Awassi

Awassi
Awassi Sheep
A ram in Kuwait
Ewe and lamb in Syria
Other names
  • Arab (Turkey)
  • Baladi
  • Deiri
  • Gezirieh (Iraq))
  • Ivesi (Turkey)
  • Shami (Syria)
  • Syrian
Country of originMiddle East
Distributioneighteen countries in Africa, Asia and Europe
Usemilk, meat, wool
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    70 kg
  • Female:
    68 kg
Height
  • Male:
    50 cm
  • Female:
    76 cm
Wool colourwhite
Face colourbrown
Notes
tolerant of extreme temperatures

The Awassi is a breed of dairy sheep of Near-Eastern fat-tailed type. It is the most widely distributed non-European dairy breed. It is known by many names, among them Arab, Baladi, Deiri, Gezirieh, Ivesi, Shami and Syrian.: 265 : 290  It is usually white with brown head and legs.

History

The Awassi is a traditional breed of dairy sheep of Near-Eastern fat-tailed type. Its origins are unknown, but it is thought to originate in the historic region of Mesopotamia – the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, now in modern Iraq and Syria.: 115  The breed name is thought to derive from that of Al-ʿAwās, a Bedouin tribe of northern Syria.: 115 : 12  It is the most widely distributed non-European dairy breed: 727  and the most numerous sheep breed of south-west Asia. It is the principal sheep of Iraq and Syria and the only indigenous sheep of Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon.

It is reportedly present in eighteen countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, with a total population estimated in 2024 at 2.85 million head. The largest population is reported by Turkey, where the Ivesi numbers approximately 1.7–2.9 million head; other substantial populations are in Palestine (over 360000) and Lebanon (about 200000). A population in Syria of approximately 13.5 million head was reported in 2006.

It has contributed to the development of several modern breeds, among them the Assaf, Israeli Awassi, Pak Awassi, Neimi and Shafali.: 727 

The whole genome of Awassi rams in Jordan was re-sequenced in 2020, and that of ewes in the same country in 2021.

Characteristics

The Awassi is of moderate size, with average weights of 68 kg for ewes and 70 kg for rams; average heights are 50 cm and 76 cm respectively. The usual colouring is white with brown head and legs; the face may also be white, grey, black or spotted, and a solid-coloured brown or black coat occasionally occurs.: 265  The facial profile is convex and the ears pendulous. Rams are normally horned, ewes more often polled.: 265  Hyperthermia causes the fertility of rams to fall during the hot summer months, but it recovers rapidly when temperatures fall in the autumn.: 244 

Use

Although the Awassi is considered a dairy sheep, it is commonly reared for meat, for milk and for wool. In Syria it supplies all the wool, about 30% of all milk and about 80% of all red meat. In Iraq it is raised principally for meat.

Notes

  1. ↑ Arabic: عواسي, romanized: ʿAwāsī)

References

  1. 1 2 3 Transboundary breed: Awassi. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Breed data sheet: Awassi / Syrian Arab Republic (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2002). Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types, and Varieties (fifth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 085199430X.
  4. ↑ Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2020). Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties (sixth edition). Wallingford; Boston: CABI. ISBN 9781789241532.
  5. 1 2 M.H. Fahmy (2022). Awassi. In: Paul L.H. McSweeney, John P. McNamara (editors) (2022). Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences, third edition. Amsterdam; Kidlington, Oxford; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. ISBN 9780128187678.
  6. ↑ H. Epstein (1982). Awassi Sheep. World Animal Review, 44: 11–27.
  7. 1 2 Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  8. 1 2 Mohamad Yaser Amin, Kurt-Johannes Peters (2006). Awassi Sheep Production and the Development of breeding Program Options in Syria. Prosperity and Poverty in a Globalised World – Challenges for Agricultural Research (Tropentag, 11–13 October 2006). Bonn, Germany: University of Bonn. Archived 19 July 2011.
  9. ↑ Nizar Jamal Haddad, Hussein Migdadi, Raed Al-Atiyat, Khaleel Jawasreh, S. Awabdeh, W. Obeidat, R. AlOmari, M. Aldamra, H. Ababneh, M.J. Tabbaa, M. Brake, M. Farooq ( 2020). Whole Genome Resequencing of Jordanian Awassi Rams (Ovis aries) Using Hiseq Sequencing Technology. Genetics and Molecular Research. 19 (2): gmr18577. doi:10.4238/gmr18577.[dead link]
  10. ↑ Hussein Migdadi, Nizar Haddad, Ruba AlOmari, Mohammad Brake, Mustafa AlShdaifat, Sadeer Amasha, Monther Sadder (2021). Re-sequencing of Whole Genome Jordanian Awassi Ewes using Hiseq Sequencing Technology. Indian Journal of Animal Research. B-1371: 1–6. doi:10.18805/IJAR.B-1371.
  11. ↑ Hassan Falah Kashef Al-Ghetaa (2012). Effect of Environmental High Temperature on the Reproductive activity of Awassi Ram Lambs Effect of Environmental High Temperature on the Reproductive activity of Awassi Ram Lambs |. The Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Medicine. 36 (2): 244–253. doi:10.30539/iraqijvm.v36i2.502.