Romanov Sheep

Romanov Sheep is a sheep breed originating in the Volga River region of Russia, renowned for both exceptionally high prolificacy and the ability to breed out of the normal autumn breeding season, allowing more frequent lambing than most sheep breeds achieve. Ewes commonly produce litters of three to five lambs, and the breed's combination of prolificacy and extended breeding season has made it a widely used crossbreeding source for raising lambing rates and lambing frequency in commercial sheep flocks internationally. Romanov sheep also carry a distinctive dual-coated fleece, born black and lightening to grey as the animal matures, traditionally used to make the warm, distinctively patterned Romanov sheepskin coats associated with the breed's home region. The breed was exported from Russia to Western Europe, North America and elsewhere in the twentieth century specifically for its prolificacy traits, and is now used mainly in crossbreeding rather than as a primary wool or meat breed in most of its adopted range.