The Karayaka is a breed of domestic sheep

Domestic sheep

Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...

 from Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. It is a dual purpose breed producing meat and milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

. The wool

Wool

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

is used in carpets. The Karayaka is classified as a long thin-tailed breed.

Characteristics

Usually, the Karayaka is white with black eyes, head and legs. Infrequently, brown or black animals are seen. Most of the time, rams are horned and ewes are polled (hornless).

On average, ewes are 61.1 cm (24.1 in) at the withers and 67.4 cm (26.5 in) long. Also, ewes weigh 35 to 40 kg (77.2 to 88.2 lb) and produce 40 to 45 kg (88.2 to 99.2 lb) of milk in a 130 to 140 day lactation period. In a study, it was found that ewes produce about 1.8 to 2.4 kg (4 to 5.3 lb) of fleece with a 21 to 28 cm (8.3 to 11 in) staple length and 39 to 43 micron diameter.