Merinizzata Italiana
{{Short description|Breed of sheep}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{use list-defined references|date=January 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox sheep breed
| name = Merinizzata Italiana
| image =
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| status =
| altname =
| native_name =
| country = Italy
| distribution = southern and central Italy
| standard =
| use = dual-purpose, meat and wool
| maleweight = 70 kg
| femaleweight = 55 kg
| maleheight = 79 cm
| femaleheight = 69 cm
| skincolour = unpigmented
| type =
| woolcolour = white
| facecolour = white
| horns = polled
| note =
}}
The Merinizzata Italiana is a modern Italian breed of dual-purpose sheep from southern Italy.{{r|bigi|p=246|dad}} 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.
History
The 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.{{r|bigi|p=246|aspa|p2=84}} The aim was to produce a good meat breed without sacrificing wool quality.{{r|aspa|p=84}}
It is reared mainly in the southern and central Italian regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, the Marche, Molise, Puglia and Umbria.{{r|bigi|p=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.{{r|aspa|p=84}}
Total numbers for the breed were estimated in the year 2000 at {{val|600,000}} head, of which {{val|19,000}} were registered in the herd-book;{{r|bigi|p=247}} in 2013 the number recorded in the herd-book was {{val|27,260}}.{{r|aspa2}}
Characteristics
It is of medium to large size and weight: rams weigh on average {{val|70|u=kg}} and stand some {{val|79|u=cm}}, while ewes average {{val|55|u=kg}} in weight and {{val|69|u=cm}} in height.{{r|bigi|p=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).{{r|bigi|p=247}}
Use
Lambs are usually weaned at 6–7 weeks, and slaughtered soon after, at a weight of {{val|10|–|15|u=kg}}. Rams yield about {{val|4.5|u=kg}} of wool, ewes about {{val|2.5|u=kg}}; the wool is of good quality, with a fibre diameter of {{val|18|–|26}} microns.{{r|bigi|p=247}}
References
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{{Sheep breeds of Italy}}
Category:Sheep breeds originating in Italy
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