SHEEP ARE MARVELOUS CREATURES. But then, I’m prejudiced — sheep have been part of my life for years. And most of my sheep are natural miniatures, the kind of sheep you probably would like to have on your farm, too.
Sheep have a lot of virtues. They are relatively inexpensive to buy and keep, easy to care for, and long-lived, making them great investments. Given predator-proof fencing, minimal housing, good feed, and a modicum of daily attention, sheep will thrive. It’s fairly easy to learn to care for sheep in a short period of time, making them a good choice for first-time farmers.
Most breeds produce wool and meat (young miniatures yield tender, tasty lamb) and since sheep droppings are firm and small, sheep make admirable lawn ornaments and mowers. They can even clear your land in the bargain. While all sheep graze, primitive and hill breeds like Classic and Miniature Cheviots, Soay, and Shetlands browse as well as graze. Brambles, tree sprouts, kudzu, and briar roses are all fair game, and most sheep cheerfully devour cheatgrass, poison ivy, dandelion, purple knapweed, and a host of other undesirable forbs and grasses.
Besides, sheep are simply cute and fun to have around. When handled with kindness from lambhood on, sheep make peerless pets.
Parts of a sheep
Sheep are basically low-key, easy-care animals, and the compact size of miniature breeds makes them even easier to handle than conventional sheep.
You should consider many of the same things when buying sheep as you would consider when buying goats.
Before shopping for sheep, learn what your chosen breed or type should ideally look like and know what aesthetic features are important to you. If you’re raising sheep for wool, for instance, you’ll want to think about which type of fiber you prefer.
Look for a good rumen on all sheep you buy (a large rumen equates with greater ability to take in and process feed). The rumen bulges out on the left side of a healthy, well-fed sheep, especially one that has been feasting on hay, forbs, or pasture. This is true of either sex.
Check the sheep’s bite — how its lower teeth meet up with its upper dental pad. It should be a perfect match. Sheep need proper occlusion to browse and graze, and a bad bite is a serious fault in show sheep and breeding stock. Be especially vigilant about checking the mouths of Roman-nosed Miniature/Classic Cheviots since that head configuration is the one most likely to result in “monkey mouth,” or underbite.
Check an adult ewe’s udder very carefully (the udder is her complete mammary system; she has two teats, not two udders). Feel it. As with does, a dairy ewe’s udder feels soft and velvety.
Don’t forget to check for suspicious lumps that might be CL (caseous lymphadenitis). It’s a proven fact that testicle size in rams correlates with fertility, so choose rams with large, symmetrical testicles.
Carefully review chapter 6 before buying sheep. Sheep are not as difficult to keep confined as goats; nevertheless you should still employ similar fencing. Some people find that multiple strands of electric wire are effective fences for sheep. If you decide on this, buy a premium fence charger and make sure it works all the time. If you use plank fences, be sure they are lined with woven wire. We think the best all-around sheep and goat fences are built of sturdy, woven-wire field fencing reinforced with a strand of electric wire that has been placed inside at shoulder height to keep inhabitants from leaning into the fence to scratch their sides and backs.
If you have a smaller enclosure or do not have money constraints, opt for welded-wire cattle panels. They’re easier to work with than woven wire, more durable, and less likely to be bent by itchy sheep.
No matter what you choose, rams will test your fences. Horned rams, like horned bucks, even miniatures, can wear down even the toughest fencing.
Miniature sheep, like miniature goats, are incredibly easy to house. They often just need a dry, draft-free place to use for shelter. Several sheep can be housed in a Port-A-Hut (see Resources), if given some pasture to roam around. There is wide room to improvise with your housing; just make sure it is dry and free of drafts.
Just like goats, sheep should receive clean, high-quality grass hay. Wethers, open ewes, and rams outside of breeding season need nothing else. Feed concentrates to youngsters, late gestation and lactating ewes, and hardworking rams in rut. Use a properly formulated commercial mix or work with your county extension agent and your local feed mill to formulate one based on your needs and what is locally available.
One difference between sheep and goats that is especially troubling for people who keep both species is that copper is toxic to sheep in the quantities that goats (and horses, cattle, pigs, and most other barnyard species) require for optimal health. Copper toxicity results in liver disease, jaundice, and death. Sheep cannot tolerate a copper concentration any higher than 15 ppm (parts per million). Therefore, it’s imperative that sheep owners examine nutritional information on feed packaging before giving commercial feed to sheep. Various studies indicate that mature ewes of British breed origin appear to be the most vulnerable to copper toxicity — and that encompasses all four miniature breeds.
Sheep still need access to other minerals, however, in loose form (preferred) or as a lick.
If you raise Babydoll Southdowns or Miniature or Classic Cheviots, you’ll have to dock your lambs’ tails. Some people prefer long-tailed wool sheep, but this isn’t a wise option; docking is done for a very good reason.
