Shetland sheep roots go back over a thousand years, probably to sheep brought to the Shetland Islands by Viking settlers. They belong to the Northern European short-tailed group which also includes the Finnsheep, Norwegian Spaelsau, Icelandics, Romanovs, and others.
Today they are considered a primitive or "unimproved" breed. This means that although they are small and relatively slow growing, they maintain their natural hardiness, thriftiness, easy lambing, adaptability and longevity. Shetlands survived for centuries under harsh conditions and on a meager diet, although they do very well under less rigorous conditions. Having retained most of their primitive survival instincts, they are easier to care for than many of today's "improved" breeds.
Shetlands are one of the smallest of the British sheep. Rams usually weigh 90 to 125 pounds and ewes about 75 to 100 pounds. Rams usually have beautiful spiral horns, whereas the ewes are typically polled. They are fine-boned and agile and their naturally short, fluke shaped tails do not require docking.
They are a calm, docile and easy to manage breed. Most respond well to attention and many even wag their tails when being petted!
A very important characteristic of the Shetlands is their beautiful wool, upon which the world-renowned Shetland wool industry is based. Shetland wool is one of the finest and softest of any British breed.
This soft, yet strong and durable wool is a delight to spin and is ideal for knitting. It was traditionally used in Shetland shawls so fine that they could be drawn through a wedding ring!
Fleeces usually weigh between 2 and 4 pounds and have a staple length of 2 to 4-1/2 inches. Occasionally the wool will shed in late spring as it did generations ago when it was "rooed" or pulled off by hand.
Shetland wool comes in one of the widest ranges of colors of any breed. Besides white, which dyes very well, other colors include light grey, grey, emsket (dusky bluish grey), shaela (dark steely grey resembling black frost), musket (pale greyish-brown), fawn, moorit (shades between fawn and dark reddish-brown), mioget (light moorit), dark brown and pure black. There are these eleven main colors as well as thirty markings, many still bearing their Shetland dialect names.
Unfortunately, many of these colors and markings have become quite rare as white wool is dominant and has historically commanded better prices.
Like to talk about Shetland Sheep or want to know more about them? Join Shetlands, the online Shetland Sheep discussion list; it's a great list, and not so high volume that you'll have to spend your whole day trying to keep up with the posts. To sub to the list, go to Yahoogroups.com and sign up or go to the list website to make the connection and see bios of current list members.
Odyssey's Dawn, the dignified mamma of one of my girls
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