Santa Inês sheep
Brazilian breed of sheep
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Santa Inês is a Brazilian breed of domestic sheep. It is a hair sheep, growing hair rather than wool, and is reared both for meat and for hides.
.jpg)
- Bolivia
- Malaysia
- Paraguay
- Uruguay[4]
.jpg)
It is the principal hair sheep breed of the country, and is larger and faster-growing than either of the other two important hair sheep breeds of north-eastern Brazil, the Brazilian Somali and the Morada Nova.[5][6]
It was bred in the 1940s in Bahia State, in north-eastern Brazil, but its exact origins are not clear. It has a greater resistance to infection by gastrointestinal nematodes than European meat breeds such as the Île-de-France and the Suffolk.[7]
History
The Santa Inês was bred in the 1940s in Bahia State, in north-eastern Brazil.[8]: 904 [9]: 26 Its origins remain unclear.[10] It was formerly thought that it derived from cross-breeding of the Italian Bergamasca with a local sheep of Crioula type such as the Rabo Largo, possibly with some contribution from the Morada Nova or from hair sheep of African origin;[8]: 904 [10][11][12] modern studies suggest that this history may be incomplete or incorrect.[9]: 26
A herd-book was established in 1977.[2] In 2022 there were approximately 120000 of the sheep, with about 40000 rams and 80000 ewes.[2] The conservation status of the breed was listed as "not at risk" both by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2007 and in the DAD-IS database in 2026.[1]: 147 [2]
Characteristics
The Santa Inês is larger and faster-growing than either of the other two important hair sheep breeds of north-eastern Brazil, the Brazilian Somali and the Morada Nova.[6] Body weights are variously reported as 100 kg for rams and 75 kg for ewes,[2] or as 70 kg and 40–50 kg respectively;[8]: 904 the corresponding average heights at the withers are 65 cm and 60 cm.[2]
It is a hair sheep, growing hair rather than wool, and is polled and lop-eared.[8]: 904 The colour of the coat is variable, and may be black, white or red; pied and spotted patterns are seen.[8]: 904
It has a greater resistance to infection by gastrointestinal nematodes than European meat breeds such as the Île-de-France and the Suffolk.[7]
