The xalda is considered an endangered species and is prized for its lean meat. Plural form in Central and East Asturian: les oveyes. Plural in West Asturian and Galician: uveas, uviel.las, ouveil.las, ouveas, oveas.
Xaldas do not have wool in their face or below the knee. The rams are horned (a compressed spiral with ridges) and females are polled (hornless). Genetically, it is related to other Celtic breeds in the Iberian Peninsula that are now extinct (Churra berciana) or near extinction (Bordaleira, northern Portugal).
Xalda sheep are typically small and have either a white, black or dark gray coat. The black and gray specimens often have spots on their foreheads. Words in Asturian to describe their coloring include: cardín / cardino / cardina (salt & pepper), pezu / peza / pezo (spotted), coronista (white spot on forehead), gueifa (white spot on snout), coreyalba (white spot along the neck).
Since the 1990s, breeders of xalda sheep are grouped in an organization called the Asociacion de Criadores d’Oveya Xalda (ACOXA, http://www.xalda.com/asociacion_in.htm). Meat from this rugged species is described by ACOXA as reminiscent of young goat: highly fibrous, tender, with bright strands and a soft feel. Other identifiers include a small head, big eyes, prominent eye sockets and hair all along the firm neck that gives them a mouflon-like appearance. In fact, the mouflon (Ovies aries orientalis) is thought to be the ancestor of domestic sheep.
Usage examples:
La xalda tien concos salientes, güeyos grandes ya sabichegos. [The xalda breed has prominent eye sockets and big, curious eyes.]
Esa oveya xalda tien oreyes pequenes ya empobinaes p' alantre. [That xalda sheep has small, forward-pointing ears.]
D’esa uvea xalda blanca saliu un cordeiru roxu. [That white xalda sheep had a reddish-brown lamb.]
Vou mercar uvea xalda en Tremau pal casoriu miou harmanu. [I’m going up to Tremau to buy a xalda sheep for my brother’s wedding.]
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