Wild sheep such as the Mouflon, ancestor of our modern sheep breeds, have short, hair-covered tails. European short-tailed breeds have short tails with little or no wool covering. Centuries of selection for wool production, however, has resulted in sheep with longer, thicker, woollier tails that can become encrusted with manure if the sheep has diarrhea or is housed in wet, dirty conditions.
Enter the blowfly, a particularly nasty external parasite that lays its eggs in wounds or in damp, goopy fleece (like long, wet tail wool). Blowfly eggs hatch in about a day. The resulting larvae (also known as maggots) lacerate and tunnel into their host’s flesh, creating lesions. After a few days, secondary infection occurs and, if untreated, leads to toxemia or septicemia; eventually the sheep dies.
Docked tails also make shearing easier. Shearers generally charge a premium for handling sheep with filthy, full-length tails.
Lambs’ tails should be shortened between one and seven days of age; the older the lamb, the more painful the operation. Tails are usually docked by banding, a process in which a tool called an elastrator applies a thick rubber band around the tail. This cuts off circulation to the tail and in about two weeks the tail falls off. Few neonatal lambs appear to feel extreme pain when being banded, although there are exceptions. In either case, the tail becomes numb in a few minutes’ time. After that, it’s business as usual for the newly banded lamb. Lambs whose dams were boosted with CD/T toxoid a few weeks prior to lambing need no further protection. Barring that, an injection of tetanus antitoxin at banding time is a very good thing.
OFF WITH THEIR TAILS
According to a 2002 Animal Health Survey, 91.7 percent of U.S. lambs are docked.
In Australia alone, flystrike accounts for more than $170 million a year in losses.
A good deal of controversy surrounds the appropriate tail length of docked lambs. At one time, show sheep were docked so short that virtually no tail was left behind. However, ultra-short docking affects the muscles and nerves of a sheep’s anus and prevents the sheep from lifting its tail to direct fecal pellets away from its hindquarters. Short docking may also contribute to rectal and vaginal prolapses. Tails should be left long enough to cover a ewe’s vulva and a ram or wether’s anus. The American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners, and American Sheep Industry Association all agree that tails should be no shorter than the distal end of the caudal tail fold. To find this point, turn the tail over and band where the bare patch of skin close to the lamb’s body ends in a point.
Band lamb’s tails where the bare patch of skin close to the lamb’s body ends in a point.
Nonshedding wool breed sheep must be shorn on an annual basis, no exceptions. Not shearing leads to heat exhaustion; dirty, matted fleece; and great discomfort.
If you’re fortunate, you can hire a professional sheep shearer to do the deed. Unfortunately, shearing is a vanishing trade and shearers are in very great demand. Ask around before you buy woolled sheep; if you can’t find a reliable shearer, resign yourself to doing your own shearing, which is no easy feat. (Hint: You’ll need to have plenty of time and a fitting or milking stand to restrain the sheep or else lots of patience and a strong back.) If you can’t find a good shearer and aren’t willing to take on the task yourself, buy Soay or shedding Shetlands that you can roo (comb or pluck instead of shear; see box on page 399).
To locate a shearer, ask other shepherds whom they hire to shear their sheep, search for business cards and flyers on the bulletin boards of feed stores and large-animal veterinary practices, peruse online sheep directories, Google sheep shearers, consult your county extension agent, or contact a nearby university with a vet school — they may have grad students who are experienced shearers.
Check shearers’ references and explain your expectations up front. Shearers are paid by the head, so they want to work quickly. Sheep skin is thin and tender, and even the best shearers sometimes nick sheep, but multiple gashes, deep cuts, and teat and penis injuries are unacceptable, as is dragging sheep around by their wool. Fleeces should be removed in a single piece with a minimum of second cuts (short pieces created by running the shears across the same area a second time). Some shearers are happy to take extra care with hobby and hand-spinners’ flocks, but they may charge a premium price to do so. Others slow down for nothing or no one.
Shearers compute fees based on how far they must travel, the number of sheep they’ll shear, and the type of wool they’ll be handling. Be willing to pay extra for travel expenses or extra setup fees to obtain quality service, especially if your flock is a small one. It isn’t cost effective for shearers to drive many miles to shear a flock of 50 head or fewer, so you may want to get together with other shepherds in your locale and arrange to have everyone’s sheep sheared on the same day or weekend. Ask the shearer to visit each farm — don’t gather sheep at a central location. Commingling sheep from several flocks contributes to the spread of disease (not to mention creating stress for animals and people).
The night before the shearer comes, pen your sheep in a clean, roomy area where they won’t get wet. Sheep shouldn’t eat for 8 to 12 hours before being shorn.
If a sheep is tipped so its feet don’t touch anything, it will remain calm for procedures like sheering or veterinary care.
Provide a clean, level shearing area. Most shearers prefer to shear on a surface constructed of two sheets of plywood with the space between them sealed with duct tape. Have a broom handy to sweep the surface between sheep. The shearing floor should be situated in a well-lit, well-ventilated, covered area.
