Ojalada

Ojalada

The Ojalada is a native Spanish sheep (Ovis aries Linnaeus, 1758) with a main aptitude for meat production.

Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Animalia,
Phylum Chordata,
Mammalia class,
Order Artiodactyla,
Suborder Ruminantia,
Bovidae family,
Subfamily Caprinae,
Genus Ovis,
O. aries species,
Ojalada race.

Geographic and Area Distribution –
The Ojalada is a native Spanish sheep breed originating in the area of Castilla and León, and is distributed in the provinces of Soria, Segovia and Salamanca.
In the province of Soria it is the most present breed, although it has greater influence in the south, in the Pinares region, in the Tierras del Burgo, in the Frentes region and in the Almazán region.
The limits of its distribution area are to the north in the Picos de Urbión and in the Sierra de Cebollera; to the east with the Sierra del Almuerzo, the Campo de Gómara and the Land of Medinaceli; to the south with the province of Guadalajara and to the west with the provinces of Burgos and Segovia.
Until the 1980s there was also a prominent nucleus in the Serranía de Guadalajara, in the judicial area of Atienza, but since then the population has been intensely eroded due to interbreeding, especially with specimens of white Alcarreña and Manchega white.
However, the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha and the Municipality of Guadalajara have started a recovery program for some species in the Guadalajara Zoo, including the ojalada breed.
The census data collected on the breed begins in the mid-twentieth century, when it was estimated at 600,000 heads, even if the first official data correspond to 1970, and assign a total of 308,065 heads to the breed, of which 202,006 were breeders for more than one year . In 1982 there were 316,617, in 1986 there were 470,784 and in 1990 there were 137,776, including both thoroughbreds and mestizos in all data. In 2017, an estimated 7,500 heads were in the herd book. The catalog puts the current heads at 11,578, of which 11,340 are females and 238 are males. The specimens are distributed in a total of 15 farms in the provinces of Soria, Segovia and Salamanca, and an evolutionary trend of the population occurs.
Today the Ojalada is included in the Official Catalog of Livestock Breeds of Spain of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with the cataloging of a breed in danger of extinction, like most of Spain’s native sheep breeds.

Origins and History –
The Ojalada breed owes its name to the black pigmentation around the eyes and belongs to the Iberian trunk of the Spanish sheep, whose ancestral representative is the ovis aries ibericus. To improve the breed, in 1928 the recently established Campos Agropecuarios Comarcales acquired selected animals for the creation of a flock of 200 sheep in San Esteban de Gormaz, work resumed in 1978 by the Provincial Council of Soria.
However, despite its age, it was not officially recognized as a breed until 1979, but cataloged as a development breed in the Official Catalog of Breeding Breeds. In the same year, the breed was linked to the Iberian trunk, as a descendant of the European wild mouflon sheep through the ovis aries studeri, whose females lack horns.
In 19806, the Asociación de Criadores de Ganado Ovino Selecto de Raza Ojalada (ANCRO) was established, which in the update of the official catalog of native breeds in 1997 abandoned its status of adopted breed and passed to the group of special protection breeds. Since the census of purebred animals of the breed was in decline, and with it the genetic heritage was in danger, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of the Junta de Castilla y León created the herd book of the breed in 1999, initially managed by the department itself. With the new regulation of the classification of the breeds of the update of the Official Catalog in 2008, the category of breeds with special protection has disappeared and the Ojalada has become part of the renowned group of breeds in danger of extinction.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Agriculture handed over the management of the herd book to ANCRO.
In 2012, the Junta de Castilla y León approved the dissemination program for the improvement of the breed and a year later it updated the regulation of the herd book. In 2014, the Provincial Council of Soria signed a collaboration agreement with ANCRO for the improvement and promotion of the breed, and for the creation of an elite herd, located in an agricultural field in San Esteban de Gormaz, made up of more than 350 breeders and owned by the municipality. Finally, in 2020 he approved the breeding program.
The Junta de Castilla y León maintains a line of grants for the promotion of native breeds in the community, which includes the ojalada.
Its meat is included in the PGI Lechazo de Castilla y León.
This breed shares ancestors with the ojinegra breeds of Teruel, xisqueta and montesina, with which it is often confused, but they constitute different breeds. It is also known by the names of churra soriana, cuca, ojaleada, serrana and ojinegra, although the Official Catalog of Breeds does not recognize any of these other denominations.

Morphology –
The Ojalada breed is a sheep with some morphological variations, especially in terms of weight and size. This circumstance is due to the influence of the environment and the topography of the land, with weights of 35 kg in adult females, but which can reach 40 and 50 kg. For this reason the standard weight of the breed is marked at 80 kg for males and 50 kg for females.
They are sheep with a white coat, with irregular black coloring around the eyes, muzzle, ears and hooves, which also reach the vulva, perineum and breasts, sparing no particular pattern.
The wool is white, and the fleece extends over the trunk and neck, and reaches to the knees and hocks; the head is provided with fine hair.

Productive attitude –
The Ojalada breed is characterized by highly rustic and sober animals, adapted to their environmental conditions and poorly selected. They are highly mobile and highly adapted to harsh environments and resistant to food shortages, with a good response when conditions become favourable.
It is normally raised on pasture but in critical times it is fed in a manger with forage or concentrate.
The production is mainly intended for the marketing of meat, under the Ojalada Soriana brand.
Their meat has been included since 1997 in the Lechazo de Castilla y León PGI, together with lambs (in Castilla and León called lechazos) of the churra and castellana breeds. The flesh is pink-whitish in colour, with a faint odor and a sweet and pleasant taste, due to the fact that it is fed exclusively with mother’s milk.
It is also marketed in its heavier lamb variety and whose diet has been supplemented until it reaches an average of 22-24 kg live, compared to the 10-11 kg live that characterize lamb.
As far as milk is concerned, this breed has a good dairy aptitude, and at the time of weaning it achieves relatively high productions, since an average of 79 liters is estimated between birth and weaning. Milk is slightly fat, with a content of 6.8%, 4.38% protein, 5.11% lactose and 17.79% dry matter.

Guido Bissanti

Sources-
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– Balasini Dialma, 2001. Applied zootechnics. Sheep and goats. Sheep and goats. For technical and professional institutes, Caledrini Edagricole, Bologna.
– Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon, 2010. Atlas of native breeds. Cattle, horses, sheep and goats, pigs reared in Italy, Edagricole-New Business Media, Bologna.

Photo source:
– https://autoccyl.es/ovejaojalada.php