As of: March 29, 2024, 7:00 a.m
By: Franziska Konrad
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Georg Gröbmair's black-headed sheep are happy about fresh straw. © Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
These days the focus is on the offspring of Georg Gröbmair's sheep: they are one of the Easter symbols. During a visit to the stables, the Thanninger explains things about Easter lambs.
Thanning – An intense smell of hay is in the air. Every now and then a loud bleating interrupts the otherwise rather quiet scene in Georg Gröbmair's sheepfold in Thanning. The animals – including several lambs – have made themselves comfortable in the straw or are enjoying the freshly distributed straw. At Easter time, the offspring of fluffy farm animals come into focus: lambs are one of the Easter symbols. They represent purity and innocence. They should also call on people to lead a peaceful life.
Gröbmair sheep farm: His lambs come into focus at Easter time
Georg Gröbmair stands in the middle of the sheep. He routinely distributes the dried grass with a pitchfork. His protégés acknowledge this with a joyful bleat. A bit apart from the pack, an animal sits enthroned, with a strikingly delicate lamb lying in the straw in front of it. “This is our youngest. It was only born yesterday,” reveals the Thanninger.
Every morning around six o'clock, the part-time farmer and shepherd goes to the stable to look after his 80 ewes, two rams and 70 to 80 lambs. “Apart from the hay, my black-headed sheep only eat a mixture of oats, grain and barley,” says the 62-year-old. He grins. “This is their special muesli mix, so to speak.” The animals spend the summer outside on the meadow, the cold seasons inside in the barn.
Sales a few meters from the stable: Georg Gröbmair sells sheepskins and other wool products in the small farm shop. © Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
Gröbmair used to keep cows there. In 2012 he and his wife Anneliese took over his parents' sheep farm. Even as a boy, he learned a lot about peaceful ruminants from his mother Erika. “I never would have thought that I would one day take over the sheep farm,” he admits.
The stable door opens. Grandson Korbinian sweeps in like a whirlwind, with Grandma Anneliese in tow. “Hello, Grandpa!” the little one calls out happily. Curious, the boy stops in front of the wooden barrier and watches the young lamb. It cautiously takes a few steps and wags its tail.
Anneliese Gröbmair raises lambs with bottles - “Some of them become really trusting”
Gröbmair and his wife look at each other with satisfaction. The two are a well-rehearsed team. If a ewe rejects her offspring, the 59-year-old raises them with a bottle for up to six months. “Some of them become really trusting,” enthuses the woman from Thanning. “I named her a sheep, Mäusi, and she still follows me to this day,” she says and laughs.
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But before she gets to that point, she has a lot of work to do. In the first few weeks the lambs need milk every three to four hours. Day and night. Anneliese Gröbmair shrugs her shoulders. “Mei, I don’t know it any other way.” Her husband nods in agreement: “You have to put some love into it, otherwise it won’t work.” Korbinian has now had enough of the bleating animals. He is drawn out into the yard to the tractor.
You have to be passionate about it, otherwise it won't work.
Georg Gröbmair about his work as a shepherd.
Peace returns to the stable. A few meters next to the Gröbmairs - in another, separate area - lie eight pregnant sheep. “For them it can happen at any time,” says the farmer. “Last year we even had a real Easter lamb. This was born right on Easter.”
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What exactly is behind the term Easter lamb? “These are actually the animals that come to the table at Easter,” explains Georg Gröbmair. This fate also threatens some of his protégés. “My son slaughters an average of 20 lambs at Easter and Christmas.” Georg Gröbmair Jr. is a trained butcher.
Gröbmair sheep farm: Son Georg is supposed to take over the farm one day
He should take over the farm one day. The meat and sausage products he produces are sold in the small farm shop next door. The slaughterhouse is also on the farm. “The short distances make the whole process much less stressful for animals,” says Gröbmair senior.
Speaking of the farm shop: In addition to meat, you can buy various products made from fur and wool there, such as shoes, gloves and sheepskins. Anneliese Gröbmair: “In December we go to a Christmas market every weekend until Christmas to sell.” From the three children to the son-in-law and daughter-in-law, everyone pitches in.
There are now only a few sheep farms the size of Gröbmair's operation in the region. “The majority only breed sheep as a hobby, with ten to 15 animals,” says the 62-year-old. An important part of what keeps the centuries-old farm “Beim Rucker” in Thanning running is the solidarity of the family. Georg Gröbmair: “Because when it comes down to it, we all help together.”
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