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(355) Beni-Ahsen

1. General breed information

Species:	Sheep
Breed Name/Strain :	Beni-Ahsen
Common Name/Synonym:
Breed Group Name:	Thin-tailed coarse wool sheep
Group Origin:
The coarse wool of present-day thin-tailed wooled sheep is believed to have evolved from the original hair coat of thin-tailed hair sheep populations (Devendra and McLeroy, 1982). Archaeological evidence suggests that it was the thin-tailed hairy sheep that were first introduced into Africa from western Asia . This group of sheep breeds mainly inhabits the north African countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisa and to some extent Libya (Payne and Wilson, 1999), where altogether at least thirteen recognised indigenous breed are known. South of the Sahara, this group is represented mainly by the Macina sheep, which are the only wooled sheep kept by the Fulani pastoralists, and along with the Dongola, the only native wooled animals south of the Sahara. The Macina breed is unique to the Niger Bend in south-central Mali, although a degenerate form called Goundoun is found in western Niger. The Macina sheep was developed and maintained mainly by the Macina Fulani tribesmen under transhumance management practices (Wilson, 1991). Some of these breeds in Morocco do produce finer wool, and these breeds could have been genetically influenced by recent importations of fine-wooled sheep from Spain (Ryder, 1984).
Breed Origin :
As a sheep breed of finer wool quality, it may have received some genetic influence of wool type sheep from Spain (Ryder, 1984). Otherwise its origin traces back to the introduction of the thin-tailed hairy sheep into Africa from western Asia.
Main Location:
This breed is found in the north-west of the marshy lowlands of Morocco.
Special Characteristic:
This breed is considered to have the finest wool in Morocco, and it has been suggested that they may carry Merino blood from adjacent areas of Europe (Mason, 1967).

2. trait data

2.1 18 Months Weight (kg)

No.	Sex	Mean	SD	SE	Sample Size	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall					Range: 45 - 50	Synthesized from different sources.		(1973)

2.2 Adult Live Weight (kg)

No.	Sex	Age	Mean	SD	SE	Sample Size	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall						Range: 65 - 70	Synthesized from different sources.		(1973)

2.3 Adult Wither Height (cm)

No.	Sex	Age	Mean	SD	SE	Sample Size	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall						Range: 90 - 100	Synthesized from different sources.		(1973)

2.4 Coat Colour/Pattern

No.	Sex	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall	White with coloured face.	Synthesized from different sources.		(1973)

2.5 Dressing Percentage (%)

No.	Sex	Age	Mean	SD	SE	Sample Size	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall						Average: 45%	Synthesized from different sources.		(1973)

2.6 Fleece Weight (kg)

No.	Sex	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Ram	Range: 1.8 - 4	Synthesized from different sources.		(1973)
2	Ewe	Range: 1.5 - 2	The same as above		(1973)

2.7 Horn Description

No.	Sex	Age	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall		Present or absent in both sexes	Synthesized from different sources.		(1973)

2.8 Staple Length (cm)

No.	Sex	Age	Mean	SD	SE	Sample Size	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall						Range: 9.5 - 10	Synthesized from different sources.		(1973)

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