{"id":115629,"date":"2024-01-01T13:00:41","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T18:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/?p=115629"},"modified":"2024-03-06T05:24:49","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T10:24:49","slug":"get-to-know-the-shetland-sheep-breed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/get-to-know-the-shetland-sheep-breed\/","title":{"rendered":"Get To Know The Shetland Sheep Breed"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>grew up without any livestock experience. A family dog and some hamsters were the limit of my hands-on animal involvement. As a young adult, though, I became a serious gardener. And when my husband and I read that chickens were good for the garden<\/a><\/strong>, eating bugs and scratching up soil while fertilizing<\/a><\/strong>, we purchased five chicks. They were the gateway animal to a lifestyle change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to fantastic eggs and improved <\/span>garden health, the chickens were entertaining and taught our kids responsibility. The following year, we got more chickens, followed by Pygora goats<\/a><\/strong>, because I am a lifelong fan of fiber arts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I come from a family of quilters and sewers and caught the fiber arts bug early. I learned to spin when on maternity leave, and I thought that by choosing Pygoras, I was getting fiber to spin and weed-eating machines. While goats work very well for some people, they didn\u2019t fit well with us.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While we were working off-farm jobs, the goats would figure out new and exciting ways to make things difficult. They butted downspouts closed, tore up the chicken run and moved everything not incredibly heavy or permanently mounted somewhere. Every time we solved one problem, they came up with a new idea. Because we were juggling two full-time jobs and two active kids, we decided to sell the goats.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

However, I missed the daily routine of caring for animals. I wanted Shetland sheep because I <\/span>love Shetland wool, but I was afraid I wouldn\u2019t be able to keep them alive. I didn\u2019t have any sheep experience and had heard that it was difficult to keep sheep alive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As luck would have it, a friend who sheared my goats had two Jacob\/Shetland-cross ewes she wanted to sell, and she promised to help me if I encountered problems. The sheep arrived in early spring. Within two months, I was hooked. They didn\u2019t have any signs of illness, limping and ornery problems like the goats we had previously.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That July, I contacted a Shetland breeder a few hours away and purchased three pedigreed ewes. Once I got my hands on pure Shetlands and saw and felt how much softer their wool was than the crossbreeds, I knew the direction our farm was headed. I\u2019ve never looked back.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Shetland<\/p>\n

Super Sheep<\/b><\/h2>\n

Shetland sheep<\/a><\/strong> appealed to me as a hand-spinner because of the softness of their wool, and as the person who does most of the work on the farm, at the time accompanied by two small kids, their small size. I love the hardiness and small stature of the breed. They don\u2019t demand constant care to thrive, and middle-school-aged kids can easily handle, flip <\/span>and take care of them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their tails don\u2019t need to be docked, and they\u2019re <\/span>excellent mothers and fairly parasite resistant. I can haul individual animals, including rams, in a large dog crate or easily lift animals into a transport cage on the back of the truck.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shetland sheep come in 11 colors and 30 marking patterns, so our sheep can be quickly recognized as individuals. I can look out the kitchen window, see a sheep grazing and instantly know what its name is.<\/p>\n

While we each have our favorite sheep, we approach the sheep as a business, not pets. I tell people I work cheap, but not free. And the <\/span>sheep must pay their own way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our main product is wool. We sell hand-spinning fleeces locally and over the internet. Fleeces that don\u2019t sell quickly are processed into roving or yarn which is then sold at craft fairs and online. We also sell breeding stock to new shepherds wanting to raise Shetlands or established breeders looking for new bloodlines. Extra ram lambs or any animal unsuitable for breeding is sold directly to consumers for meat or as a fiber \u201cpet.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the small stature of frame of Shet\u00adlands doesn\u2019t compare to more highly muscled breeds such as Hampshires and Texels, there are two positives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n