The Ladoum breed

General morphology

A Ladoum is unmistakable: tall, stretched silhouette, deep chest, convex profile, spiral horns in rams, short glossy coat. Good adult rams routinely exceed 100 cm at the withers; the elite of the breed reaches and exceeds 110 cm.

As early as 1912, zootechnician Jacques Meniaud described in "Haut-Sénégal-Niger" a sheep that was a "true giant of the species, reaching 1.05 m or more and sometimes exceeding 90 kilos". Modern selection has pushed those ceilings much higher.

Documented breed records

Records compiled by the OS Ladoum portal show the summit of the breed: 123 cm at the withers, 172 cm body length, 151 cm chest girth and over 180 kg. These remain exceptional: a very good adult typically stands around 100–115 cm for 120–180 kg.

Coat colours

All coats exist in the Ladoum: pure white, black and white, spotted, brown… The "thiouloul" coat (dark-dominant pied) is especially sought after. Colour is not a breed criterion: rock paintings in the Tassili already show short-haired sheep in varied coats thousands of years ago. Height, length and harmony are what make a Ladoum.

Official scoring systems (ADAM)

Since 2011, the ADAM association scores show animals on four measurements. Rams: height at withers 40%, body length (occiput → ischium) 35%, chest girth 15%, weight 10%. For ewes two options exist: withers 45% / length 40% / chest 15%, or withers 50% / length 40% / chest 10%.

Selection refined step by step: before 2009 only weight counted; the Kharbii TV show popularised measurements in 2009; ADAM introduced coefficients in 2011, a restraint device for standardised measuring in 2018, and chest girth for ewes in 2023.

Ladoum and Touabire: two origin narratives

The most common account presents the Ladoum as the product of recent selection in Senegal, from Moorish sheep brought back from Mauritania in the 1970s. The documentary work of OS Ladoum argues an older thesis: the Ladoum as a distinct breed kept for generations by the Ladem Berber tribe rather than an improved Touabire — in colonial times a Ladoum ram already sold for 70 francs, seven times the price of a Touabire.

What is undisputed: the name comes from the Ladem tribe, the modern cradle of the breed is Thiès, and it is the last fifty years of Senegalese selection that made the Ladoum the giant we know. Both readings are presented on our History page.

Explore the pedigree database