What is the history of Manchega Sheep?

Manchega is a breed of sheep native to Spain's La Mancha region. Manchega is famous for producing the milk used to produce Manchego cheese, a very popular Spanish sheep's milk cheese.

Manchega sheep are native to the La Mancha plateau in New Castile. The ancestors of the Manchega sheep were known as Ovis ligeries and migrated throughout the Pyrenees and most of northern Spain before finally settling in La Mancha. The breed was domesticated and brought to its current state by the first inhabitants of La Mancha.

Manchega were typically only bred amongst themselves and rarely crossbred, resulting in a remarkably pure lineage amongst today's animals. As a result, Manchega's features have remained relatively unchanged over the past few centuries.

What are the characteristics of Manchega Sheep?

• Manchega is a medium sized bay.
• Manchega comes in two colors, white and black, but white Manchega makes up the vast majority of animals and roughly 90% of Manchega have this color.
• Both genders of Manchega have been probed.
• Manchega's wool has a fiber length of about 14-16 centimeters and a fiber diameter of 26-8 microns.
• It is a medium wool type.
• Manchega also has three different subspecies: alcarreña (also known as manchega pequeña), montesina, and black manchega.
• The most famous product of Manchega sheep is Manchego cheese made from milk.
• Real Manchego cheese should be made from the milk of all Manchega sheep raised in La Mancha.
• In La Mancha, Manchego is primarily grown for dairy production, but elsewhere their uses are more varied and they can also be grown for meat.
• Manchega's annual milk production is approximately 100 liters.
• Typically, they can graze year-round in the grassy plains of La Mancha, but can be fed supplemental feed, especially during breastfeeding or pregnancy.

What is the weight of a mature Manchega Sheep?

Manchega ram is in the range of 85-90 kg and a mature sheep is 55-60 kg.