Xisqueta Sheep

The Xisqueta sheep is a native of the Lleida area in the Pyrenees. It is small but robust, very hardy and accustomed to walking. Its head is small, normally without horns, its coat is white with a characteristic pigmentation; its eyes have small black spots called “ullerada” in Catalan. This sheep, tenacious and well adapted to pasture, has a small face that lets it reach the roots of the sparest pastures in order to find nutrition, even when the pasture is covered in snow.

It has a strong maternal instinct, a quality that makes breeding the “ternasco", a very high quality lamb possible.

The breed has been catalogued as in danger and close to extinction because the number of head has dropped dramatically since the ‘60s, so a few specialised shepherds have banded together to save the Xisqueta.
The traditional extensive breeding method is the most common.
The Xisqueta is mostly valued for its meat and wool