Ruda sheep
{{Short description|Breed of sheep}}
{{multiple image
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|image1=Dubrovacka ruda.jpg
|caption1=Ruda sheep in Dubrovnik, Croatia
|image2=Dele Rude.jpg
|caption2=Ruda sheep in Albania
|image3=Delja Rude Shishtavec.JPG
|caption3=Ruda sheep in Albania
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Ruda is a breed of sheep found mostly in Albania and Croatia. In 2009, Ruda sheep is the most endangered breed of sheep in the Republic of Croatia.
{{cite web
|url = http://www.lugo.usc.es/congresos/esf05/booklet.pdf
|title = REFINING THE CONSERVATION GENETICS PARADIGM: genetic sources of extinction, environmental stress, and the maintenance of adaptive diversity
|publisher = Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
|accessdate = 2009-04-30
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720150239/http://www.lugo.usc.es/congresos/esf05/booklet.pdf
|archivedate = 2011-07-20
}}
The area in Croatia where Ruda is grown is exclusively the Dubrovnik coast and the neighbouring islands, with a smaller hinterland of Dubrovnik.{{cite web|url=https://ovce-koze.hr/o-sektoru/pasmine-ovaca-u-hrvatskoj/dubrovacka-ovca-ruda/|work=Sheep breeds in the Republic of Croatia|title=Ruda - Dubrovnik sheep
|accessdate=2025-04-11|publisher=Croatian Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders}}
The Ruda sheep originated from the Romanian Tsigai, a fine fleeced sheep in the Balkans.{{Cite journal|last=Kusza|first=Sz.|last2=Ivankovic|first2=A.|last3=Ramljak|first3=J.|last4=Nagy|first4=I.|last5=Jávor|first5=A.|last6=Kukovics|first6=S.|date=2011-08-01|title=Genetic structure of Tsigai, Ruda, Pramenka and other local sheep in Southern and Eastern Europe|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921448811001556|journal=Small Ruminant Research|language=en|volume=99|issue=2|pages=130–134|doi=10.1016/j.smallrumres.2011.03.059|issn=0921-4488|url-access=subscription}} The Ruda may be related to the Romanian Tsigai.
{{cite web
|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/x6508e/X6508E04.htm
|work= Declining breeds of Mediterranean sheep
|title=BREED DESCRIPTIONS: UNIFORM-WOOLED (RUDA) BREEDS
|accessdate=2009-04-30
|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}} This breed is primarily raised for wool.
{{cite web
|url=http://dad.fao.org/
|title=Ruda/Croatia
|work=Breed Data Sheet
|publisher=Domestic Animal Diversity Information System
|accessdate=2009-09-08}}
Characteristics
The Ruda can have white or blond wool with a pink skin. This breed has a white head and has white spots on body and head. At the withers, mature ewes average 55 cm (21.6 inches) and rams 65 cm (25.6 inches). Mature ewes average 38 kg (83.7 lbs) and rams 48 kg (105.8 lbs). The Ruda is well adapted to low temperatures and mountain grazing.{{cite web
|url=http://www.tiho-hannover.de/einricht/zucht/eaap/descript/1047.htm
|work=SHEEP in ALBANIA
|title=Breed description: Ruda
|accessdate=2009-04-30
|publisher=Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover
|archive-date=2008-01-27
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080127150726/http://www.tiho-hannover.de/einricht/zucht/eaap/descript/1047.htm
|url-status=dead
}}