Arrange for additional help if you need it. You need two people at the bare minimum, one to bring sheep to the shearer and another to take each sheep away after it has been shorn. Have cool or warm drinks available for your shearer and helpers, depending on the season; wrestling sheep is thirsty work. If the shearing crew is there over lunch or supper, provide sandwiches but not a heavy meal.
As you bring pregnant, elderly, or recently ill sheep to the shearer, let him know their condition. These sheep require gentler handling. Also, a single wether in a flock of ewes could have his penis zipped off if a speedy shearer doesn’t realize it’s there.
SPIN YOUR OWN WOOL
You needn’t buy an expensive spinning wheel to learn to spin your own wool; all you need is a drop spindle.
All wool was processed with drop spindles until the spinning wheel was invented during the Middle Ages; stone spindle whorls are routinely unearthed at Neolithic sites throughout the world. While spinning wheels made spinning faster and somewhat easier, the drop spindle never fell out of vogue. Drop-spindle spinning is still the mode of choice in many countries and with history-oriented, modern handspinners.
You can find instructions and places to buy a spindle or kit online; and online videos are especially helpful.
People have been spinning yarn with drop spindles for thousands of years.
In the University of Tennessee paper “Applied Sheep Behavior” (see Resources and download this excellent file), world-renowned animal behaviorist Dr. Richard Kilgour is quoted describing sheep as a “defenseless, wary, tight-flocking, visual, wool-covered ruminant (cud-chewing animal) evolved from a desert or a mountain grassland habitat with low water needs and displaying a follower-type dam precocial offspring relationship with strong imitation between young and old in establishing range systems; showing seasonal breeding and a separate male sub-group structure at certain times of the year.” There you have it; sheep behavior in a nutshell!
Sheep are intelligent creatures, but they very well know that they are defenseless in the face of danger, so frightened sheep don’t hang around to think things over; instead, they run. This tendency has earned them an undeserved reputation for brainlessness. In fact, if you learn to think like a sheep, you’ll realize there is method to their seeming madness. Here’s what goes on inside sheep’s heads.
Sheep senses are similar to those of goats but with certain twists.
The average sheep has a visual field of about 270 degrees, depending on how much wool it has on its face to obstruct its vision. It has large, rectangular-shaped pupils, and its eyeballs are placed toward the sides of its head, which account for its relatively wide field of vision. Rectangular-shaped pupils provide a wide-angle effect, giving sheep excellent peripheral vision. And by moving its head a bit, it can scan its entire surroundings. Nonetheless, sheep can’t easily see objects high above their heads, and they have poor depth perception. Because of this, driven sheep avoid shadows and harsh contrasts of light and dark. They also tend to move away from darkness, toward light.
Sheep have a fairly wide field of monocular vision and a small area of bifocal vision. They also have blind spots. When sheep are sheared, they can see everything between points 1 and A on either side of their bodies. As their fleece grows out, they see less toward the back but can still see everything between points 1 and B.
Based on research and on the number of cones and rods in sheep’s eyes, scientists believe that sheep have very keen vision. They’ve also learned that sheep see in color, although their color acuity is less than humans’.
Sheep have a highly developed sense of smell. Ewes recognize their newborn lambs by taste and scent. Rams sniff ewes to determine which are in heat. Sheep are capable of scenting water from afar, and they sniff feed to determine if they want to eat it.
Sheep hear well, and they are sensitive to high-pitched and sudden noises, both of which trigger a surge of stress-related hormones. They refine their hearing by moving their ears, heads, or entire body to face the thing they’re focusing on.
Frantic, high-pitched baas are stress indicators. Medium-pitched baas are exchanged by adult sheep casually seeking nearby lambs, friends, or feed.
Ewes recognize themselves when licking their fluid-drenched newborn lambs, and this creates a strong maternal bond.
Sheep prefer certain feeds over others, indicating they know what they like to eat. When grazing alongside other species such as goats and cattle, each species selects different types of plants.
Because sheep are covered with wool or thick, coarse hair, they are less responsive to outward touch than are other livestock species. Sheep have very sensitive skin under their woolly covering though, so handlers should never catch or hold sheep by their wool.
Because sheep are well insulated, electric fencing is not very effective. Multiple strands of electric wire are a must, including strands placed precisely at the height of your sheep’s noses.
All sheep flock to some degree, but flocking instinct varies greatly from breed to breed. Lambs are hardwired to follow their dams and, later, other members of the flock. Sheep become agitated if separated from other sheep. Banding together in large groups protects sheep from predators that normally home in on the outliers in a flock. This flocking instinct allows shepherds to tend and move large numbers of sheep.
Fine-wool sheep such as full-size Merinos, Rambouillets, and Columbias flock closely while moving, grazing, or at rest; most other breeds flock to varying degrees when moving but spread out somewhat to graze. None of the miniature breeds are close-flocking and indeed, all except Babydoll Southdowns scatter if worked by less than topflight herding dogs. Shetlands and Soay have particularly weak flocking instincts. Herding dog trainers tend to like Miniature and Classic Cheviots because they’re herdable but fast and agile, so they give good dogs a workout. It’s easier to move low- and poorly flocking breeds by leading with a bucket of feed than trying to drive them.
