# Icelandic or Shetland sheep for a beginner hobby farmer?



## spiritofthings (Oct 24, 2013)

I am a newcomer to raising sheep. We just bought property that we think would be ideal for a hobby farm situation. I am interested in spinning and as such would like to buy a few sheep in the future. Not too many - a handful at the most. 

For a beginner to raising sheep, would you recommend Icelandic or shetland sheep? Or some other fiber sheep? What about for spinning? I am interested in a soft wool that is not scratchy so really just the wool underneath. So maybe either of these breeds are not right for me?? 

Thanks so much.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

If you want easy to handle sheep, would recommend going to see the flocks you are interested in buying from. See if they are people friendly.

The Fleece can also vary by breeding lines and how they are cared for. Either run your hand through that animals fleece or ask for samples.
This will help you pick the animals that are most likely to work best for you.

By shear chance, I ended up with a very friendly and very easy to halter train Finn ewe lamb.
She was incredibly easy to tame down.


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## ErikaMay (Feb 28, 2013)

Bergere's advice is great! If a fiber flock is your interest, any chance you can make it to a fiber show that has livestock? I know in Oregon we have the Blacksheep gathering with lots of livestock (where I first met the wonderful Jacobs!) and Flock and Fiber festival. It would give you a chance to see alot of different lines all at once. Are you interested in just a fiber flock, or breeding, too? If you just want fiber you could totally have multiple breeds of sheep. 


Shetlands and Iclandics are said to be hardier sheep than many modern types. I find the best way to keep my flock healthy is just visit with them everyday. Even with just a few minutes you can notice whos not eating right, lethargic, limping, whatever! and catch any problems before they become big problems.


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## wildwoolyfarm (Oct 31, 2013)

Hi All! New here. We have Shetland sheep and think they're the best of course! But I'd have to agree with the above posters that individual flock management and individual sheep of any of the "Northern European Shorttailed Group" will make the most difference for you. Easy to handle sheep make a huge difference in daily peace and ease on your place. Fleece quality varies a lot between breeders. The Black Sheep Gathering or Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival are good ways to see a lot of animals in one place. There is a Shetland Wool FB group I can give you the link to if that is kosher on here, you could find breeders all over via that.

Knee deep in sheep,
Rebecca Highlander
Wild Wooly Farm
Williams, Oregon


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

If you want to use their fleeces, I'd order a few ounces of different fleeces and see which one I liked best to spin and knit. 

I like finns too. They are in the same size category as shetlands and icelandics. The only Icelandics I've seen have been more flighty than shetlands or finns. But- again, that could be flock management. I don't tame my sheep. 

You might also run across some cross breeds that you like the fleeces from too rather than pure breds.


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## spiritofthings (Oct 24, 2013)

Thank you all so much for your reply. What a good thing to do... yes I will get out there and see some flocks. Gosh, the Jacobs are a striking looking breed but I am rather afraid of those horns. Oh and thanks for that great photo Rebecca! I am not a FB or would have taken up your offer for that link. Thank you anyways.

I am just interested in a fiber flock. Still, we do not have much land really, though hopefully we may buy some more land adjacent to our property. 

I went to a Fiber show last weekend and that's when my idea of keeping a few animals became my husband's idea! He came away quite enthusiastic and started reading about llamas and such! Gosh, I wasn't expecting the feeling I had at that fiber festival. Everyone we spoke to was so down to earth and welcoming and eager to pass on their opinions and information about breeds they were keeping. It was wonderful. 

I am a knitter and a crocheter but at the fiber fest that was when I was sold on spinning! So here we go...

Thank you again for your replies. I should be honest here ... we have only one and a quarter acres. I know I know, not ideal. Would it be possible to keep just two sheep, of different breeds and perhaps just two llamas as guardians? Do you think considering such little land that we have, that I should consider a miniature breed such as the Cheviots? Or Shetlands. And because I am a small person and my husband is not large either, I think a smaller breed would be ideal. We have small children too to factor in.

