Sheep: East Friesian

Country of Origin 

East Frisa/Friesland Northern Germany

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Australian Status

 

 

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Uses

Dairy sheep - milk, cheese, yoghurt, and skin products. Wool. Crossing for better fertility and milk.

 

 

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Breed traits

The East Friesian comes from a coastal marshlands area. They are a specialty dairy animal catered for in cold winters with barns, and enjoying a little feed indoors at milking time. They don't handle very cold climates or very hot weather well, and don't thrive in large flocks. 

They are a handsome upstanding sheep famed as the world's best milking sheep. Also called the Friesland. White faced, polled, with tail, breech and legs free of wool. Good even fleece. Upright stance due to holding their head well up, their ears out horizontal. The East Friesian has a distinctive, clean, alert look. It gives an appearance of strength and stands over a lot of ground.

Very high fertility rate, usually 220% from mature ewes. Docile, tractable nature from centuries of close human interaction. Intelligent.

A ewe yields 500-700 litres of milk over 210 - 230 day lactation. The milk has double the protein, the vitamin count of cow and goat milk, and is rich and creamy, having 6-7% milk fat. It is well suited to cheese making.

Wool is 29 - 35 microns and white with a staple length of 120 - 160 mm (4 and half to just over 6 inches).

Dorset Horns are popularly used to put some bulk and hardiness into the flock.

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History

A very old breed, the East Friesian has been the progenitor of other milk breeds in nearby Belgium and the Netherlands, and in the development of the Texel breed on nearby islands.  A useful breed often used for crossing to increase fertility and milk yield in meat and wool flocks when needed. They have been used with huge success to develop milk breeds in several countries, by crossing with native sheep.

The breed was developed as small commercial dairy flocks, well looked after, and as the most popular household milkers spread throughout Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, pampered and cared for. Lambs, like dairy calves, are separated from the mothers and hand raised. This adds to the less hardy constitution with them spending a lot of time sheltered. In a mild climate without extremes, the breed thrives. In hot sun or wet conditions, their pink skin suffers. 

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Breed Association

https://www.assba.com.au/members/members_listing.asp?Breeds=EAST%20FRIESIAN

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Australian Population

2018 Ewes 249  Rams: 22 

2022 Ewes 111  Rams 20

 

 

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