Lanzhou Big-Tail Sheep

Lanzhou Big-Tail Sheep

　　Lanzhou Big-Tail Sheep

　　Breed Description

　　Origin and Distribution: Primarily found in Lanzhou City and its suburbs. It is said that during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1862–1875 AD), several Tong sheep were introduced from Tongzhou (present-day Dali County, Shaanxi Province) and crossbred with local Lanzhou sheep (Mongolian sheep). Through long-term artificial selection and breeding, the Lanzhou Big-Tail Sheep of today was formed.

　　Appearance Characteristics: The Lanzhou Big-Tail Sheep has pure white wool. Its head is medium-sized, and both rams and ewes are hornless. The ears are large and slightly droop forward, the eye area is light red, the bridge of the nose is prominent, the neck is long and thick, the chest is broad and deep, the back and loin are straight, the ribs are well-sprung, the hindquarters are slightly sloped, and the limbs are relatively long, resulting in a rectangular body shape. The fat tail is large, square and flat, naturally hanging down to around the hock joint. There is a groove in the middle of the tail, dividing it into two symmetrical halves. The tail tip turns outward, closely adhering to the central groove. The surface of the tail is covered with wool, while the inner side is smooth and hairless, appearing light red.

　　Breed Performance: The Lanzhou Big-Tail Sheep is large in size, grows rapidly in its early stages, and has excellent meat performance. At one year old, rams weigh 53.10 kg and ewes weigh 42.60 kg; adult rams weigh 57.89 kg and adult ewes weigh 44.35 kg. At 10 months of age, castrated lambs have a carcass weight of 21.34 kg, net meat weight of 15.04 kg, fat tail weight of 2.46 kg, a slaughter rate of 58.57%, and a net meat yield of 78.179%. The fat tail accounts for 11.46% of the body weight. For adult castrated rams, these figures are 30.52 kg, 22.37 kg, 4.29 kg, 62.66%, 83.72%, and 13.23%, respectively.

　　 Lanzhou Big-Tail Sheep are sheared twice a year, in spring and autumn. The average annual shearing yield is 2.45 kg for adult rams and 1.38 kg for adult ewes. The wool is heterogeneous. Taking the ewe as an example, non-medullated wool accounts for 64.95%, heterotype wool 17.58%, and dead hair 17.47%.

　　 Female lambs begin estrus at 7–8 months of age, and male lambs can be used for breeding at 9–10 months. Under good feeding and management conditions, ewes can come into estrus and be bred all year round, producing three lambs in two years. The lambing rate is 117.02%.