Additional points to remember:
If anything scary invades a sheep’s personal space, or flight zone, it flees. A sheep’s flight zone might be 50 feet or nothing at all, depending on the breed, gender, tameness, training, and severity of perceived threat.
When approaching or driving sheep, don’t look directly into their eyes; wolves and herding dogs do that and it instinctively makes sheep nervous.
Calm sheep move forward; frightened sheep move backward.
Sheep prefer not to cross water or to move through narrow openings.
They move uphill more readily than downhill and prefer to move into the wind than against it.
Cornered, frightened sheep will try to jump to safety, usually toward whatever is blocking their way. Be forewarned: A cornered miniature sheep can hit an adult at chest height.
Annoyed sheep stamp their hooves, raise or nod their heads, or glare. They usually back up a few paces before charging, although ewes sometimes bash each other from a standstill. Rams or pushy ewes may rub or bump humans with their foreheads; this is a sign of early aggression and should be squelched.
To temporarily restrain a sheep, place one hand under its jaw and raise its head while steadying its opposite flank or its hindquarters with the other hand.
To catch a sheep, herd the flock into a corner and carefully separate the desired animal from the mob, using its flock mates’ bodies to prevent it from scampering away (the smaller the pen, the easier to catch the sheep).
Don’t attempt to drive a flock faster than its usual walking speed; rushed sheep tend to scatter. Where you position your body when moving your flock or even just one sheep will either keep them moving forward or cause them to pivot back in the opposite direction. If you move too far toward the head of the flock (or the sheep), you have crossed a subtle comfort zone and they will turn backward; and if you hang back, keeping yourself toward the back third of the flock (or behind the point of its shoulder), they (it) will continue to move forward.
Sheep remember bad experiences for up to two years. Don’t lose your temper. It does not pay.
Most wool sheep are seasonal breeders; they’re most likely to breed in the fall, when days are growing shorter and temperatures are cooler.
Ewes in heat seek out and stay near the ram; some sniff, lick, or nuzzle him as well. A ram approaching a potential mate sniffs her urine, nudges the ewe, grunts, pants, and flehmens. If the ewe is in heat, she’ll stand for his advances; she may also wag her tail. If disinterested, she’ll simply walk away.
If he wears a marking harness, it’s easy to tell if a ram is doing his job.
Mating is a very quick process. Unless you’re observant you aren’t likely to see it occur. For this reason, many shepherds fit their rams with marking harnesses that deposit chalk on the rumps of ewes as they’re serviced.
The verb “to ram” is derived from the Old English word ramm, meaning an intact male sheep. Apart from procreating, ramming is what unaltered sheep do best.
Head butting is a national sport among rams. They make a show of backing a distance, lowering their heads, and then racing forward and smacking their opponent, poll first: whack!
Many rams show aggression toward humans by backing, running, then jumping and slamming to a halt just before connecting with their human target. Don’t allow this! If your ram is only occasionally feisty, be ready with a bucket or a sprayer filled with water to dash or squirt in his face. Or if you’re quick, grab his front legs and roll him over, then hold him down for at least five minutes.
If your guy is frequently running into humans, you need a different ram. People have been seriously injured and even killed by rams. Consider this: In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson, an avid sheep breeder, began breeding Shetlands on the South Lawn of the White House. A citizen wrote that “in passing through the President’s Square I was attacked and severely wounded and bruised by your Excellency’s ram — of which I lay ill for five or six weeks.” Jefferson’s friend Anna Maria Thornton writes in her journal that the same ram killed a young male visitor to the White House.
A great deal of butting behavior toward humans can be avoided by enforcing this rule: never fool with a ram’s face or forehead. Above all, never allow anyone to play pushing games with a young ram (or buckling). This is cute when he’s a lamb, but he’ll grow up thinking you’re an opponent, and it’s not as fun when he’s grown and takes you by surprise.
If cornered by an ornery ram, try to look big. Stand tall and hold your arms out to the sides. If you spy something to extend your outward reach, such as a stick, shepherd’s crook, or hand tool, use it. To reward rams, scratch their chins. This encourages the ram to raise his chin, which in turn defuses his inborn instinct to lower his head and butt.
A ram shield obstructs a ram’s forward vision, making it harder for him to home in on a target.
And if he’s a good ram most of the time and you want to keep him, fit your seasonally ornery ram with a ram shield during the trying period — a leather mask that allows him to see to both sides but not home in on a frontal target. Keep in mind that other sheep sometimes gang up on an individual wearing a ram shield, so remove any testy flock mates that might otherwise hurt him.
Ewes come in heat every 13 to 19 days throughout the fall and early winter breeding season. Mature ewes are fine with high-quality hay and a good sheep mineral until the last trimester of a typical 147-day gestation, when most fetal growth occurs. At this point they will need additional dietary consideration, such as the addition of concentrates to their diet.
