Tunis - America's Fat-tailed Sheep - Page: 2

Prolific.  Docile.  Distinctive.  The Tunis breed of sheep is all of these things and more. 

The Tunis is a small to medium-sized, naturally polled sheep.  Its creamy wool and copper-red colored faces and legs make the breed easy to recognize.  Other characteristics include pendulous ears and minor fat deposits over the dock area.  Rams may weigh 150 to 225 pounds and measure 28-30 inches at the withers.  Ewes are 25 to 50 pounds lighter and 2-4 inches shorter.  Lambs are 7-12 pounds at birth, and are red or tan in color.  They occasionally have a white spot on the forehead and on the tip of tail.  As they grow, their body wool gradually whitens. 

Tunis wool is lustrous and long-stapled, four to six inches.  A ewe fleece typically weighs 6-9 pounds, and a ram fleece may be up to 12 pounds.  Fiber diameter is 24 to 30 microns or 46 to 58 spinning count.

Ewes reportedly are excellent mothers and heavy milkers – heavy enough that some are used in sheep dairies.  Twins are more common than not, and Tunis are known to breed out of season, which makes them valuable for fall lamb production.  This trait has made valuable to those serving the hothouse/ethnic market on the East Coast.  Tunis also are known for disease resistance and the ability to tolerate both warm and cold climates. 

This old breed is descended from the fat-tailed sheep of Africa, and draws its name from the breed’s home territory,  the province of Tunis in northern Africa.  In that region of the world, the original fat-tailed type is still prevalent.  In America, the breed has changed somewhat due to the introduction of Leicester and Southdown blood.  The coarse wool became longer and softer. The fat tail has mostly disappeared, according to some sources, although others attest to the presence of the fat tail and associated problems with breeding if it’s left intact. 

Tunis were first imported to the United States in 1799, though only two of the original ten survived the voyage.  A gift to the United States. from the ruler of Tunisia, these first two were entrusted to Judge Richard Peters of Pennsylvania.  More were imported later, and the breeds’ popularity spread throughout the east coast.  Most of the Southern flocks were destroyed during the Civil War.  Descendants of a surviving South Carolina flock were taken to Indiana in 1894, where some Southdown blood was introduced.  

The American Livestock Breed Conservancy lists the Tunis as rare, a classification reserved for breeds with fewer than 1000 annual U.S. registrations and 5,000 total worldwide.  However, in recent years, the breed has gained in popularity.  Last year the National Tunis Sheep Registry reported the 1000-mark for lamb registrations had been topped, which may mean a change in status and certainly means the breed is headed toward recovery.