Descended from the fat - tailed sheep of the Middle East , Karakuls are nevertheless as American as pizza and chop suey . Though their ancestors hail from the former emirate of Bokhara , a land settle in present - day Turkmenistan and Afghanistan , former stock breeder pick off the sheep strain ’s genetics , making today ’s American Karakul unique among the world ’s fat - dog sheep breeds .
North American breeders raiseKarakul sheep(pronounced kah - rah - COOL , CAR - ah - coolheaded or CARE - ah - cull and key for a city in older Bokhara whose name means “ smutty lake ” ) for their woollen and their mild - flavour meat . Internationally , the breed is considered a fur sheep still raised for the pelts of newborn Karakul Lamb .
Pelts of new-sprung Karakul dear are known in the fur swop as Iranian lamb or astrakhan . Neonatal Karakul lambs are coal Negroid with soft , blind drunk curls ; they are slaughtered for their fur prior to 3 days of age , lest their lovely coats lead off to mislay texture . foetal lambs from ewes mow down to glean their Lamb ’ pelts are called broadtail or karakulcha ; these high - price , glossy black moiré - model pelts resemble irrigate silk . The Karakul fur trade is alive and flourishing in Central Asia , Africa and part of South America , but not in North America . Still , this diligence is what gives the Karakul its story and should be recognise .
Karakuls in AmericaIn the late 19th century , when breeders first import Karakul sheep , the name of the game was Persian lamb ; fur was on breeder ’ minds . According to “ The Karakul , ” an article in the 25th Annual Report of the New York State Department of Agriculture in 1918 , America ’s first Karakuls — five rams and 10 Ewe — were imported from Russia in 1908 by Dr. C.C. Young of Belen , Texas , for $ 25,000 . He imported a second group in 1913 and a third in 1914 for a total of 31 ram and 22 ewes . Importations by other breeder in the U.S. and in Canada continued through 1929 , but the routine of sheep imported was relatively few .
To expand the sheep breed and produce lamb pelt for the trade , import Karakuls were cut across with sheep of other breeds . Crosses to “ compressed wool ” breeds such asShropshiresandRambouilletsproduced lambs with average pelts , but hybridisation of Karakul with loose - locked “ long wool ” like Lincolns , Leicester Longwools andCotswoldstruly shone . C.C. Young himself save in the July - September 1912 proceeds of American Breeders Magazine , “ Quarter - blood Karakul - Lincoln skin have been produced in Texas equal in lustre and tight curl development to the best of the so - visit Persian lamb skins , and as for the half - lineage Karakul - Lincoln pelt , there is nothing Asia can produce that can compare with them . ” skin from the best Karakul - Lincoln Lamb land $ 10 each at the furriers ’ market , the same as imported Persian lamb . At the same meter , Young report , regarding lambs upraise for the sum market , that “ Karakul - Shropshires with the Karakul strain predominating , show a wonderful addition in weight and lamb at 4 and 5 months honest-to-god have been found to weigh from 80 to 100 pounds . The Armour Packing Company of Fort Worth , Texas , vouched for these fact and also state that the Karakul straining seems to have the faculty of hit the disagreeable woolly and musk - like flavor peculiar to our tight - woollen . ”
By 1920 , when Professor Charles S. Plumb updated his classic textbook , Types and Breeds of Farm Animals , batch were well - established in Canada ( Prince Edward Island , Nova Scotia , New Brunswick and Alberta for a total of about 600 top dog ) as well as Texas , New Mexico , Kansas , Colorado , Maryland and New York .
While the American Persian lamb industry did not withstand the trial run of time , during its heyday , the American Karakul evolved . Because so many breeds were used in its development , the breed was never uniform — a trait today ’s Karakul enthusiast apprise . Horns or no horns ? Long , floppy ears or no external capitulum at all ? twofold or single coating ? Solid dark-brown or greyish or fleece of colorful hues ? There are Karakuls to suit every mouthful .
Today , there are few than 2,000 American Karakul sheep in the globe . The breed is listed as “ threatened ” on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy ’s conservation priority leaning , feature fewer than 1,000 one-year registrations and an estimated global universe less than 5,000 . It might , however , be the perfect breed for your minuscule farm .
Conformation and ColorKarakuls are average - sized sheep , making them easier to handle than today ’s typically larger strain . Ram tip the scale of measurement at 175 to 225 pounds ; ewes chain of mountains from 100 to 150 pounds . They are elegant sheep , merry and active but favorable and biddable with handlers they jazz .
Karakuls are marvellous , with farseeing , narrow-minded bodies adjust atop long , light - grind away leg with small , strong foot . Unlike most other strain , Karakuls support improbable at the loin and have sloped rumps and noticeable dips in front and behind the withers . They have long , narrow-minded , often papist - nosed head with big os frontale and a slight indenture between their wide - set optic . Ears are generally thin and pliable , long , and point downward and slimly forward , though some have small , thicker - textured ears ; a few sport tiny ear reminiscent ofLaMancha goats . Rams may be naturally poll or horn , and their horns may be forgetful or curl into large , curved spirals ; ewes are ordinarily polled , but some have saddle horn .
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