The biggest ram: top 3 large breeds and how much their representatives weigh

Statistics has about 800 varieties of sheep. They differ from each other in appearance, size and shape of the horns. Consider which is the largest ram in size, 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 back. Animals can rapidly gain weight, regardless of the type of feeding.

Features

The main characteristic of large breeds of sheep is that they increase their mass, 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 the conditions of existence.

Large sheep are divided according to the principle of obtaining the main product into the following categories:

1. Meat. Animals quickly gain weight. As a result, farmers have a large amount of meat and fat.
2. Dairy. After feeding offspring, lactation in females continues. In its pure form, milk is inferior in quality to cow's milk, the products are used to make cheese.
3. Wool. 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 biggest sheep breeds

The largest sheep in the world was recorded in the US state of Oregon, is on a farm.

The animal is about 3-4 years old, its weight reaches almost 250 kg, its dimensions are 110 cm.

Hissar

Hissar 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 milkiness of sheep. The breed is characterized by endurance. The Hissar sheep covers a distance of up to 500 km, eating only plant foods. The only drawback of this type of sheep is the poor quality wool. The minus is offset by a large volume of meat and dairy products.

Description and characteristics:

• ram height - 85 cm, sheep - 80 cm;
• male weight - up to 170 kg, females - up to 120 kg;
• strong skeleton;
• large head;
• dense short neck;
• prefer to eat plants, grass, drink plenty of water in the warm season, eat cereals, vegetables in winter;
• humped profile.

Hissar rams were bred in Azerbaijan by selection method.

Pros and consendurance;precocity;strong immune system;favorable conditions of detention.wool of poor quality;poor birth rate;the breed is hard to buy in Russia.

Kalmyk

Kalmyk breed of sheep is inferior to Hissar rams in size. Distinctive features of this species are a large head, lowered ears, a huge fat tail. Description of Kalmyk sheep:

• sheep growth - up to 80 cm, sheep - up to 70 cm;
• sheep weight - up to 150 kg, sheep - up to 90 kg;
• long limbs;
• endurance;
• meat and lard contain many nutrients, the products are tasty, popular among buyers;
• 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 keeps the pasture intact and makes it easier to observe the animals.

Pros and consunpretentiousness;fertility;rapid weight gain.poor quality wool;meat of adult animals is not as tasty as young animals;poor orientation in space.

Edilbaevskaya

This breed comes from Kazakhstan, is one of the oldest - about 200 years old. The ancestor is a heavy 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 bring offspring 3 times in 1.5-2 years;
• ribs are not palpable;
• high milk yield - during lactation, sheep give up to 180 liters of milk.

Edilbayevskaya sheep not only produces high quality meat and lard, but also thick wool, which is usually used to make carpets.

Lambs are characterized by rapid growth, but under the condition of feeding with mother's milk. Already at the age of 5-6 months they are ready for slaughter.

Pros and consadaptation to any weather conditions;the ability to travel long distances;rapid hair growth.require a lot of space;poor fertility;rough fleece.

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 slim physique, strength;
• long, powerful limbs for climbing steep slopes;
• thick and warm fleece;
• hair color on the back is darker;
• good he alth in any weather, conditions of detention;
• endurance;
• the shade of wool brightens in the cold period, becomes darker in summer;
• argali - owners of heavy horns in the form of an arc, their weight reaches 35 kg.

Females become sexually mature at 2 years of age, males - at 4-5 years of age. Argali are highly prolific, often giving birth to twins. For the attention and favor of females, rams fight each other using their powerful horns.

Argali horns are often used as a souvenir trophy, they are very expensive on the black market. Animals are listed in the Red Book, so hunting for them is prohibited. The maned sheep is slightly inferior in size to argali, but is considered a fairly large species in the wild. Animals are found only in North Africa.Breed Description:

• medium height - up to 120 cm;
• weight - up to 140 kg;
• fur color is beige-brown or brownish, much lighter on limbs and belly than elsewhere;
• length of horns - up to 80 cm;
• females are significantly smaller than males.

An interesting feature of maned rams is that animals can stay motionless for a long time (about 3-4 hours) if they feel danger towards themselves.

The largest breeds of domesticated sheep are Hissar, Kalmyk and Edilbaev. They belong to meat varieties according to the type of production of the main product, they have a significant fat tail. Its fat is used in cooking and as a preservative.

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