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(420) Timahdite

1. General breed information

Species:	Sheep
Breed Name/Strain :	Timahdite
Common Name/Synonym:	Zaian; El Hammam-Azrou
Breed Group Name:	Developed / composite breeds
Group Origin:
Commercial composites are breeds developed from a selected local breed combined with varying proportions of introduced (also exotic) blood. A total of 19 composite sheep breeds are recorded, twelve of these in southern Africa mainly for enhanced wool production by combining with the Merino. The rest are from West Africa and the Sudan (Rege et al., 1996).
Breed Origin :
This coarse-wool breed is a composite of the Ben Guil and the Tadla. Two distinct varieties are known – the Zaian and the El Hammam-Azrou - with different areas of distribution.
Main Location:
The Zaian variety inhabits the area between Zaers in the west, Oulmes in the north, El Hammam in the east and Khenifra in the south. The El Hamam-Azrou variety inhabits the area further to the east, and it reflects more mountain type characteristics (Bourfia, 1989).