Awassi

Awassi
Awassi Sheep
A ram in Kuwait
Other names
  • Arab (Turkey)
  • Baladi
  • Deiri
  • Gezirieh (Iraq))
  • Ivesi (Turkey)
  • Shami (Syria)
  • Syrian
Country of originMiddle East
Distributioneighteen countries in Africa, Asia and Europe[1]
Usemilk, meat, wool
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    70 kg[2]
  • Female:
    68 kg[2]
Height
  • Male:
    50 cm[2]
  • Female:
    76 cm[2]
Wool colourwhite
Face colourbrown
Notes
tolerant of extreme temperatures

The Awassi[a] is a breed of dairy sheep of Near-Eastern fat-tailed type. It is the most widely distributed non-European dairy breed. It is known by many names, among them Arab, Baladi, Deiri, Gezirieh, Ivesi, Shami and Syrian.[3]: 265 [4]: 290  It is usually white with brown head and legs.

History

The Awassi is a traditional breed of dairy sheep of Near-Eastern fat-tailed type. Its origins are unknown, but it is thought to originate in the historic region of Mesopotamia – the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, now in modern Iraq and Syria.[5]: 115  The breed name is thought to derive from that of Al-ʿAwās, a Bedouin tribe of northern Syria.[5]: 115 [6]: 12  It is the most widely distributed non-European dairy breed[7]: 727  and the most numerous sheep breed of south-west Asia. It is the principal sheep of Iraq and Syria and the only indigenous sheep of Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon.[2]

It is reportedly present in eighteen countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, with a total population estimated in 2024 at 2.85 million head.[1] The largest population is reported by Turkey, where the Ivesi numbers approximately 1.7–2.9 million head; other substantial populations are in Palestine (over 360000) and Lebanon (about 200000).[1] A population in Syria of approximately 13.5 million head was reported in 2006.[8]

It has contributed to the development of several modern breeds, among them the Assaf, Israeli Awassi, Pak Awassi, Neimi and Shafali.[7]: 727 

Characteristics

Lamb in the Elah Valley

The Awassi is of moderate size, with average weights of 68 kg for ewes and 70 kg for rams; average heights are 50 cm and 76 cm respectively.[2] The usual colouring is white with brown head and legs; the face may also be white, grey, black or spotted, and a solid-coloured brown or black coat occasionally occurs.[3]: 265  The facial profile is convex and the ears pendulous.[2] Rams are normally horned, ewes more often polled.[3]: 265  Hyperthermia causes the fertility of rams to fall during the hot summer months, but it recovers rapidly when temperatures fall in the autumn.[9]: 244 

Use

Although the Awassi is considered a dairy sheep, it is commonly reared for meat, for milk and for wool. In Syria it supplies all the wool, about 30% of all milk and about 80% of all red meat.[8] In Iraq it is raised principally for meat.

Notes

  1. ^ Arabic: عواسي, romanized: ʿAwāsī)

References

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  1. ^ a b c Transboundary breed: Awassi. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Breed data sheet: Awassi / Syrian Arab Republic (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2002). Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types, and Varieties (fifth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 085199430X.
  4. ^ Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2020). Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties (sixth edition). Wallingford; Boston: CABI. ISBN 9781789241532.
  5. ^ a b M.H. Fahmy (2022). Awassi. In: Paul L.H. McSweeney, John P. McNamara (editors) (2022). Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences, third edition. Amsterdam; Kidlington, Oxford; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. ISBN 9780128187678.
  6. ^ H. Epstein (1982). Awassi Sheep. World Animal Review, 44: 11–27.
  7. ^ a b Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  8. ^ a b Mohamad Yaser Amin, Kurt-Johannes Peters (2006). Awassi Sheep Production and the Development of breeding Program Options in Syria. Prosperity and Poverty in a Globalised World – Challenges for Agricultural Research (Tropentag, 11–13 October 2006). Bonn, Germany: University of Bonn. Archived 19 July 2011.
  9. ^ Hassan Falah Kashef Al-Ghetaa (2012). Effect of Environmental High Temperature on the Reproductive activity of Awassi Ram Lambs Effect of Environmental High Temperature on the Reproductive activity of Awassi Ram Lambs |. The Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Medicine. 36 (2): 244–253. doi:10.30539/iraqijvm.v36i2.502.


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