Dairy Sheep- East Friesian Traditional Cache

Sheep have been milked for thousands of years, perhaps before any other animal. The dairy sheep industry is highly developed in many countries, especially in and around the Mediterranean. In the United States, sheep dairying is a small part of a small industry. Most U.S. sheep dairies are located in Wisconsin and the New England states. At the same time, there are sheep dairies in many other states, and the interest in sheep dairying seems to be on the rise. 

The East Friesian is considered to be the heaviest milking breed of sheep in the world, analogous to the Holstein cow. In fact, The East Friesian was developed in the same region as the Holstein, the Friesland area of Germany and Holland. The average milk production of the East Friesian can exceed 1,000 lbs. of milk during a 220 to 240-day lactation.

East Friesians are efficient lamb producers. Mature ewes average more than two lambs per lambing. Even yearling ewes are capable of producing 200 percent lamb crops. East Friesians are docile and adapt well to intensive parlor milking systems. They are considered a high maintenance breed.