Forest sheep

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Forest sheep ram

The forest sheep is an endangered domestic sheep breed , which is predominantly native to Germany and Austria and goes back to the Indo-European Zaupelschaf .

It received the name "forest sheep" because of its distribution area in the low mountain range of the Bavarian Forest , the Bohemian Forest and the Mühlviertel and Waldviertel .

Appearance

Forest sheep on pasture

The forest sheep is a small to medium-sized, predominantly white sheep. However, there are also black, gray, brown and piebald animals. In white sheep, dark pigment spots often appear in unwanted areas, especially on the head. Adult rams reach a height at the withers of around 65 to 70 centimeters and a weight of 55 to 80 kilograms. Females are smaller and lighter with a height of 60 to 65 centimeters and a body weight of 35 to 60 kilograms. The relatively short head with scabbard (woolly forehead) is mostly straight, in the case of the rams sometimes also slightly rammed (arched). The small ears of the forest sheep protrude almost horizontally from the head. Male and female animals can be horned as well as hornless. Forest sheep are slender and have long, woolly tails.

The forest sheep is characterized by its mixed wool, consisting of coarse short or burin hair, awn or long hair and fine wool fibers. The latter make up the main component of the mixed wool, which developed through centuries of adaptation of the forest sheep to the harsh climatic conditions of the low mountain range. The relatively high proportion of wool fibers distinguishes the forest sheep, descending from the Zaupel sheep, from other ancient breeds such as the stone sheep or the spectacled sheep . The fine wool fibers protect the sheep from heat and cold. The protruding guard hairs make the sheep look shaggy, which is why it was sometimes called “Zoderte” in the Mühlviertel . The straightening of the short hair, which is possible due to the muscles at the hair roots (cf. goose bumps in humans), causes the fleece to loosen and thus dry better. In rams, the annual wool yield is around 3.5 kilograms, in females around 3 kilograms.

history

The forest sheep is descended from the Indo-European Zaupelschaf, with crossbreeding of other land races. The word "Zaupel" originally stood for a provisional bitch and "girl loose" in the old Bavarian or for "dissolute". The term is thus associated with high fertility and aseasonality.

The mixed woolly Zaupelschaf was once the dominant breed in southern Germany , Bohemia , Moravia and the entire Alpine region. Due to the coarse wool, which is more suitable for hand-spinning, and the low meat yield, the Zaupel sheep was pushed back more and more into retreats with harsh climatic conditions by the German plain-wool sheep and then by the Spanish merino sheep and British meat sheep breeds. A small population came to southern Hungary with Swabian emigrants.

Splitting of the Zaupelschaf into different breeds

From the original Zaupelschaf three genetically slightly different breeds developed in three separate areas:

All three were recognized as breeds in their own right. As a result, the term “Zaupelschaf” was no longer used as a breed name, but as an umbrella term for three closely related breeds that can be traced back to the same origin.

The term "forest sheep" was mentioned for the first time in 1890, when a regional distinction was made between forest sheep (in relation to the Bavarian Forest ) and stone sheep (Alpine region).

A further decline in the population was recorded as industrially manufactured textiles became available and the processing of the mixed wool of the forest sheep became less and less worthwhile.

Breeding history

The first conservation measures were initiated in Bavaria in the 1980s . At the beginning, around 60 animals from 10 remaining populations from Bavaria, almost 20 Šumavská sheep from Czechoslovakia and 15 animals from a remaining Austrian herd were available for breeding. Six other stocks were later discovered in Austria. Due to the selection of breeding according to conventional performance criteria, inbreeding increased unnecessarily until 1999, which resulted in a decrease in the effective population . The increase in inbreeding from generation to generation was 2.5%, well above the maximum tolerable limit of 1% for endangered breeds. The effective population decreased to 20, but should be at least 50 to ensure conservation.

