VARIABILITY OF SOME PRODUCTION TRAITS OF KARAKACHANIAN SHEEP IN MACEDONIA

Abstract

A b s t r a c t: Karakachanian (Karakachan) sheep, an indigenous strain of the Pramenka breed in Mac-edonia, is in bigger danger of disappearance than the other two indigenous strains (Ovchepolian and Sharplaninian). Beside in Macedonia, Karakachanian sheep is also present in the other countries of the Balkan Peninsula, namely: Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and Turkey, its populations being at minimum level. This breed was created by many-century selection of the sheep, bred by the Karakachans, who were mostly nomads. These sheep are of small body weight and size, low productivity and triple production line (milk, meat, wool). They are quite vital animals, energetic, resistant to illnesses, and well adapted to adverse environmental conditions. Karakachanian sheep are either of dark or white colour of the hair. By the inves-tigations conducted, these facts have been established: total production of lactation milk: 27.00 lit; average daily milk production: 0.17 lit; average percentage of milk fat: 8.38%; average percentage of protein: 4.54%; average percentage of lactose: 4.41%; average percentage of fat-free dry matter: 9.10%; average percentage of total dry matter: 16.74%; length of the lactation period: 156 days. The low production results clearly indicate the main reason for which this sheep breed has been supplanted by other, more productive sheep breeds.