East Friesian (sheep)
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The East Friesian is a breed of dairy sheep from Germany. They have pink noses and head and legs are clear of wool. Their heads should be polled meaning they have no horns on their heads and no signs of any horns growing. They generally have pale or white hooves. The most distinctive feature of an East Friesian is its tail being described as a "rat-tail" because it is thin and free of wool. They have a high fertility and are lean on the outside of their carcass. They have white wool which is approximately 35-37 micrometres (microns). They have a staple length of 120-160 mm and their fleece ranges from 4-5 kilograms. Their wool is used for carpet as it is ideal carpet wool.
Besides the Isreali bred Awassi sheep, the East Friesian is the most milk productive sheep in the world, producing in average 300-600 litres per 200 to 300 day lactation, although there are reports of milk yields reaching more than 900 litres. Milk yield is highly dependent on genotypes and feeding intensity and general statements can mislead easily.
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[edit] Origin
The East Friesian originated in the Friesland/East Friesland area in north Holland and Germany.
[edit] Uses
The East Friesian has been used as either a pure milking breed or as a crossing breed for other milking sheep, or to improve fecundity (reproduction) and milk production in the meat and milk sheep breeds. They are a high fertility breed used to increase flock fertility. Also used for breeding milking ewes.
[edit] Other information
The family of Friesian sheep is a marsh type sheep. This family includes
- The East Friesian milk sheep from East Friesland, Germany and the Netherlands
- The Dutch Friesian Milk Sheep from West Friesland
- The Zeeland Milk Sheep from the Zeeland Island
These breeds are all similar in appearance.
- The East Friesian is found in small numbers in many parts of the country as a household milk producer, and is the highest producing dairy sheep.
- These sheep are highly specialized animals and do poorly when in large flocks.
- The region of Friesland is also the origin of Friesian cattle which has the highest milk yield of any breed of live stock.
However, the Friesian cattle and sheep are similar in other important regards. Neither fare well in harsh hot environments, however, both have produced excellent crossbreeds with adapted local breeds.