The situation eased through the establishment of an international pedigree book in Austria between 1996 and 1999, as well as the targeted measures that this made possible, such as strict mating based on inbreeding calculations. From 2002 onwards, breeding in accordance with this strict gene conservation program was supported by increased funding. In Austria, for example, 710 ewes and 70 breeding rams were managed in the gene conservation project in 2002. In 2004 there were 896 herdbook animals in Bavaria. In May 2009, the increase in inbreeding in the Austrian gene conservation project was far below 1% and the effective population was well over 50 animals.

distribution

The forest sheep is now widespread in almost all Austrian federal states. However, the main breeding areas are in the original distribution area, which is why they can be found more frequently in Upper Austria's Mühlviertel on the one hand and in the Lower Austrian Waldviertel on the other . According to the herdbook , a total of 1189 animals were kept in Austria in 2009 . In Germany, the forest sheep can be found more and more in its area of ​​origin, the Bavarian Forest.

Way of life

The forest sheep has adapted to the rough conditions of the low mountain range over time. It is insensitive to the weather, frugal, robust, easy to feed, has insensitive udders and claws and is therefore less susceptible to diseases and parasites. Forest sheep have a calm mind and graze in closed groups.

nutrition

The forest sheep is a very frugal and easy-to-feed breed that can make optimal use of the forage. The animals specialize in roughage utilization , which is why rearing without concentrated feed is possible and useful. Concentrated feed, silage made from younger grass and grass clover can cause diseases such as pelvic kidney disease (cause: poison from Clostridium perfringens ) due to the high protein concentration . However, silage made from older grass with a lower protein content can be fed.

The grazing behavior of this breed has an important ecological meaning, as forest sheep eat many plants that other animals disdain and can therefore be used to control vegetation.

Reproduction

Forest sheep have an aseasonal oestrus cycle with an accumulation of births in winter. The animals are precocious and have a fertility of approx. 180% and a high rearing rate. After 4 months, the young rams are separated from the mother, they reach sexual maturity at 4 to 5 months, the females at 9 to 15 months. The first lambing usually takes place at 13 months. Forest sheep usually lamb three times in two years, but sometimes also twice a year, with twin births being relatively common and triplets also occurring. The daily weight gain of the lambs is around 180 to 200 grams.

The breed has the ability to self-regulate, which means that the inter-lambing period and the number of lambs depend on the previous rearing performance of the dams, their general state of health and the food available.

attitude

Forest sheep are particularly suitable for extensive and organic small-scale and part-time farming, especially in the rough areas of the low mountain range. In order to maintain the characteristics of the breed, emphasis is placed on keeping it as original as possible. Due to the out-of-season nature, an old ram is kept with the herd all year round. Forest sheep are often used to maintain the landscape. In general, work-intensive (little care, good maternal characteristics) and cost-intensive (hardly any veterinary costs, no additional feed) is sought.

Breeding goals

The primary breeding goal is the preservation of the breed, its genetic diversity and characteristics. Only animals with genetic defects, poor traits and animals that are not breed typical are excluded from breeding.

Forest sheep are examined once for breeding suitability and recorded in the herdbook . In Austria, the Upper Austria Sheep Breeding Association is the national organization responsible for the gene conservation program.

Economic use

Both wool, fur and meat of the forest sheep can be used. In contrast to many of today's performance breeds, the coarse and felty mixed wool is particularly suitable for hand spinning, felting and for the production of robust and relatively light forest sheep tweed .

In the meantime, the meat of the forest sheep in particular has become increasingly popular. It is fine, low in fat and particularly tender and has no undesirable sheep aftertaste that is otherwise typical for sheep meat. In 2009 the forest sheep was accepted into the Ark of Taste by the Slow Food organization.

Danger

In general, there is a positive inventory development. At the end of 2012 the population in Bavaria was just under 1100 animals, in Austria in 2008 it was 1032 animals. However, the forest sheep is still one of the endangered livestock breeds and was on the red list in Category II in 2012 in Germany and 2007 in Austria .

