Type the name of the breed you're looking for below

[wpdreams_ajaxsearchlite] Don't see the breed your're looking for? Click here and let us know!
German Whiteheaded mutton
[fbcomments]

German Whiteheaded mutton

Place of Origin Germany
Origin Also Known By: Weißköpfiges Fleischschaf, Oldenburg White Head, Whiteheaded German, Whiteheaded Marsh, Whiteheaded Oldenburg. This breed was developed along the North Sea coast in the middle of the last century. English Leicester, Cotswold, Hampshire and Oxfordshire were imported and cross- bred with the local Wilstermarschschaf, a northern German marsh sheep. Breeders succeeded in retaining the wanted qualities of the marsh sheep, such as high fecundity, fast development and large size.

In the 1930’s, a new breed, the Deutsches Weißköpfiges Fleischschaf started to roam the grassy areas next to the North Sea. It is the perfect breed to withstand the rough, damp sea climate and suited for life on the dikes. The sheep fatten on the lush dike grass, pound down the earth and encourage new grass growth, thus helping to stabilize the North Sea dikes which makes them resistant against storm floods.


To improve the quality of lambs, breeders started to cross-breed the Weisskoepfiges Fleischschaf with Texel rams in 1966, and in 1970 they successfully crossed them with French Berrichone du Cher. Both sexes are polled. The British Oldenburg was developed from this breed.
Purpose Meat, Fiber
Characteristics The winters of the Weisskoepfiges Fleischschaf are spent behind the dikes, mostly without barns, moving from one harvested field to the next. The sheep need to be rugged and to protect them against the weather, they have a long, rough fleece with a fiber diameter of 37 - 41 microns. The white wool, also known as Eider wool, has a good crimp which is unusual for such rough wool. Fleece weight is 5.5 kg for ewes, and 7.4 kg for rams.
Recent Blog Posts
  • Who is your Vet? Demystifying the facts!

    People are creatures of habit and we repeatedly do things that we have done in the past.  We drive the same route to and from work, we shop at the same stores, we buy gas at the same gas stations.  We are often on auto-pilot and don’t give a lot of thought to why we […]

  • Meet Dr. Katz at Petmapz!

    My name is Dr. Katz Piller and most of my clients refer to me as “Dr. Katz”. I have had meaningful relationships with various animals since I was a toddler and after losing one horse to severe colic and another to cancer. I made a commitment to studying veterinary medicine and to helping alleviate the […]

  • Why you should have your pet spayed or neutered

    The decision to spay or neuter your pet is an important one for pet owners. But it can be the single best decision you make for their long-term welfare. A USA Today (May 7, 2013) article cites that pets who live in the states with the highest rates of spaying/neutering also live the longest. According […]