year and produces five kilos of wool.

OvinApp can help me with my merino lambs

With the system that offersOvinApp you can schedule shearing tasks, cleaning and many other things.

The best thing is that you can organize all the tasks of your establishment and our alert and notification system will keep you up to date.

You can create the tasks to be carried out by selecting a specific group of sheep, as well as individually. It is a tool that is renewing and changing the way producers organize their work. Papers are no longer useful as before and rememberIf you don’t measure you can’t grow.

You can download OvinApp from the Apple Store or from Google Play, depending on the device you have, by clicking on the following images.

If you want to learn how to use all the tools it offers youOvinApp?

• Follow the following link if you want to knowhow to create your first sheep or goat in OvinApp.
• Do you want to find out a little more abouthow to control and manage sheep production with OvinApp.
• You can also click on the WhatsApp button and contact us.

You can see ourYouTube Channelwhere we explain thestep by stephow to start your journey withOvinApp!

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