Afar sheep

Description

The Afar sheep formerly referred to as Adal sheep in literature, is a fat-tailed sheep. It is a small-sized breed with mature weight ranging 30-35 kilograms (kg). The natural habitat of the breed is the Middle Awash Valley in eastern Ethiopia, extending as far as Dire Dawa in the east and the town of Bati in the north. The habitat has an altitude ranging 300-1100 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.), and is between 40 and 42 E longitudes and 9 and 11 N latitudes. Rainfall in the area is erratic and annual precipitation ranges from 300 to 700 millimeters (mm). The vegetation is mainly of sub-desert range types consisting of a sparse cover of low shrubs and bush cover, which is currently being invaded by Prosopis (an invasive tree species). The Afar sheep are hardy and tolerate periods of drought relatively well as the breed evolved under harsh environmental conditions.

The Afar sheep have small ears and usually have a dewlap and thick layers of fat on the brisket. The fat tail has a wide base and reaches below the hocks. Hair is short and coarse, the predominant color being solid blond with other colors ranging from shaded white to light brown. There are a few exceptions of animals with spotted color patterns and/or dark brown hair. The average observed wither height for adult rams is 66 centimeters (cm) while that for adult ewes is 61 cm. Afar sheep weigh about 2.5 kg, 13 kg and 25.8 kg at birth, weaning (90 days), and one year of age, respectively. Ewe mature weight is about 31.6 kg. Twin births are not common.