If you live in a cold climate and your ewes have access to the outdoors, strongly consider shearing at least a month before lambing time. A fully fleeced ewe, being warm herself, may elect to lamb outdoors, whereas a shorn ewe realizes it’s still cold outside. If ewes aren’t shorn prior to lambing, they should at least be crutched. Crutching (an archaic spelling of crotching) is simply removing wool from around the ewe’s udder, along with any wool tags a lamb might initially mistake for a teat.
Ewes display the same behaviors prior to, during, and after lambing that female goats do, so turn back to pages 309 to 312 and reread the material on kidding.
Though ewes may lamb at any time of the day or night, various studies indicate peak lambing times occur between 9 A.M. and noon, then again between 3 P.M. and 6 P.M. Ewes often lamb at dawn or dusk as well.
In many respects, lambs behave like kids, but there are differences, too. Goats are a lying-out species; some does leave their kids and come back periodically to feed them. Kids are content to await their mother’s return. Sheep are a following species; lambs follow their dams from birth.
Where kids are apt to climb to amuse themselves, lambs (who also climb but to a lesser degree) run elaborate foot races or stage “lamb stampedes.” And happy lambs spronk in an all-four-feet-hitting-the-ground-at-once, Pepe le Pew gait that is sure to make the worst cynic smile.
Unshorn ewes should be crutched (shaded area) prior to lambing.
At present, there are four established breeds of miniature sheep: Babydoll Southdowns, Classic and Miniature Cheviots, Shetlands, and Soay. All of these are historic, naturally small breeds of sheep — not scaled-down, modern-made miniatures. A number of responsible breeders are working to develop miniaturized versions of full-size breeds, such as Katadhins and Cormos, but these haven’t attained breed status yet. Maybe you’d like to join them and create a miniature version of a full-size breed?
Registered by: Olde English Babydoll Southdown Sheep Registry (OEBSSR), North American Babydoll Southdown Sheep Association & Registry (NABSSAR)
Origin: Sussex, England
Size: OEBSSR — 24 inches (61 cm) at the shoulder, newly shorn; NABSSAR — 18–24 inches (46–61 cm) (sheep 17–18 inches [43–46 cm] and 24–26 inches [61–66 cm] are registerable but faulted)
Color: OEBSSR — Off-white, black, dilutes (paler versions of basic colors that are caused by the addition of a genetic diluting factor), spotted; NABSSAR — Off-white, black, dilutes preferred; spotted registerable but faulted (NABSSAR has specific rules regarding color, so study them before purchasing NABSSAR-registered sheep)
Ears: Moderate in length, level with the poll, neither drooping nor perpendicular to the ground
Facial profile: Straight
Fleece: According to OEBSSR, “Of fine texture, great density, and of sufficient length of staple covering the whole of the body down to the hocks and knees and right up to the cheeks, with a foretop, but not around the eyes or across the bridge of the nose.”
According to NABSSAR, “Fine, tight and dense with medium to medium fine crimp that is soft and springy.”
Horns: No
Babydoll Southdown
Babydoll Southdowns are arguably America’s favorite hobby-farm and pet sheep. The market is strong; most breeders have waiting lists for ewe lambs. Their teddy bear faces and cute, cobby bodies are strong selling points; it’s hard to resist a typical Babydoll smile.
Babydolls are today’s version of the original British Southdown sheep developed by master breeder John Ellman of Glynde in Sussex, England. Southdowns are one of the oldest of the Down breeds (meat breeds that originated in the downlands of southern England). Babydoll Southdowns yield tasty, tender meat, though nowadays they’re raised more for their loveable pet qualities and their wool.
John Ellman began standardizing Southdowns around 1780. He and another British breeder, Jonas Webb, exported Southdowns to the United States beginning in 1824. After World War II, consumers began demanding larger cuts of meat and these small, original Southdowns were crossed with larger New Zealand Southdowns to produce today’s larger, leggier, commercial Southdown sheep.
Olde English Babydoll Southdown Registry founder Robert Mock began searching for old-type Southdowns in 1990. He found and obtained only two flocks, which he renamed Olde English Babydoll Southdowns (a.k.a. Babydolls) to differentiate them from today’s commercial Southdown sheep. Additional sheep were eventually located, providing a larger gene pool.
Babydolls are easygoing, easy-keeping sheep with docile dispositions. Babydoll ewes are good mothers, and lambing problems are rare. Singles and twins are the norm, though triplets occur from time to time.
One failing: Their cute, woolly faces are prone to wool blindness, a condition in which long wool around their eyes obstructs their vision. The fix is simple: Snip it away until they can see. Also, since Babydolls have woolly faces and legs, they pick up considerably more debris than open-faced breeds that have hair instead of wool on their faces and legs. Their fleece is short-stapled, fine, and fairly greasy — some handspinners love it; others feel it’s too short-stapled. If you’re buying Babydolls for their fiber, order fleece and try spinning some before you buy your sheep, to be sure it’s the right fleece for you.
