Английская Википедия:Bleu du Maine
Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox sheep breed
The Bleu du Maine is a French breed of domestic sheep. It originated in the historic region of Maine, and is distributed mainly in the départements of Maine-et-Loire, the Mayenne and the Sarthe in the Pays de la Loire in western France.
It is a large and prolific sheep, characterised by the distinctive blue face from which its name derives.Шаблон:R It is raised primarily for meat.Шаблон:R
History
The Bleu du Maine shares some ancestry with the Rouge de l'Ouest.Шаблон:R It derives from cross-breeding in the early nineteenth century of the now-extinct Choletais – named for the town of Cholet in southern Maine-et-Loire – with imported British Leicester Longwool or Dishley Leicester stock. Towards the end of the century there was some influence from the Wensleydale, from which the characteristic blue face derives.Шаблон:R As the name suggests, the breed originated in the historic region of Maine, principally in the areas surrounding the towns of Bazougers in the département of Mayenne and Sablé-sur-Sarthe and Souvigné-sur-Sarthe in the Sarthe.Шаблон:R It is reared mainly in the Mayenne, the Sarthe, and in Maine-et-Loire; its range extends into the Orne in southern Normandy.Шаблон:R
A flock-book was started in 1927;Шаблон:R the breed received the official recognition of the Ministère de l'Agriculture in 1948.Шаблон:R In 2015 the total population was estimated at just under 11 000, of which 1703 were recorded in the flock-book.Шаблон:R In 2007 the conservation status of the breed world-wide was listed by the FAO as "not at risk";Шаблон:R in 2021 the status for France only was reported to DAD-IS as "endangered".Шаблон:R
Some have been exported to European countries, and to Ethiopia;Шаблон:R in 2021 the breed was reported from Belgium, France, Holland, Ireland and the United Kingdom.Шаблон:R Some were exported to the United Kingdom in 1980 for use as mule sires; the resulting ewes were found to be considerably less productive than daughters of British breeds such as the Blue-faced Leicester, the Border Leicester and the British Milksheep.Шаблон:R
Characteristics
The Bleu du Maine is a large heavy sheep: rams weigh some Шаблон:Nobreak, ewes about Шаблон:Nobreak.Шаблон:R It is characterised by a distinctive blue face, varying in colour from almost black to a reddish tinge. The fleece is white. The face is broad, with a slightly convex profile; it and the legs are free of wool.Шаблон:R
Use
The Bleu du Maine is reared primarily for meat.Шаблон:R Prolificity is reported to be 1.88.Шаблон:R
Fleeces weigh some Шаблон:Nobreak, with a staple length of approximately Шаблон:Nobreak and fineness of Bradford count Шаблон:Nobreak equivalent to approximately Шаблон:NobreakШаблон:R
References
Шаблон:Commonscat Шаблон:Reflist
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