Awassi

The Awassi is a fat-tailed sheep native to the Arabian Peninsula and the broader Middle East, where it remains the most numerous and widespread breed. It is run chiefly as a dairy animal. The large fat tail is the breed's most obvious trait, a stored energy reserve that carries the sheep through long dry seasons and lean grazing.

It is a medium-sized breed, steady in temperament and self-reliant. Awassi cope with heat, drought, and long walks between water and feed better than most sheep, which is why they have stayed the backbone of village and pastoral flocks from the Levant through Iraq and into neighbouring countries. In practice they are a triple-purpose breed, providing milk, meat, and coarse carpet wool, though dairy lines bred for milk push production well above the breed average.

Milk is the main reason keepers choose the breed. Awassi ewes give a bigger volume over a longer lactation than typical hair or carpet-wool breeds, and the milk goes into drinking milk, yoghurt, and traditional cheeses.

Who it suits

The Awassi suits Australian keepers in hot, dry, or semi-arid country who want a hardy animal that copes with drought and can still be milked. It works well on dairy-focused small blocks and on larger pastoral operations that move flocks over long distances. Keepers who want fine apparel wool should choose a different breed, since Awassi fleece is coarse, carpet-grade wool.

The Awassi descends from the ancient fat-tailed sheep of the Near East, a type herded across the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years. Fat-tailed sheep turn up in early records and artwork from the region, and the Awassi carries on that long line of desert-adapted animals, shaped by nomadic and village herding rather than any formal breeding program.

The breed's name ties back to the Bedouin tribes of the region, and the type spread through what is now Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, parts of the Arabian Peninsula, and Turkey. For most of its history the Awassi was a landrace, picked by herders for survival, walking ability, and milk for the family rather than for looks.

During the twentieth century the breed shifted from a survival landrace towards improved dairy strains. Selective breeding, particularly the Improved Awassi developed at agricultural research stations in Israel, lifted milk yield well past the traditional flock average and turned the Awassi into a serious dairy sheep. Improved bloodlines have since been exported to other countries to boost local dairy flocks.

The Awassi is still the dominant sheep across much of the Middle East today. Traditional flocks run alongside intensively managed dairy strains, and the breed is valued for the same qualities that built its reputation in the first place: hardiness, milk, and the knack of thriving where feed and water are scarce.

The Awassi is a medium-sized sheep with a solid, functional build. Its defining feature is the large fat tail, a broad pad of stored fat at the rear that hangs low and can grow to a good size on a well-fed animal. The head is long with a convex, or Roman, profile, and the ears are long and drooping. Rams are usually horned with spiral horns, while ewes are commonly polled or carry only small horns.

The legs are long and the frame suits covering rough, dry ground on foot for long stretches. Coarse wool covers most of the body, with shorter hair on the face and legs.

Coat and colours

The most common pattern is a white or cream body with a brown to light-tan head and legs, though all-brown animals and other shadings turn up too. The fleece is coarse, open, carpet-type wool rather than fine apparel wool, and it sheds dirt and handles heat well. Fat tail size tracks feeding and condition, growing larger when grazing is good and shrinking back during lean spells.

The Awassi has a calm, even temperament and handles easily in a flock. The breed is independent and self-reliant, a trait built up over generations of extensive herding, where sheep had to graze wide country and look after themselves between musters. They flock together reliably and follow a herder or a lead animal, which keeps large mobs manageable on open range.

Around people the Awassi is generally quiet and not flighty, especially in flocks used to daily milking and regular handling. Dairy ewes that go through the routine often settle into it without fuss. Around other stock the breed is easygoing and grazes alongside goats and other sheep without trouble. Rams can turn assertive during the breeding season, as is normal for the species, and need the usual careful handling.

The standout trait is endurance. Awassi walk long distances chasing grazing and water, shrug off heat and drought without distress, and hold condition on feed that would not keep many other breeds going.

The Awassi is one of the lower-maintenance sheep breeds, but it still needs routine care. Day to day, the focus is on grazing, water, and condition, with dairy flocks adding a milking round on top.

Grooming

• Shear once a year, usually in late spring or early summer, before the real heat sets in
• Check and trim hooves on a regular schedule to head off overgrowth and foot problems
• Keep the area around the fat tail and rear clean, and crutch (clip away soiled wool) as needed to help guard against flystrike
• Check the fleece for external parasites and treat when found

Exercise

• Give daily access to grazing or a paddock; the breed is built for walking and foraging
• Allow room for the flock to move about, which supports condition and foot health
• On extensive country, normal mustering over distance provides all the exercise the flock needs

Environment

The Awassi suits hot, dry, and semi-arid conditions and copes with heat and drought far better than most breeds, which matches large parts of inland and northern Australia. Even so, paddock shade, whether from trees, scrub, or a shed, and constant clean water should be available whenever temperatures climb, with dry shelter from cold rain and wind through the cooler months. Secure fencing keeps the flock together and protects against predators.

The Awassi is an efficient forager that holds condition on pasture and crop residues that would not sustain many other sheep. The diet should be built on grazing and good forage, with extra feed brought in when grazing is thin or animals have higher needs. Lactating ewes need the most, since milk production places a heavy demand on the body. Growing lambs and ewes in late pregnancy also need extra energy and protein.

Make sure there is constant access to clean water and to salt or a mineral supplement made for sheep. Avoid copper-rich mineral mixes made for other species, since sheep are sensitive to excess copper.

Treats and supplements

Stick to small amounts of grain or commercial treats, since sudden or large grain feeds risk digestive upset. A sheep mineral block plus free-choice salt covers most trace element needs. Much of Australia has selenium-poor soil, so ask a local vet about selenium and vitamin E supplementation.

The Awassi is known for hardiness and resilience, and copes well with heat, drought, and rough conditions. A typical lifespan runs 10 to 12 years, with productive dairy ewes often kept on for several lactations. Most health problems in the breed are the everyday issues of keeping sheep rather than breed-specific faults, and good husbandry heads off most of them.

Preventive care

• Follow a vaccination program set by a local vet (commonly for clostridial diseases)
• Run a planned drenching program with periodic worm egg counts
• Trim and check hooves on a regular schedule
• Condition-score the flock and adjust feeding before and after lactation
• Check dairy ewes' udders regularly for early signs of mastitis

Awassi reach breeding maturity inside their first year, with ewes typically joined from around 7 to 12 months of age depending on growth and management. The breed has a fairly long breeding season, and many flocks can lamb outside the main autumn window, which suits dairy operations that want milk across a bigger part of the year.

Gestation runs about 150 days, roughly five months. The Awassi usually has a single lamb, with twins less common than in more prolific breeds. Ewes mother well and milk well, so lambs grow steadily at foot.

On dairy operations, management often has to balance raising lambs against milking for human use. Lambs might be weaned early so the ewe can go onto the milking line, or left on the ewe before her milking lactation starts. In pastoral flocks, lambs usually stay with the dam and the flock and are weaned at a few months old. Choosing replacement ewes from high-yielding, well-grown mothers keeps up both milk production and the breed's hardiness.