Sarda

Sarda is the principal dairy sheep of Sardinia and one of Italy's most important sheep breeds. Also called Sardinian in English, it is a white, generally hornless or nearly hornless sheep selected above all for milk. Sarda milk is central to Sardinian cheese traditions, including Pecorino Sardo, while the breed's long, coarse wool is a secondary product with modest value.

The breed is adaptable across Sardinian lowland, hill, and mountain systems and has also been kept in mainland Italian regions and other Mediterranean countries. Practical management focuses on udder shape, milk yield, milk solids, grazing, lamb production, and the timing of breeding and milking. Sarda sheep can work in extensive, transhumant, or more organized dairy systems, but they should not be judged like a meat terminal sire or a fine-wool breed. Good records are especially useful where mechanized milking, cheese contracts, and flock replacement decisions shape farm income.

Colors: Badgerface, Black, Blackbelly, Brown, Gray, Gulmoget, Katmoget, Moorit, Piebald, Red, Silver, Spotted, Tan, White, White with Black Points, White with Brown Points