The Shetland sheep is a small, fine-woolled breed of sheep originating in the Shetland Isles, but now also kept in many other parts of the world. It is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, and is closely related to the extinct Scottish Dunface. Shetlands are classed as a landrace or "unimproved" breed.^[1] This breed is kept for its very fine wool, for meat, and for conservation grazing.^[2]

Although Shetlands are small and slow-growing compared to commercial breeds, they are hardy, thrifty, easy lambers, adaptable and long-lived. The Shetland breed has survived for centuries in difficult conditions and on a poor diet so they thrive in better conditions. Shetlands retain many of their primitive survival instincts so they are easier to care for than many modern breeds.

Contents 1 History 2 Breed characteristics 3 Shetland wool 4 Lambing 5 Colours and patterns 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

Up to the Iron Age the sheep of the British Isles and other parts of northern and western Europe were small, short-tailed, horned only in the male and variable in colour. Short-tailed sheep were gradually displaced by long-tailed types, leaving short-tailed sheep restricted to the less accessible areas. These included the Scottish Dunface, which until the late eighteenth century was the main sheep type throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, including Orkney and Shetland.^[3] The Dunface died out on the mainland in the late nineteenth century,^[4] leaving its descendants limited to a few islands, including the Shetlands. The Shetland type of the Dunface has been regarded as distinct since the early 19th century or before.^[3]

By the early twentieth century the Shetland was perceived as threatened by cross-breeding, leading to a decline in wool quality. To combat this, in 1927 the Shetland Flock Book Society was formed, and this remains the body responsible for the sheep on their native islands.

By the time the Rare Breeds Survival Trust was set up in the 1970s, the Shetland had become rare, and it was listed by them as Category 2 (Endangered). Since then the breed has become popular with smallholders, and it is now classified as Category 6 (Other native breeds), with a UK population of over 3000.^[5] On the mainland the breed is governed by the Shetland Sheep Society.

[edit] Breed characteristics

The Shetland is one of the smallest British breeds. The ewes are usually polled (hornless) and the rams usually horned. The breed is noted for its very fine, soft wool and the high quality of its meat, though its smaller size limits its use in commercial meat markets. They are small-bodied animals with no wool on the face, nose or legs, and small, erect ears. The legs are of medium length and finely boned. A distinguishing feature of northern short-tailed sheep is the short, fluke-shaped tail, broad at the base, tapering to a point, and covered towards the tip in hair, not wool.

Shetlands occur in very many different colours and patterns, most of which have particular names.

Rams usually weigh 90 to 125 lb (41 to 57 kg) and ewes about 75 to 100 lb (34 to 45 kg).^[6]

[edit] Shetland wool

The wool produced by the Shetland has historically been a valued commodity. Shetlands produce numerous shades of wool colours (see below), and this variety was commercially important to the wool industry of the Shetland Isles, where natural wools are often used undyed. Tweed is also produced from the coarser Shetland wool but the Isles are best for their multi-coloured knitwear (made using Fair Isle knitting) and for the traditional knitted lace shawls which are so fine they will pass through a wedding ring. Fleeces usually weigh between 2 and 4 lb (0.91 and 1.8 kg).^[6]

[edit] Lambing

Like other "primitive" breeds the ewes are highly seasonal, becoming fertile in October and November (in the northern hemisphere) and lambing in spring or summer. On the poor grazing of the breed's native Isles the lambing percentage is about 130%. However, when the ewes are on better pasture, twin lambs are more common, especially from mature ewes. Shetland ewes are hardy, easy lambers, good mothers and produce a lot of milk. Healthy lambs are born weighing around 4 to 7 lb (2 to 3 kg).

[edit] Colours and patterns

Shetland sheep can show almost all possible sheep colours and patterns, although solid white and solid moorit (reddish brown) are most common. Many of the colours and patterns have Shetland dialect names – these derive from the Norn language formerly spoken in Shetland, and similar names are also used in at least one other Nordic language: Icelandic.^[7]

Eleven main colours are recognised (most including many different shades): light grey, grey, white, emsket (dusky bluish-grey), musket (light greyish-brown), shaela (dark steely-grey), black, fawn, moorit (reddish brown), mioget (honey-toned, yellowish-brown), dark brown.

Over thirty different coat patterns are recognised, many of which can occur in combination. They include katmoget ("badgerface": dark belly and dark shading around nose and eyes, lighter elsewhere), gulmoget ("mouflon", the reverse of katmoget: light belly, dark face with light marks around eyes, dark elsewhere), yuglet (generally light with dark "panda" patches around eyes), bleset (dark with white blaze down face), smirslet (white marking around muzzle), sokket (with white socks on legs), bersugget (irregular patches of different colours) and bielset (with a collar of a differing colour).

[edit] See also

• Shetland animal breeds

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Shetland Sheep Society (for sheep outside the Shetlands): see links to pages showing colours and patterns.
• North America Shetland Sheep Association (for sheep in North America)
• Shetland Flock Book Trust^{[dead link]} (for sheep on the Shetlands)