Blackhead Persian Sheep

Ovis aries

A hair-sheep breed of Somali origin (closely related to the Somali Blackhead sheep found in Kenya) with a distinctive white body, black head and fat rump, developed further in South Africa after 1869; both sexes are polled with long, goat-like ears.

Species: Ovine
Family: Bovidae
Climate requirements: Extremely heat-tolerant and suited to arid and semi-arid savanna and bushveld conditions, making it well matched to Kenya's dry lowland and pastoral rangeland zones.

Husbandry

Care & Economics

Husbandry guide: As a hair (non-wool) breed it needs no shearing, simplifying management for smallholders; it thrives on natural browse and grazing with minimal supplementary feed. Mature rams weigh about 68-75kg and ewes 52-60kg, with lambs maturing and fattening early. The breed is noted for a high twinning rate and can breed on roughly an 8-month cycle, making it productive for meat turnover. Docile and unlikely to challenge fencing, it needs only a spacious, well-ventilated shelter and basic deworming and vaccination (enterotoxemia, PPR) to stay healthy in communal grazing systems.
Economic importance: Its hardiness, low input needs and early-maturing fat-rump carcass make it economically attractive for arid-zone smallholders and pastoralists in Kenya's northern and eastern counties, where it is often kept alongside or crossed with the closely related local Somali Blackhead sheep for meat sale.

Genetics

Breeds

No breeds recorded yet.

Animal health

Diseases

No diseases recorded yet.

Nutrition

Feeds

No feeds recorded yet.

Veterinary

Drugs & Medication

No drugs recorded yet.

Value chain

Products from this Animal

No derived products recorded yet.

Trade

Marketplace

Not currently listed on the Marketplace. List it →