Mecheri

The Mecheri sheep breed, also known as Maiylambadi and Thuvaramchambali in Coimbatore district, are distributed across the Salem and Coimbatore districts of Tamil Nadu.

They are medium-sized animals, light brown in colour. The ears are medium-sized, both sexes are polled and the tail is short and thin. The body is covered with very short hair which is not shorn. The age at first breeding is 15 months. The lambing percentage is between 80 to 85% and the litter size is single. The Mecheri is primarily a meat breed. Dressing percentage on the basis of pre-slaughter live-weight is about 55 %. The skin is considered to be of the best quality among the sheep breeds of India, and is highly prized for export quality leather.  

According to the 18th Livestock Census of 2007, there are 1,771,413 Mecheri sheep in the country. (Refer to maps below)

Text Source: http://www.indianfarmowners.com/m/articles/view/Sheep-breeds-in-India-MECHERI-also-known-as-Maiylambadi-and-Thuvaramchambali and 

http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/x6532e/X6532E04.htm#ch3.2.6

Photo Source: CSWRI, Avikanagar