The Altay sheep is a breed of domestic sheep which was originated from China. It was actually originated from the dry, cold mountain basins of China.
It belongs to the fat-rumped carpet wool type of sheep and the Kazakh group.
The Kazakh group of sheep are found in the desert and mountainous areas in west Xinjiang. However, read some more information about this sheep breed below.
Altay Sheep Characteristics
The Altay sheep are medium to large sized animals. They gradually formed the fat tail or rump as a biological characteristics.
The rump or tail is pretty heavy which weight around 7 kg. Both rams and ewes are generally horned.
Average body height of the mature rams is around 76 cm at the withers, and around 72 cm for the ewes.
Average live body weight of the mature Altay rams is around 82 kg. And the mature ewe’s average live body weight is around 68 kg. Photo and info from PetMapz and Wikipedia.
Uses
The Altay sheep is a meat sheep breed. It is raised mainly for meat production.
Special Notes
The Altay sheep are well adapted to their native climate. They belongs to the Kazakh group of sheep that are found in the desert and mountainous areas in west Xinjiang.
The ewes are good mothers, and their lambing percentage is approximately 103 percent.
The breed is raised mainly for meat production, but they are also pretty good for wool production.
On average they generally produce around 1.1 to 1.6 kg wool per shearing.
Average birth weight for the Altay ewes is around 4.25 kg, and around 4.5 kg for the rams. However, review full breed profile of the Altay sheep in the chart below.
| Breed Name | Altay |
| Other Names | None |
| Breed Purpose | Mainly meat |
| Special Notes | Strong animals, well adapted and do well in their native climate, they belongs to the Kazakh group of sheep, the ewes are good mothers, average lambing percentage is approximately 103 percent, today the breed is raised mainly for meat production, but also pretty good for producing wool, they generally produce around 1.1 to 1.6 kg per shearing |
| Breed Size | Medium to large |
| Weight | Mature rams average live body weight is around 82 kg, and the mature ram’s average live body weight is around 68 kg. |
| Horns | Yes |
| Climate Tolerance | Native climates |
| Color | Many, but mainly white |
| Rarity | Common |
| Country/Place of Origin | China |
