Lithuanian Blackhead Sheep

Lithuanian Blackhead Sheep 

a breed of semi-fine-wooled sheep raised for meat and wool. It was developed in Lithuania in the early 20th century by crossing domestic coarse-wooled sheep with German blackhead sheep and Shropshires. The external features of the Lithuanian blackhead sheep resemble those of the English short-wooled meat sheep. The wool on the trunk is white; the head and legs in the majority of animals are dark (from light-brown to black). The rams weigh 85 kg (the largest, up to 115 kg), and the ewes 55 kg (the largest, up to 85 kg). The young are distinguished for early maturation. The dressed yield of one-year-old fattened animals is 58 percent. The fleece is resilient, uniform, and semifine. A clipping from rams yields 4.5 kg (up to 7.5 kg); from ewes 3 kg (up to 6 kg). The wool, principally of 56th quality, is 9–9.5 cm long. The yield of pure wool is about 55 percent. The breed is raised in the northern regions of the Lithuanian SSR.