German Blackheaded Mutton

From 1870 Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Suffolk rams were imported to Germany's North Sea coast and used for grading-up crosses. Conformation and herdbook standards for the now uniform breed were laid down in 1916; it has been herdbook-registered in Hungary since 1981.

Unlike the English meat breeds, it had no acclimatisation problems; it is robust and not prone to disease. It has good maternal traits, a prolificacy of 1.5–1.7 and high lamb growth; used as a follow-up sire, late-born lambs can be marketed together with those born early in the season.

The head is medium-wide, somewhat coarse, wooled to the forehead and matt black; with age white hairs may appear on the nose and lower legs. The ears are long and carried horizontally; the body is deep, wide and cylindrical, with a long straight back and deep, muscular thighs. Its white crossbred wool covers the body evenly.