It’s worthwhile to note that these are not tiny sheep. Like Classic and Miniature Cheviots, they’re low to the ground but substantially built and quite strong. They’re wonderful sheep but not pocket pets and shouldn’t be purchased as such.
Mature sheep have 32 teeth, including four pairs of lower incisors, but no teeth in their upper front jaw. Lambs grow eight baby incisors, which are replaced by two larger permanent teeth each year, beginning at the age of one. They start at the center and continue outward, so by simply counting teeth, it’s easy to tell a sheep’s age through year four. After they emerge, a sheep’s teeth continue to wear and spread farther apart so that by age eight or nine, most sheep have lost or broken some of their incisors; these sheep are said to be broken mouthed. An elderly sheep with no incisors left in its mouth is called a gummer.
As with other ruminants such as goats, cattle, and deer, a hard dental pad replaces the sheep’s absent upper incisors. Unless a sheep’s lower teeth align properly with its dental palate, it can’t efficiently grasp and rip off grass.
Lamb
Yearling
Two-year-old
Three-year-old
Four-year-old
Older than four years (broken mouth)
Registered by: American Classic Cheviot Sheep Association (ACCSA)
Size: 18–24 inches (46–61 cm) at the shoulder, newly shorn. Sheep 17–18 inches (43–46 cm) or 24–26 (61–66 cm) are atypical but eligible for registration.
Color: Any
Facial profile: Arched in ewes; more strongly arched in rams
Registered by: American Miniature Cheviot Sheep Breeders Association (AMCSBA).
Size: Maximum 23 inches (58 cm) at the shoulder, newly shorn; ewes 45–85 pounds (20–39 kg), rams 55–100 pounds (25–45 kg)
Color: White, black, tan, dilute, paint; small facial markings acceptable
Facial profile: Straight or slightly arched; more strongly arched (Roman-nosed) profile acceptable in rams
Miniature Cheviot
Origin: Borderlands between Scotland and Northern England
Ears: Sharp, erect, short to medium in length
Fleece: Three to seven inches (7.5–18 cm) in length, dense and even, measuring 25 to 32 microns. No wool on face or legs.
Horns: No. Males often have scur scabs but don’t develop horns or true scurs.
Wee Cheviots are my breed, and I recommend them highly! They’re hardy, easy-care sheep brimming with intelligence and joie de vivre. Mishandled, they live up to their reputation for flightiness, but Cheviots that are well cared for are calm and docile; many are in-your-pocket sheep.
In 1372, historical record refers to a “small, but very hardy” race of sheep grazing the bleak Cheviot Hills between Scotland and England. These sheep, ancestors of all five modern breeds of Cheviot sheep, lived on the windswept hills during summer and winter, seeking their own food to survive. Even early on, their fleece was highly prized. In 1791, Sir John Sinclair, president of the British Board of Agriculture, wrote about Cheviot wool: “The highlands of Scotland if covered with the coarse wool breeds of sheep the wool might be worth 300,000 pounds of sterling, whereas, if the same ground were covered by the Cheviot, the true mountain breed, would be worth at least 900,000 pounds sterling.” The main use of Cheviot fleece was for weaving Cheviot tweed fabric, long touted as the best of Britain’s tweeds.
The first Classic Cheviots came to America in the 1840s, when Thomas Laidler, a shepherd on the Cheviot Hills, sent each of his four children living in New Lisborn, New York, three Cheviot sheep. Canadians imported Cheviots shortly after that. Cheviots were a favorite breed in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and throughout their British homeland by the beginning of the twentieth century.
Various breeds of Cheviots evolved. The first, the intrepid Border Cheviot, is the ancestor of Classic and Miniature Cheviot sheep. Other Cheviots are the North Country Cheviot, Brecknock Hill Cheviot, and Wicklow Cheviot of northern Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, respectively.
Classic and Miniature Cheviots are to Border Cheviots what Babydoll South-downs are to old-fashioned British Southdowns — they are the original breed as it existed before it was selectively bred for longer legs and larger cuts of meat.
The original flock of Miniature Cheviots, it is said (no definitive documentation appears to exist), came to Washington from a sale barn in Canada. These sheep looked exactly the same as modern Miniature Cheviots. Breeders that founded the original registry called them American Brecknock Hill Cheviots, despite the fact that there are no records of Brecknock Hill Cheviots ever being imported to North America. There were, however, many thousands of Border Cheviots raised in British Columbia at the time. And Classic and Miniature Cheviots match historic photos and engravings of early-day British Border Cheviots.
To eliminate confusion, the breed’s name was changed from American Brecknock Hill Cheviots to Miniature Cheviots when the registry was restructured in 2002. Breeders more interested in preserving historic type than breeding tiny sheep founded the Classic Cheviot registry in 2009; most Classics are registered as Miniature Cheviots, too.
Miniature and Classic sheep are longer than they are tall. They are wide, sturdy sheep with perky, upright ears; big, dark eyes; and a handsomely convex facial profile. Their faces and legs are haired instead of woolled and their soft, spongy, low-grease fleeces don’t pick up a lot of debris. They are extremely easy keepers. They lamb with ease and are peerless mothers; most ewes twin, though singles and triplets occur. Many owners consider rams of this breed less aggressive than the norm (but keep in mind that no ram should ever be taken for granted).
