Lambs belong to Easter like eggs and flatbreads.
For Christine Kasper they have a special meaning, not only at Easter.
The Gilchingerin breeds the endangered Coburg fox sheep.
Gilching - Easter: Eggs are looked for in the garden, many go to church or watch online church services, Easter bread and Easter cakes come on the table, and of course the Easter lamb should not be missing.
400 to 500 lambs are born on the farm of Gilching sheep farmer Christine Kasper (44) every year.
Together with her family and 370 ewes, Kasper takes care of her protégés.
She explains why sheep have a special meaning for her not only at Easter.
"32 years ago we bought a herd of Coburg fox sheep," says Kasper.
“It is a calm and uncomplicated breed.” Coburg fox sheep are born brown, later the head and feet turn fox-colored.
The breed is threatened with extinction - one more reason for the Kaspers to start breeding fox sheep.
“The sheep is a very special animal,” enthuses the breeder.
“It exudes an extreme calm and can ground even the wildest child.” Christine Kasper knows this from her own experience.
She regularly gives summer courses for children on her farm.
Then they get to know everything “from sheep to felt” that defines the life of a shepherd.
“And it's also great for the sheep to cuddle with the children,” says Kasper.
"They like to be petted."
The ewes, including the lambs and the buck, sleep in the barn, and during the day they go out to the pasture.
"It can happen that you think the grass behind the fence is greener," says Kasper with a laugh.
“But they don't run away.” With the Kaspers, the animals also get hay, grain and straw from their own cultivation, because sustainability is important to them.
The sheep's hide is processed further after shearing.
“Shearing takes place four days in spring,” says the Gilchinger woman.
“The animals are happy when the wool comes down.” Then the wool is sorted, washed and used either for fertilization or to make sheepskin products.
Kasper sells sheep's wool, carpets, felt decorations and beds made from the fur of her own sheep in her shop in Gilching.
In addition to working on the farm, she is a trained interior decorator, herbalist and housekeeper.
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Good-natured contemporaries: The fox sheep are happy when they are sheared in spring.
© Private
Not only Easter, Christmas is also a very special time for a sheep farmer, because then the first lambs are born.
“It's really nice when the lambs are born healthy and cute,” says Christine Kasper.
One or the other must also be drawn up with the bottle.
“You build a special bond with these lambs.
They are then also given names. ”So does her own favorite sheep“ Fleckerl ”with the big forehead.
The lambs can stay with their mothers for as long as they want.
However, some of them have to be slaughtered at the earliest three quarters of a year.
"We are a breeding company and therefore designed to preserve the breed," explains Kasper.
“That's why we only slaughter less than 30 percent.
The rest can stay with us for breeding purposes. ”The butcher slaughter takes place regionally, Kasper sells the meat in her shop.
It is important to her that everything is used.
Kasper is proud of the sheep and the breeding that she has built up with her family.
"Easter in particular shows me what the sheep mean to us and what we have created," says the Gilching native.
“During this time we look at the animals even more intensively.
That also makes me think. ”She definitely has a baked Easter lamb at Easter.
"And if there is leftover lamb, we also have a roast lamb on the table," says Kasper.