Shetland sheep are a rare breed sheep.
The Shetland's roots go back over a thousand years, probably to sheep brought to the Shetland Islands by viking settlers.
The Shetland is the smallest of the British breeds and it retains many of the characteristics of wild sheep. Today they are considered a primitive or "unimproved" breed. Rams usually weigh 90 to 125 pounds and ewes about 75 to 100 pounds. Rams usually have spiral horns, whereas the ewes are typically polled. They are fine-boned and their naturally short, fluke-shaped tails do not require docking.
Shetland wool has a Bradford count usually in the upper 50's to lower 60's and a fiber diameter range of 20 -25 microns. Fleeces usually weigh between 2 and 4 pounds (1-1 1/2 kg) and have a staple length of 2 to 4.5 inches (50-120mm).
Shetland comes in one of the widest ranges of colors of any breed. Besides the white, the sheep produce several shades of wool including moorit(reddy/brown), shaela (silvery grey), fawn, grey, dark brown and black. They are often patterned such as krunet (white crown), katmoget (dark belly) and gulmoget (light underneath). There are 11 main colors as well as 30 markings, many still bearing their Shetland dialect names
The way it works is that you adopt a sheep for an entire year.
Your sheep will email you a photo of itself and a short note from your sheep ( which I type for them) about what is going on right now. I try and do this every other month depending on what is happening on the ranch. Then at the end of the year, I have the sheep shorn and wash the fleece and mail the fleece to you. THIS IS INCLUDED IN THE ADOPTION FEE.
For a small adoption fee of ten dollars per month payable in monthly installments you may adopt a Shetland sheep. If you so
desire you may pay the full annual fee of $100.00 upfront and save $20.00. I do reserve the right to substitute with a similar fleece if something happens. Sometimes a if the sheep gets sick and runs a high fever, the fleece will get a wool break in it, and that ruins the entire fleece and that is an unforeseen disaster.
For an additional charge I can hand spin your fleece for you or send to Yolo Wool Mill (or mill of your choice) for spinning. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T SPIN BUT KNIT, WEAVE, CROCHET, OR
WANT SPUN YARN FROM YOUR ADOPTED SHEEP, Yolo Wool Mills can individually process your washed fleece into spun yarn, either single bulky or a nice knitting worsted weight two ply, or other size yarns upon request. This is an additional charge, based on the finished weight of your yarn. The price varies as to what type of yarn is produces but is usually in the $14.00 to $16.00 per pound range(Minimum Net Charge for Yarn - $50.00 from Yolo Wool Mill).
Actually this is a bargain for your own custom made wool yarns.
Check out the sheep ready for adoption.
All sheep are on the USDA SCRAPIE program. |
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