Karakul (American)

Karakuls came to North America between 1909 and 1929, brought in to found a Persian lamb pelt industry. The industry never took, but the sheep stayed.

A century of separation has made the American population genetically distinct from the Central Asian stocks, which is why The Livestock Conservancy treats the American Karakul as a breed in its own right.

They are distinctive to look at: a long narrow head, often Roman-nosed, with a slight dip between the eyes, and a long neck carried semi-erect on a long narrow body. The ears vary a great deal, from a long U shape to a small V, and some animals have none at all.

It is a broad-tailed sheep. Fat is deposited at the base of the tail and along the first three to five vertebrae, and that fat differs in texture and flavor from the rest of the animal and is prized in Central Asian cooking. The carcass itself is very lean.

Most carry a dominant black gene: lambs are born black and fade to gray with age, and brown, red, gold, roan, spotted and white all occur. Fleeces run five to ten pounds with a staple of six to twelve inches and little grease. The Conservancy puts rams at 175 to 225 pounds and ewes at 100 to 150.

The teeth are strong and long-lasting, which counts for something in a breed expected to graze hard country into old age.

Docile and alert, by the Conservancy's description, and rated for novice to intermediate keepers.

They are horned, so gates, feeders and handling gear need to allow for it.

Historically the breed supplied meat, fat, wool, milk and pelts. Milk mattered most in the desert, where protein was hard to come by. The lamb pelts, sold as Persian lamb or astrakhan, were a major source of income.

The modern American flock earns its keep differently: lean meat, milk for cheese and yogurt, and a coarse, low-grease wool that handspinners and felters want.

Hard country is what they were made for. The fat stored at the tail is a reserve against scarce seasons, and the breed holds condition on range that would starve a lowland sheep.

Expect to shear annually all the same; unlike the hair breeds in this catalog, a Karakul carries a real fleece.

The Livestock Conservancy lists the American Karakul as Threatened. The population here has been small since the pelt venture failed, and it is the American bloodlines, now distinct from anything in Central Asia, that the listing protects.

Registration is what keeps that line a breed rather than a remnant.

The American Karakul Sheep Registry keeps the US book. Registered numbers are small, so expect to travel for stock, and ask early how animals are related; in a population this size, inbreeding is the practical risk.

Be clear what you are buying for. The pelt trade that brought the breed here is gone. The working returns today are wool, milk and lean meat, and the fat tail changes the carcass, so talk to your processor before the first lamb goes in.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.