This fur comes from Heidschnucken from the Lüneburg Heath, where they are important landscape conservationists. Their meat is prized as a delicacy and is processed into hearty sausages. The Heidschnucken fur is neither bleached nor dyed after tanning. It therefore shows its natural coloring, which ranges from silver-grey and grey to grey-brown to brown. The wool fleece also retains its natural length of between 7 and 15 cm. The Heidschnucken work and graze in their natural life cycle, which is why they are only slaughtered at certain times. It can therefore happen that no skins are available. We also have no influence on the color of your Heidschnucken fur - so the delivery will hold a little surprise.

We source our Heidschnucken furs from the fur specialist Heitmann Felle, a traditional company in the Lüneburg Heath, which was founded in 1820 and is still family-run today (now in its sixth generation). The fur of the Heidschnucken has a rather strong structure, but it is somewhat more sensitive to heavy use than a wool sheepskin, for example. The permanent use as a seat base will therefore become apparent over time. Otherwise, the fur is quite easy to care for: occasional shaking out in the fresh air and careful brushing are sufficient. However, please note that Heidschnucken fur must not be washed or exposed to moisture due to the tanning process. The alum salts used in the tanning process are water-soluble, which is why the leather would become hard when it dries.

Heidschnucken characterize the image of the Lüneburg Heath like Erikakraut and Geest. There, they take on the role of landscape caretakers, as their browsing maintains the savannah-like structure and thus the habitat of many plant and animal species, while also fertilizing the soil. Although Heidschnucken are frugal animals, they love variety and like to "snack" on wild herbs and grass as well as heather, which earned them the name "Schnucke", which is derived from "schnökern" - to snack.

The robust Heidschnucken belong to the so-called Nordic short-tailed sheep, and the Lüneburg Heath is primarily home to the gray horned Heidschnucke, which is said to be descended from the mouflon of Sardinia and Corsica. Their fleece (coat) is silver to dark gray, head and chest are black. The horns of the females (the mothers) are twisted backwards in a sickle shape, while the rams' horns are twisted forwards in a snail shape. Heidschnucken lambs are always born with black curls; their wool only changes color to lighter shades between silver-grey and brown in the course of their first year of life. As a mixed-wool land sheep breed, the Heidschnucke has a wool fleece consisting of soft undercoat and coarse awn coat, which protects the undercoat from the weather.