Grants

  • Austria: according to ÖPUL 2007–2012: € 55 per ewe, € 120 per ram per year
  • Bavaria: from 2013 € 25 per animal and year, maximum funding € 3,000 per farm

Current projects

In Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Burgenland, experiments on landscape conservation are taking place in cooperation with landscape and nature conservation authorities and organizations. In Tyrol, a breeding community was set up specifically to spread the forest sheep for the maintenance of alpine pastures. In tests lasting several years, the long-established forest sheep proved to be superior to the mass-bred sheep breeds in the field. In 2011, around 100 forest sheep were brought up for mountain farming, with a relatively low failure rate of 6%.

literature

  • Michaela Arndorfer: How many species do humans need ?: A search for clues. 1st edition. Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-205-78516-3 , p. 268.
  • Robert Aigner: Old farm animal breeds. (Diploma thesis). P. 58f. (Accessed via Arche Austria on January 22, 2013)
  • Rare breeds of farm animals. In: Handbook of Diversity. LTS 231, 1st edition. Vienna 2009, p. 37. (Accessed via www.lebensministerium.at on January 23, 2013)
  • Forest sheep. Pp. 1-5. (Accessed via www.lebensministerium.at on January 23, 2013)
  • Hans Hinrich Sambraus: Color atlas of farm animal breeds. 7th edition. Ulmer Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8001-7613-7 , p. 183.
  • R. Wassmuth, S. Hiendleder, Ch. Mendel, G. Erhardt: Biochemical polymorphisms and main mtDNA haplo types in mountain sheep breeds and forest sheep as a contribution to the ancestry of domestic sheep. In: Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics. Volume 118, Issue 5, October 2001, pp. 327-340. doi: 10.1046 / j.1439-0388.2001.00300.x

Web links

Commons : Forest Sheep  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Red List of Endangered Livestock Breeds in Germany 2013. ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 297 kB) Website of the Society for the Preservation of Old and Endangered Pet Breeds e. V. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.geh.de
  2. a b c d e f g h i j k l Forest sheep d-1.pdf, pp 1-5 access via lebensministerium.at ( memento of the original dated August 20, 2013, Internet Archive ) info: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on January 23, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lebensministerium.at
  3. a b c d Michaela Arndorfer: How many species do humans need? A search for clues. 1st edition. Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-205-78516-3 , p. 268.
  4. a b Robert Aigner, diploma thesis Alte Nutztierrassen, p. 58 Access via Arche Austria on January 22, 2013.
  5. a b c d e Reiner Seibold: The forest sheep. ( Memento of the original from January 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the Society for the Preservation of Old and Endangered Pet Breeds e. V .; Retrieved January 23, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.geh.de
  6. a b waldschaf.com ( Memento of the original from January 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Sub-item “race”; Retrieved January 23, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.waldschaf.com
  7. a b c d e f Forest sheep gene conservation project , accessed on January 23, 2013.
  8. a b Reiner Seibold, Siegfried Dorrer: The forest sheep. ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1 MB) In: Sheep breeds in Germany - low mountain range. P. 2; Retrieved January 23, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.geh.de
  9. Forest sheep.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the Bayerische Herdbuchgesellschaft für Schafzucht e. V.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bhg-schafzucht.de  
  10. a b c Extensive_Schafrassen.pdf accessed via Bio-Austria  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on January 23, 2013.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bio-austria.at  
  11. Forest sheep. archeprojekt.at; accessed January 31, 2013.
  12. a b c More money for the preservation of endangered sheep breeds. ( Memento of the original from February 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Press release from the Bavarian State Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forests , December 10, 2012; Retrieved January 23, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stmelf.bayern.de
  13. ^ B. Berger, F. Fischerleitner: Marketing Products from Austrian Rare Breeds. (PDF; 58 kB) Website of the International Association for the Conservation of Animal Breeds in the Danubian Region , p. 1.
  14. ^ F. Fischerleitner: The Austrian Program for the Conservation of Endangered Breeds. (PDF; 130 kB) Website of the International Association for the Conservation of Animal Breeds in the Danubian Region , p. 2.
  15. ÖPUL 2007 - Rare farm animal breeds. ( Memento of the original from February 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) Website of Agrarmarkt Austria , p. 2. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ama.at
  16. ^ Website of the Alpine Forest Sheep Breeding Association. accessed on January 31, 2013.