Charmoise

The Charmoise is a French breed of domestic sheep. It was created in the early nineteenth century by Édouard Malingié [fr], by cross-breeding of Romney stock imported from the United Kingdom with local breeds including the Berrichon du Cher, Merino, Solognote [fr] and Tourangelle.^[4]: 781 It is reared for both meat and wool.^[5] Breed numbers fell from a peak of approximately 650000 in the 1960s to about 122000 in 1983, to approximately 21000 in 2001, and further to 8100 in 2014.^{[4]: 781 [2][5]}

Charmoise

At the Salon international de l'agriculture in Paris in 2011
Conservation status	FAO (2007): not at risk[1]: 146  DAD-IS (2022): not at risk[2]
Country of origin	France
Distribution	central western France south-western France[3]
Traits
Weight	Male: 80–95 kg[4]: 781  Female: 55–65 kg[4]: 781
Sheep Ovis aries

History

The Charmoise was created in the early nineteenth century by Édouard Malingié [fr] at his estate La Charmoise, in the département of Loir-et-Cher between Blois and Tours in central France.^{[4]: 781 [6]: 249} Romney rams imported from Kent in the United Kingdom were cross-bred with ewes of local breeds including the Berrichon du Cher, Merino, Solognote [fr] and Tourangelle, in the hope of combining the meat qualities of the former with the rusticity of the latter.^{[4]: 781 [6]: 249}

The breed was rapidly established, by 1820 at the latest. Its first appearance at an agricultural show was in 1852. In 1896 a breed society was established; in 1926 this was re-formed, and in 1927 the first volume of the flock-book was published.^{[4]: 781 [2][5]} There were by this time some 200000 head. Numbers increased further in the twentieth century, reaching a peak of approximately 650000 head in the 1960s.^[4]: 781 These were widely distributed in south-west central France, in an area bounded roughly by the rivers Garonne to the south-west and Loire to the north and east, and concentrated particularly in the départements of Haute-Vienne and Vienne in the centre of that area.^[4]: 781 From the 1960s numbers began to fall – to about 122000 in 1983, to approximately 21000 in 2001, and further to 8100 in 2014.^{[4]: 781 [2][5]}

In 2022 the conservation status of the Charmoise was listed by DAD-IS as 'not at risk'.^[2]

Characteristics

The Charmoise is white-faced and white-woolled; it is polled in both sexes. Rams stand some 65 cm (26 in) at the withers, and ewes about 5 cm less.^[2][5] Average body weights have increased by some 10–15 kg since the mid-twentieth century; in 2016 the weight ranges were given as 80–95 kg (175–210 lb) for rams and 55–65 kg (120–145 lb) for ewes.^[4]: 781

See also

• Rava sheep