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(401) Rahmani

1. General breed information

Species:	Sheep
Breed Name/Strain :	Rahmani
Breed Group Name:	Fat-tailed Coarse Wool (wavy wooled)
Group Origin:
Fat-tailed coarse-wooled sheep in Africa were probably introduced to Africa about 3000 years after the thin-tailed breeds, via the Isthmus of Suez and the Bab-el-Mandeb straits on the Red Sea. The fat-tailed sheep replaced the original thin-tailed ones in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia whereas those entering Somalia and other parts of eastern Africa were ultimately taken by migratory owners to the southern parts of the continent. At present wavy-wooled sheep dominate the indigenous sheep genetic resources of Egypt as well as those of Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands. A separate coarse wooled sheep exists in Somalia by the name Somali-Arab (Mason 1967; Payne and Wilson, 1999).
Breed Origin :
The original stock of this breed is beleived to have been introduced from similar sheep populations in northern Syria and southern Turkey. The breed was first introduced into Egypt in the 19th century and is named after Rahmania, a village in Beheria governorate in the north of the Nile Delta (Galal, 1987).
Main Location:
The breed is common throughout Lower Egypt and northern parts of Upper Egypt, especially in Beheira province in the north-west of the Nile delta (Mason, 1967).
Special Characteristic:
This breed is the largest of the Egyptian sheep breeds. Its coat colour is brown that fades with age; occasionally white spots are found on the head. External ears are absent; facial profile is convex. Rams have long horns that curve downwards, but the females are usually polled. The tail is large and twisted (Mason, 1967).

2. trait data

2.1 Adult Live Weight (kg)

No.	Sex	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Ram	Range: 50-73	Synthesized from different sources.		(1003)
2	Ewe	Range: 45 - 50	The same as above		(1003)
3	Ram	Range: 50-73	The same as above		(1055)
4	Ewe	Range: 45-50	The same as above.		(1973)
5	Ram	Range: 55 - 70	The same as above.		(1976)
6	Ewe	Range: 45 - 55	The same as above.		(1976)

2.2 Adult Wither Height (cm)

No.	Sex	Age	Mean	SD	SE	Sample Size	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Ewe		72			13		Synthesized from different sources.		(1973)

2.3 Age at First Parturition (months)

No.	Mean	SD	SE	Sample Size	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1					Range: 15 - 22	Synthesized form different sources.		(1976)

2.4 Age at Puberty (months)

No.	Sex	Mean	SD	SE	Sample Size	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Ewe					Range: 8 – 12	Synthesized form different sources.		(1976)

2.5 Average Daily Gain (gm)

No.	Observation Period (age)	Sex	Age	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	For 20 weeks	Male		Range: 122 - 172	Synthesized form different sources.		(1976)

2.6 Birth Weight (kg)

No.	Sex	Mean	SD	SE	Sample Size	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall					Range: 2.7 - 3.0	Synthesized form different sources.		(1976)

2.7 Coat Colour/Pattern

No.	Sex	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall	Brown that fades with age to light tan; very rarely are there with spots on the head or the body.	Synthesized form different sources.		(1976)
2	Overall	Brown, fading with age. Occasionally white spot on head.	Synthesized from different sources.		(1973)

2.8 Dressing Percentage (%)

No.	Sex	Age	Mean	SD	SE	Sample Size	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall						Range: 42 - 59	Synthesized form different sources.		(1976)

2.9 Ear Type

No.	Sex	Age	Trait Value	Location of Study	Management Condition	Source
1	Overall		Small and quite often vestigial	Synthesized form different sources.