Rams weigh approximately 37 kg (82 lb), have a well-developed throat ruff and are usually horned.
The horns are wide at the base, curve backwards, outwards and then forwards again, with a maximum of one and a half coils.
Ewes weigh about 25 kg (55 lb) and are usually polled (hornless), but may have slender short horns.
The ears are short and pendulous, the neck is long and slender, the chest is deep, the legs are short, the back is long and dished, higher at the withers than at the tail-head, and the tail reaches the hocks.
The Kirdi or Poulfouli is a wholly black variant found in northern Cameroon and southwestern Chad.