Damani sheep explained

The Damani is a thin-tail, meat and wool breed of sheep which is found in the Dera Ismail Khan district and part of Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.[1]

Characteristics

They are small to medium with a white body coat with a black or tan head and camel colored legs. The wool yield is 1.5kg (03.3lb) with coarse fiber (44 micrometres diameter). They have small ears. The udder and teats are well developed.[1]

At maturity, rams grow to 61cm (24inches) at the withers and weigh 32kg (71lb) while ewes grow to 53cm (21inches) at the withers and weigh 27kg (60lb). On average and at birth, rams weigh 2.7kg (06lb) and ewes weigh 2.5kg (05.5lb). Average litter size is one. Average milk production during lactation is 80kg (180lb) over about 120 days with 5.8% fat. The number of members of the Damani has decreased from over one million in 1986 to approximately 600,000 in 2006.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Damani . Breeds of Livestock . Oklahoma State University, Dept. of Animal Science . 2009-04-09 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081010120013/http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/SHEEP/DAMANI/index.htm . 2008-10-10 .
  2. Web site: DAD-IS. Damani/Pakistan. Domisticated Animal Diversity Information System. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2010-08-25.