The Bovec sheep is a breed

Breed

A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...

 of domesticated sheep found in Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

. This breed is raised primarily for 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...

. It is estimated that only 800 individuals of this breed still exist.

Characteristics

The Bovec sheep can display all white (unicolored) or black and white (multicolored). They have small ears, short, thin legs, and their belly is bare. The back legs are inclined forward so that they can walk on steep meadows easily.

At maturity, rams weigh 58 kg (127.9 lb) and ewes 45 kg (99.2 lb) on average. When rams stop growing, they reach 60 cm (23.6 in) and ewes 55 cm (21.7 in) at the withers. A breeding ewe provides approximately 1.23 lambs per litter, lactates for 210 days, provides 221 kg (487.2 lb) of milk during that period containing 6.3% fat.