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Churra

Ewes and lambs in Segovia
Conservation status	DAD-IS (2023): not at risk
Other names	Churra Lebrijana Churra Tensina Oveja Churra
Country of origin	Portugal Spain
Traits
Weight	Male: 75 kg Female: 65 kg
Height	Male: 80 cm Female: 70 cm
Wool colour	white
Face colour	black-and-white
Sheep Ovis aries

The Churra is an Iberian type, breed or group of breeds of sheep. The word churra simply means 'coarse-woolled'. The Churra originates in the Duero Valley in the autonomous community of Castile and León in north-western Spain. In the province of Zamora the milk is used to make Zamorano cheese.

Churra breeds and types

There are numerous regional variants of the Churra in Spain. Two of these are recognised as separate breeds: the Churra Lebrijana of Andalusia, also known as the Atlantica or Marismeña, named for Lebrija on the Guadalquivir and found in the coastal provinces of Cadiz and Huelva in south-western Spain; and the Churra Tensina, named for the Valle de Tena in the province of Huesca in the central Pyrenees. Others include the small Sayaguesa, associated with the comarca of Sayago in the south of the province of Zamora and reared mostly for meat; the Churra del Bierzo or Blanca del Bierzo, an endangered polled type from the comarca of El Bierzo in the province of León; and the Churra Castellana or Churra Campera of Castile.

Use

The Churra is a traditional triple-purpose breed, reared for milk, for meat and for its wool, which is of coarse quality suitable for carpet-making. Sheep of this type were taken by the conquistadores to the New World, where they gave rise to American breeds such as the Chiapas and the Navajo-Churro. Cross-breeding with the Merino has given rise to the Spanish: entrefino or medium-fine group of breeds in Spain, and to the Churra Algarvia breed in Portugal. Other Portuguese Churra breeds include the Churra Badana, the Churra Galega Bragançana Branca, the Churra Galega Bragançana Preta, the Churra Galega Mirandesa, the Churra Mondegueira, the Churra da Terra Quente, the Churra do Campo and the Churra do Minho.

References

1. ^ Breed data sheet: Churra / Spain (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed March 2023.
2. ^ Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
3. ^ Miguel Fernández Rodríguez, Mariano Gómez Fernández, Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo, Silvia Adán Belmonte, Miguel Jiménez Cabras (editors) (2009). Guía de campo de las razas autóctonas españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. ISBN 9788449109461.
4. Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
5. Janet Mendel (2002). My Kitchen in Spain: 225 Authentic Regional Recipes. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc. ISBN 0060195266
6. Breed data sheet: Churra Lebrijana / Spain (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed March 2023.
7. Breed data sheet: Churra Tensina / Spain (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed March 2023.
8. Breed data sheet: Portugal, Sheep. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed March 2023.

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