The Miniature Cheviot registry discourages white markings and odd colors, while the Classic group encourages color diversity, including white-splashed faces and legs as well as spots in the fleece. Colored sheep in either group are often marked with irregularly shaped, white facial spots called “fairy kisses.”
Also known as: Ushant, Mouton d’Ouessant, Breton Dwarf
Registered by: Ouessant Sheep Society of Great Britain
Origin: Ouessant Island, off the coast of Brittany
Size: Rams, 19–24 inches (48–50 cm); ewes 17.5–21 inches (49–54 cm)
Color: Solid colored; most are black, but browns and whites occur
Ears: Medium size, carried slightly above horizontal
Facial profile: Straight to very slightly convex
Fleece: Double-coated; fine, soft; Ouessant undercoat averages 28 microns in diameter
Horns: Rams have big horns; ewes are polled
Ouessants are among the world’s smallest sheep. A European short-tail, primitive sheep, the breed originated on the rocky, 5.8-square-mile isle of Ouessant (also called Ushant), 12 miles off the most westerly point of Brittany. As with Soay and Shetland sheep, Viking settlers may have carried the Ouessant’s ancestors to their tiny island home. Two breeds were developed on the island: teensy Moribihan sheep in black, brown, and white and slightly larger black Vendeens with impressive curled horns. The breeds eventually merged to produce today’s Ouessant sheep.
Ouessants are wool sheep. They are exceptionally hardy and active. Ewes have fine maternal instincts and usually produce single lambs.
Ouessants are an exceptionally rare breed, even in Britain and Europe. Since import regulations prohibit the importation of live Ouessants, fanciers are creating an American version by impregnating Shetland ewes with imported frozen Ouessant semen to create an F1 generation, then using imported Ouessant semen on successive generations of ewes until the breed achieves purebred status. No North American registry yet exists.
Ouessant
Registered by: North American Shetland Sheepbreeders Association (NASSA)
Origin: Shetland, an archipelago off the northeastern coast of Scotland
Size: Rams, 90–125 pounds (41–57 kg); ewes, 75–100 pounds (34–45 kg)
Color: There are 11 recognized colors and 30 recognized markings, many with original Shetland dialect names
Ears: Medium size, carried slightly above horizontal
Facial profile: Prominent but not Roman
The Shetland, being a member of the European short-tailed race of sheep, has a wool-covered, fluke-shaped tail, broad at the base and tapering to a flattened hairy tip. Composed of 13 vertebrae as compared with 20 or more in long-tailed sheep, it’s seldom over 6 inches (15 cm) long; 4 to 5 inches 10–13 cm) is more the norm.
There is no need to dock the tails of Shetlands or any other European short-tailed breeds (including Soay).
European short-tailed breeds (left) like Soay and Shetland don’t require docking, unlike most other breeds (right).
Fleece: Extra fine and soft textured, longish and wavy; staple of 2–4½ inches; 20–25 microns
Horns: Rams are usually horned, ewes are not; however, there are indeed polled rams and horned ewes
Intrepid Norwegian Vikings who colonized Hjaltland (Shetland) around AD 900 brought livestock with them, including Nordic sheep that subsequently interbred with primitive sheep that had already been on the islands for thousands of years. The resulting sheep, ancestors of today’s Shetlands, belong to the Northern European short-tailed group that includes, among others, Soay, Icelandics, East Friesian dairy sheep, Romanovs, and Finnsheep.
Food was scarce and in Shetland’s fierce climate, smaller versions of standard livestock evolved, including scaled-down versions of ponies, cattle, pigs, poultry, and sheep.
In the early 1900s, in an effort to produce larger sheep, some shepherds on the Shetland Islands began crossbreeding their sheep with mainland sheep and selecting for white wool. So in 1923, concerned sheep raisers incorporated the Shetland Flock Book Society to monitor purebred Shetlands and make certain they didn’t die out. At about the same time, hand-knit Fair Isle sweaters became the rage and cottagers on the islands began using naturally colored Shetland wool to create them, providing a ready market for purebred Shetland wool.
Shetlands came to North America in only two importations. The first, in 1948, was of three ewes and a ram to George Flett of Fort Qu’Appelle in Saskatchewan, Canada. By carefully inbreeding their bloodlines, the Fletts maintained a purebred flock for more than 50 years.
In 1980, Colonel Dailley of the African Lion Safari in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, imported 28 ewes and 4 rams. These sheep remained in lifelong quarantine on the Dailley farm, and no offspring could leave the farm until they were five years old. Nevertheless, nearly all North American Shetlands descend predominately, if not fully, from the Dailley importation.
Shetland sheep are hardy, thrifty, easy lambers; adaptable; and long-lived. The breed survived for centuries under difficult conditions and on a diet so poor that larger breeds would have perished. Today’s Shetlands retain their ancestral hardiness and primitive survival instincts, making them easier to raise than most modern breeds.
