History
The breed was formed on the island of Chios from crosses of autochthonous sheep possibly with fat-tailed sheep of the Karaman or Daglic breeds. The breed was already well known in the 1940s due to its high milk productivity and large litters. In 1950 the Ministry of Agriculture initiated a milk productivity monitoring programme run by the ‘Chios Agricultural Service’ and a pure Chios herd was established at the Agricultural University of Athens. In the middle of the 1960s, 2,800 ewes were monitored in Chios where presently fewer than 300 animals remain. Until the 1980s 1,500-3,000 lambs were exported annually to many Mainland areas and Cyprus for breeding purposes.
Nowadays, a great number of pure or crossed Chios sheep are bred mostly in Macedonia, Thessaly, Central Greece, Thrace and Peloponnese. Instrumental to the breed’s expansion was the 1955 importation of pure animals from Chios to Chalkidiki by the ‘Agios Mamas Institute for Agricultural Research’; in the 1977-1981 period this led to the formation of a pure 500 strong herd. Pure herds were also established in 1966 at the ‘Livestock Institute at Paralimni-Giannitsa’. Another herd was formed in 1975 at the ‘Thessaloniki Veterinary Research Institute’. The latter tow herds are still maintained. In 1996 the agricultural co-operative of ‘Chios Sheep Breeders-Macedonia’ was formed with breeders in the Chalkidiki, Thessaloniki, Pella and Imathia prefectures focusing on the breed’s genetic improvement. The breed evolved in domestic conditions in south Chios and was kept in small numbers of 2-4 animals by each family to supply dairy products and meat. The breed is susceptible to mastitis, sensitive to high humidity and vulnerable to poor hygiene conditions. It is not easily kept in large herds and is not suited to systems of extensive management.
Morphological Traits
Chios is large sized, even woolled, semi-fat tailed sheep. Average weight for rams is 85kg and ewes 50-65kg with average height at withers 74-87cm and 65-76cm, respectively.
Rams posses large spiral horns ans ewes rudimentary pseudo-horns. The head is relatively long with large, horizontal, semi-pendulous ears. The chest is narrow and quite deep, while the back is level, and the limbs are long and thin. The udder is well developed but poorly attached. The tail is conical with a relatively wide base (9-19cm) and of medium length (25-34cm).
The head, neck underside, abdomen and limbs are free of wool. Awn-like hair is intermixed with the wool coat in variable percentage. The resulting wool is of moderate quality and average quantity. The breed displays great colour uniformity. All animals have white bodies with specific black areas around the eyes, cheeks, mouth, nose, ear tips, knees, lower legs, belly, udder and tail base.
Population
According to 2019 data from the ‘Chios Sheep Breeders-Macedonia’ cooperation, the purebred population amounts to 128,500 animals. The status of the breed is considered ‘Not at Risk’.