Estonian White-Head Sheep

a breed of semifine-wooled sheep raised for meat and wool. It was developed in Estonia in the period 1930–50 by crossbreeding local coarse-wooled ewes with Cheviot rams. The head is hook-nosed, and the tail is long, reaching the tarsus. Rams weigh 50–80 kg, and ewes, 35–70 kg. The wool clip is 3.6–3.8 kg from rams and 2.5–2.6 kg from ewes. The wool is primarily of 56 quality; measuring 10–12 cm in length, it is uniformly white, shiny, and resilient. The yield of pure wool after washing is 55–60 percent. The fertility is 120–140 lambs per 100 ewes. The ewes are noted for their rapid maturation. Estonian White-head sheep are raised in the Estonian SSR and in some parts of the RSFSR.