Heidschnuckenfell

This fur comes from Heidschnucken from the Lüneburg Heath, which are there as important landscape maintainers on the road. Their meat is valued as a delicacy and processed into hearty sausages. The Heidschnucken fur is neither bleached nor dyed after tanning. It therefore shows the natural coloring, which ranges from silver-gray and gray to gray-Braun and Braun. The wool fleece also retains its natural length between 7 and 15 cm. The Heidschnucken act and graze in their natural life cycle, which is why they are slaughtered only at certain times. Therefore, it may happen that no skins are available. Similarly, we have little influence on the color that will have your Heidschnuckenfell - so the delivery will hold a little surprise.

We obtain our Heidschnuckenfur from the fur specialist Heitmann Felle, a traditional company in the Lüneburg Heath, which was founded in 1820 and is still family-run (in the sixth generation). The fur of the Heidschnucken has a rather strong structure, yet it is somewhat more sensitive to heavy use than, for example, a wool sheep lambskin. The permanent use as a seat pad will therefore look at the Heidschnuckenfellen with time. Otherwise, the fur is quite easy to care for: occasional shaking out in the fresh air and careful brushing are sufficient. Note, however, that because of the tanning process, the Heidschnucken fur should not be washed or exposed to moisture. The alum salts used in tanning are water soluble, which is why the leather would become hard when dried.

Heidschnucken characterize the image of the Lüneburg Heath like Erikakraut and Geest. There they take over the role of the landscape keeper, because they receive the savannah-like structure and thus the habitat of many plant and animal species by their browsing and fertilize the soil besides. Although Heidschnucken are frugal animals, yet they love variety and "snack" next to heather also like wild herbs and grass, which earned them the name "Schnucke", which is derived from "schnökern" - snack.

The robust Heidschnucken belong to the so-called Nordic short-tailed sheep, in the Lüneburg Heath is primarily the gray Gehörnte Heidschnucke at home, which is said to descend from the mouflon of Sardinia and Corsica. Their fleece (coat) is silver to dark gray, head and bib are black. The horns of the females (the mutts) are turned backward in a crescent shape, and in the bucks they turn forward in a scroll shape. Heidschnucken lambs are always born black curly, only in the course of the first year of life their wool changes to lighter shades, which lie between silver-gray and Braun. As a mixed-wool land sheep breed, the Heidschnucke has a wool fleece of soft undercoat and coarse awn coat, which protects the undercoat from the weather.