The Latxa is a breed of domestic sheep

Domestic sheep

Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...

 native to the Basque Country of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. Mostly contained within the provinces of Biscay

Biscay

Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...

, Gipuzkoa and Navarre

Navarre

Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

, Latxa are dairy sheep

Sheep milk

Sheep's milk is the milk of domestic sheep. Though not widely drunk in any modern culture, sheep's milk is commonly used to make cultured dairy products. Well-known cheeses made from sheep milk include the Feta of Greece, Roquefort of France, Manchego from Spain, the Pecorino Romano , the Pecorino...

 whose unpasteurized milk is used to produce Idiazábal and Roncal

Roncal cheese

Roncal is a hard, creamy sheep milk cheese. It is made in one of seven villages in the Valle de Roncal of Spain. Roncal enjoys PDO status.-External links:*...

 cheeses. There are two sub-types of the breed, a dark-faced and a blonde.

The breed is a medium or small-sized sheep with long, coarse wool. Ewes are polled or have short horns, while rams always possess long, spiral horns. The name latxa itself refers to the rough quality of the wool, which is largely an agricultural byproduct today.

Latxa have a seasonal lactation cycle which does not produce as great a volume of milk as other dairy breeds. Recently some Basque Country farmers have begun to use hybrid Assaf

Assaf (sheep)

Assaf is a breed of domesticated sheep from Israel. It is the result of crossbreeding the Awassi and East Friesian. They are dual purpose breed and raised for their milk and meat.-History:...

 sheep, which some maintain does not meet the Denomination of Origin for the cheese.