Segureña

Segureña

The Segureña breed is a sheep (Ovis aries Linnaeus, 1758) of Spanish origin with a main aptitude for meat production.

Systematic –
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,
Species O. aries,
Segureña breed.

Geographical and Areal Distribution –
The Segureña breed is a Spanish sheep that has long adapted to the areas of the Sierras de Segura and La Sagra and in the high areas of the banks of the Segura river, from which it takes its name.
The provinces of Granada, Murcia, Albacete, Jaén and Almería share the distribution areas of this breed in the Iberian Peninsula.
Most of Segureña’s livestock is concentrated in the area closest to the Huéscar region. In the Huesca region alone, 600 families live directly from Segureño lamb farming. The annual production of lambs in Huéscar amounts to 200,000, which corresponds to annual transactions of more than 19 million euros.
The Segureña breed has significantly increased its number in recent decades until it currently numbers almost one and a half million animals, of which approximately 35% are found in the Region of Murcia.
Among these data, the Northwest region stands out, where most of the production and marketing of Segureño lamb in the region is concentrated. It is between the peaks of Moratalla, Caravaca de la Cruz, Bullas, Cehegín or Calasparra where these sheep are raised and reproduced and ancestral recipes are prepared such as roast lamb, lamb stew or caravaqueña tartera, typical dishes of the cuisine murciana.

Origins and History –
The Segureña sheep breed is a sheep that owes its name to its region of origin, the mountainous area of Segura. The origin of the Segureña breed must be found in the same trunk as La Mancha, with which it has great affinities and from which it differs above all in its breeding method and ability to adapt to very difficult areas.
This breed was officially separated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1978, taking the name “segureña”, protecting the white, rubisca and blackberry varieties.
The harsh conditions they endure, along with the prolificacy of the species and the quality of its meat, contributed to the Spanish government granting it the origin and quality distinction on 23 April 2008. The Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) of the Segureño lamb changed its name to “Cordero de las Sierras de Segura y la Sagra”. With the publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE), the Government gave the possibility for this PGI to come into operation, even if temporarily, while the European Union finished giving definitive approval. The PGI ‘Lamb from the Sierras de Segura y la Sagra’ concerns exclusively lambs of the Segureña breed produced in 144 municipalities in the provinces of Granada, Murcia, Albacete, Jaén and Almería.
The annual production is approximately 450,000 lambs per year, which generates wealth of over 60 million euros in these five provinces. This section includes fresh meat sold in carcass, half carcass or in cut pieces with or without bones or in units intended for sale to the consumer, obtained from lambs (male or female) of the ‘Segureña’ sheep breed.

Morphology –
The Segureña sheep is a breed with a sub-convex profile in females that becomes convex in males and with a marked sexual dimorphism.
These are animals with an average height of 75 cm in the male and 68 cm in the female.
The weight fluctuates around 75 kg for the male and 50 kg for the female.
The skin is fine without folds, with the wool-free areas covered with hair.
The wool is uniformly white.
In the white variety, small black or blonde pigmentations are allowed, as long as they do not form spots and their number is discreet. There may be small blond pigmentations on the head and extremities, which can also reach the fleece.

Productive attitude –
The Segureña is a sheep bred for the production of meat from which meat protected by the EU denomination “Cordero Segureño IGP” is obtained.
Mothers have a strong maternal instinct.
The breed has good sexual precocity and good out-of-season fertility.
Adult animals are exploited in an extensive or semi-extensive regime, with grazing all year round. The normal practice involves dividing the herd into batches, integrating the food ration of males before mating and females in a state of lactation and, up to a certain point, the food ration. Once they are weaned, they are fed with concentrated feed until the age of slaughter. The transhumance of the herds is carried out in some specific areas.
The lambs’ diet is exclusively dairy in the first three weeks of life. From this moment on their diet becomes mixed (milk and starter feed) until weaning (from 40 to 50 days of age).

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 raised in Italy, Edagricole-New Business Media, Bologna.