Sheep breed
Churra
Churra
Coarse wool, milk and meat: the Iberian sheep behind Zamorano cheese.
Description1
An Iberian type, breed or group of breeds; the name simply means 'coarse-woolled'. It originates in the Duero Valley of Castile and León in Spain; in the province of Zamora its milk makes Zamorano cheese.
There are many regional variants: the Churra Lebrijana (Andalusia) and Churra Tensina (Pyrenees) are separate breeds; other types include the small Sayaguesa, the endangered polled Churra del Bierzo and the Churra Castellana.
A traditional triple-purpose sheep kept for milk, meat and coarse carpet wool. It became ancestor to American breeds, and several Churra breeds exist in Portugal.
History1
16th century
Taken to the New World by the conquistadors, giving rise to breeds such as the Chiapas and Navajo-Churro.
Later
Crossed with the Merino it gives the Spanish entrefino group and the Portuguese Churra Algarvia.
Breed standard and breed society
The official breed description, breeding goal and herdbook rules are published by the breed's recognised breed society.
- English Wikipedia – Churrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churra
Photo gallery
All photos are freely licensed (Wikimedia Commons, Flickr); author, source and licence are shown under each image.
Sources
Accessed: 2026-10-18.