Racka sheep

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Zackelschaf (Hungarian: Magyar racka juh , Latin: Ovis aries strepsiceros Hungaricus ; also known under the older name "Hortobágyer Zackelschaf", Hortobágyi racka juh, Ovis aries strepsiceros Hortobágyiensis ) is an old Hungarian breed of sheep that has been taking over the land since the end of the 9th century is considered a companion of the Hungarians .

White ragged sheep in the Bernburg zoo

For a long time it was the typical animal of the shepherds in the Hungarian lowlands . Today, however, together with the other traditional sheep breeds ( Cikta and Cigája ), it only accounts for five percent of the total population in Hungary. The torch sheep is a protected breed.

history

The ancestor of the Zackelschaf is the Urial , a wild sheep that was domesticated in Southwest Asia. According to the archaeological research of Sándor Bökönyi, the ragged sheep appeared in the Carpathian Basin at the time of the Great Migration . However, there is no data on which ethnic group the species is said to have carried with it. Linguistic data indicate that the ancestors of the Hungarians originally understood the term "sheep" ( juh ) only to mean the rag-sheep.

According to the Hungarian archaeozoologist János Matolcsi (1923–1983), the sheep of the time of the conquest of the land did not have V-shaped twisted horns, but rather they were screwed around a horizontal axis. The first written mentions are from the 16th and 17th centuries . It already speaks of V-shaped horned animals.

For centuries there was an important trade in sheep and sheepskins between Hungary and the neighboring countries. There are already records from the year 1255. With a number of 124,129 animals, most sheep were exported in 1737. From the second half of the 19th century , races with finer wool , primarily the merino sheep , were introduced into the country.

In 1903 the breed was considered critically endangered. After the Second World War , only a small number of animals remained in the Hortobágy . In the 1950s, breeding was therefore expanded.

In 1983, the Magyar Rackajuh-tenyésztő Egyesület ("Hungarian Racket Sheep Breeders Association") was founded. Its goals include preservation of the breed and the preservation of the genetic database through breeding.

Appearance

Both sexes have the characteristic feature of V-shaped protruding, straight and corkscrew-like twisted horns. This form is likely caused by genetic mutation and has spread as a result of selection. It is also possible that it was introduced into Hungary with the Turks from the south.

A herd in the Hortobágy National Park

The racket sheep is of medium size. The male animal (buck) reaches a shoulder height of approx. 70 centimeters and a weight of 55 to 75 kilograms. The approximately half a meter long horns form an angle of 90 to 110 degrees and are twisted. The female animal (mother) is smaller and lighter with an average height of 66 centimeters and a body weight of 35 to 45 kilograms. The horns are only 30 centimeters long and have an angle of 50 to 60 degrees.

The fur of the racket sheep is rather coarse and bushy. The hair is 25 to 30 centimeters long. There is a white and a black race. The rarer animals with black fur have gray skin, hooves and tongues. At the age of one year, the coat begins to turn gray. The fur of the white racket sheep turns cream-colored. The mouth and legs, on the other hand, take on a light brown color. From birth, the lambs of the light-colored animals are either brown as a whole or brown in front and yellowish white towards the back. The latter variant has a longer and more wavy coat than the black animals.

Racka from the front

The white color is inherited recessively compared to the black . The white trait is always homozygous , the black often heterozygous . As a result, the descendants of two white sheep are always white, while black flocks often have white lambs. The fur of the racket sheep is not valuable, but it has a cultural-historical significance: the traditional coat Suba (pronounced: "Schuba") of the shepherds is made from it. Usually the lambs are born at the end of winter or the beginning of spring. Usually there is only one newborn, but twin births also occur.

Economic use

The meat production is rather unfavorable. The meat, however, is nutritious, of good quality, tasty and with little fat. The first steps towards its use as organic food are already being taken. The species is also considered a good supplier of milk. After the birth of a lamb, a mother gives about 60 liters of milk. This is mainly processed into cheese.

At present, the racket is mainly bred to preserve genetic purity. It functions as a tourist attraction in more and more places. In the national parks Fertő-Hanság, Körös-Maros, Hortobágy and Balaton, larger herds of racket sheep are kept.

swell

  • Tőzsér, János; Bedő, Sándor (ed.): Történelmi állatfajtáink enciklopédiája . Mezőgazda Kiadó, Budapest 2003, ISBN 963-286-059-4 (Hungarian).
  • Jávor, András; Kukovics, Sándor; Dunka, Béla: Történelmi állatfajtáink enciklopédiája . Mezőgazda Kiadó, Budapest 2006, ISBN 963-286-316-X (Hungarian).
  • Dunka, Béla: The Hungarian Racky Sheep . Hungarian Racket Sheep Association, Debrecen 1984.
  • Haller, Martin: Rare domestic and farm animal breeds . Leopold Stocker Verlag, Graz 2005.

Web links

Commons : Zackelschaf  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files