Shetland
One beauty of Shetlands is that they come in an astounding array of attractive colors and patterns. Colors range from white to dark brown with nine other colors in between, most of them with traditional names such as emsket (dusky bluish gray), shaela (dark steely gray), and moorit (ranging from yellowish brown to dark reddish brown). Colors are further differentiated by 30 recognized patterns, such as blettet (having white spots on the nose and top of the head), mirkface (white with dark patches on the face), and sokket (legs a different color from the body). Another benefit is that Shetlands come in a wide array of wool types, ranging from short, crimpy fleece to longer, wavy, hairy wools with downy undercoats. There is a great diversity of color and wool types in this breed.
Registered by: Rare Breeds Survival Trust in the UK (British Soay)
Origin: Soay, an island in the St. Kilda archipelago off the west coast of Scotland
Size: About 22 inches (56 cm) tall, weighing 45 to 90 pounds (20–41 kg)
Color: Brown or blond with a white belly and rump patch (referred to as mouflon). A few are solid black or solid tan. Some have white patches on legs, face, and body.
Ears: To the sides, carried slightly above horizontal
Facial profile: Straight (some slightly dished, some slightly convex)
Fleece: The Soay has no wool on its face or legs. Its body fleece comprises guard hair overlaying a short, woolly undercoat. A typical Soay yields 1 or 2 pounds of fiber per year.
Horns: Soay ewes may be horned, scurred, or polled; rams are horned or scurred
Soay are a conservation breeder’s dream. They’re listed on the watchlist maintained by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust of Great Britain. They have an amazing history dating to ancient times, they’re easy to care for, they yield marvelous wool, and everyone who tastes it raves about their delicate meat.
About 4,000 years ago, Neolithic humans who settled the St. Kilda archipelago may have put the first sheep on windswept, uninhabited Soay, essentially a granite mountain peak jutting out of the sea 41 miles off the west coast of Scotland. When Viking raiders visited in the seventh and eighth centuries AD, they named the island So-øy, meaning “Sheep Island” probably for the tiny, feral sheep they found dwelling there.
Soay
Around 1900, a few wealthy British landowners brought small numbers of Soay to their estates and parklands in England and Scotland. Selectively bred for various characteristics, such as dark mouflon coloration and horns, these animals are sometimes referred to as Park Soay.
In 1963, Dr. Peter Jewell and his colleagues, who were studying Soay sheep on the uninhabited island of Hirta (the largest of four islands that make up the St. Kilda archipelago), brought 24 sheep back to the mainland so they could continue their studies year-round. The team selected sheep “comprised of a selection of colors, and ewes with and without horns, and even some animals with white markings, sheep that were representative of the animals as we encountered them on Hirta.” These became known as Hirta Soay.
Only two groups of Soay sheep were ever exported to North America, one arriving in Canada in 1974 and another arriving there in 1990.
On December 5, 1974, Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg received four six-month-old lambs from Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie, Scotland. Seventeen lambs were subsequently born at the zoo. These and their progeny were sold to wildlife parks and exotic breeders, and a few made their way to the United States. Breeding records were not kept, and the remaining purebred sheep were crossed with a number of different breeds. Descendants of these animals are known as American Soay.
In 1989, a Montreal-based research organization purchased six Rare Breeds Survival Trust–registered Soay sheep from a breeder in England. The company bred a closed flock of 30 purebred sheep. The records for these sheep are complete, and Soay whose ancestors trace exclusively to this flock are referred to as British Soay.
SHEEP TRIVIA
Sheep racing is a growing spectator sport in England, where sheep race around a circular course carrying floppy doll “jockeys” on their backs. Hoo Farm, a popular animal park in Shropshire, England, is famous for its sheep steeplechasing exhibitions.
Dolly, the world’s first cloned sheep, was born in 1997 at the Roslin Institute in Scotland. She gave birth to six lambs during her brief lifetime. She was euthanized when she was 6½ years old after developing a serious lung infection. She was stuffed and is now on display at the Royal Museum of Scotland.
Both American and British Soay are lithe, deerlike animals. They’re active, sure-footed, and nimble. Ewes lamb easily; they’re excellent mothers; and Soay lambs mature quickly. They’re alert but gentle-natured and curious, too.
The Soay’s undercoat is so cushy-soft that women on Hirta used it to knit their families’ underwear. During summer, this undercoat molts, so Soay wool is gathered by rooing instead of shearing.
Soay are browsers; they thrive on a varied diet, making them an ideal breed for grass-fed and organic farmers or for anyone grazing marginal land. Soay meat is lean and low in cholesterol and boasts an unusually high ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fats; its light, delectable flavor is a favorite with British chefs.
And being members of the European short-tailed race of sheep, Soay’s short, skinny tails don’t require docking. Their sheer-free wool and naturally short tails, combined with their hardy constitution and ease of lambing, make them easy-care sheep indeed.