East Friesian Milk sheep

Two ewes of the East Friesian Milk sheep breed, at pasture (Urs Mischler / Schweizerische Milchschafzucht Genossenschaft)

Origin and development

This breed originated in East Friesland, where around 1850 the two indigenous types of marsh sheep (Groninger and Friesian) were cross-bred to produce a single type. Since 1943, a herdbook has been maintained for this breed in Switzerland. Up until the 1990s, this was Switzerland’s only purely dairy breed. Since 2016, breeding values have been estimated annually for milk performance traits.

Description

The East Friesian Milk sheep is known for three traits in particular – rapid growth, precocity and fertility. It is, however, a strongly seasonal breed. It has an elongated, wool-free face, with a noble expression, and is hornless, with a slightly convex nose. The large-framed sheep has strong, slender legs. It has a uniform covering of medium-fine wool. The wool-free udder is firmly attached, with a broad central band terminating on the belly. As this breed should be suitable not only for suckling of lambs but also for manual and mechanical milking, the teats should be strong and protrude downwards on each side. East Friesian Milk sheep are most commonly white, but they may also occasionally be black or spotted.

Ostfriesische Milchschafe beim täglichen Weidegang im Juni. Milchschafbetrieb: Haefele, Gossau SG (Margrit Gähler)

Breeding objectives

h High fertility, twin lambing annually h Milk yield 450–600 kg per year h Good wool performance h Good carcass quality even with higher final carcass weight