Another question, when I told someone of my plans to perhaps keep sheep, they said that because I have such little land, that it would soon fill up with poop, both llama and sheep! What do you think?


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

I raised Brecknock Hill Cheviots... now called miniature Cheviots for years. My son was very young at the time, and had no worries about the ewes or lambs bothering him.
They were pretty easy to tame down. However, their fleece is not next to the skin soft.
Even blended with 50% uber soft Llama,,, still won't wear it next to my skin.
Wonderful fleece to spin though.
They are hardy.

Shetlands and Finn's are small sheep and have much more soft fleece.
My Finn ewe lamb's fleece is ever so soft... love running my hands through it. LOL And she has been the easiest sheep I have ever halter trained. 
The Icelandic's are a bit larger, most are dual coated and can be a bit more work to separate the tog and a fine inner coat called thel.

When I first started raising sheep, I only had 2 1/2 acres to work with. It was fenced and cross fenced. Had 10 breeding ewes and varied the number of rams each year. Plus each years lambs. Did have to feed hay.

You could have 3 to 4 sheep easy, though you will most likely have to feed hay.

As for Llama's, personally I have not had any luck with that. Had a very nice Gelded llama.. he was fine with the Rams, but forget about putting him in with the ewes. Even gelded he would try to breed my ewes, he would run them and try to knock them down.
Not a good thing when you have ewes in lamb.
So I found him a nice home that had only llamas.
Another draw back with them, they can spit. If you are in the way, to what ever they want to spit at..........

If you get ewes, look towards a female Llama or alpaca.


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## DragonFlyFarm (Oct 12, 2012)

Spiritofthings - Yay to sheep! I have Jacobs --4 ewes right now...the ram went to freezer camp. The horned girls have not been a problem, only one is very friendly though. If you keep Jacobs be ready for lots of questions -- we have people pulling over all the time to ask about our spotted goats. I met my first Shetlands at the Boonville fiber festival a couple months back...they are awful cute! Be careful, it's addicting. I now have two Angora goats and am reading up on Alpacas. Have fun!


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

She forgot to mention that finns have lots of babies at one time. My ewes all have triplets each year. I have 2 that were from quintuplet litters. I can produce enough lambs to keep the sheep fed all year with just a few ewes. I also chose them because they are small.

Horns can be a great handle. 

If you have that little land, I'd start out with 2-4 small sheep. Sheep are hard on pasture. I jokingly tell the story of my sheep standing in a circle around the last alfalfa plant waiting for it to grow 1/4" so they can nip it off. If they don't have enough space, they will eat your pasture down so low that it can't recover. Start with a few and add as you see that you have room and grass for them.

I've only owned sheep for a couple of years. I love them. They are the perfect farm animal for me.


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## ErikaMay (Feb 28, 2013)

It sounds like whethers are the way to go for you. If you don't want to breed them then get 2 castrated boys of whatever breed you want. Since they are castrated their fleeces apparently stay softer longer since they arn't wasting energy on breeding and won't be as aggressive. PLUS you wont have a problem with the llama trying to breed them. Alot of fiber people with very little land keep whethers as their little pets. 

I will say: horns are nice! I they make great handles. When I sheared my jacobs I just locked their heads in place with my legs. Much easier than my hornless ewes with floppy heads.


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## ajaxlucy (Jul 18, 2004)

I would pick Shetlands, but that's probably because I live on a small (2 acres or less) property and keep Shetlands. 

Your place is small enough that you might do better to put up good fencing to keep the sheep safe and forget the llamas. Maybe start with just a couple of ewes and/or wethers. If you add on to your property later, you can always increase your herd. 

I have permanent fencing around the boundaries of my property and temporary fencing that I use to keep the sheep grazing in one area at a time. Except during severe drought, I don't have a problem with overgrazing, but I keep a small flock - fewer than a half dozen. We feed hay from about October through March/April. 

So far the place hasn't filled up with sheep droppings, except inside their little shelter. I just put all that soiled straw into the garden where it does good service.


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## spiritofthings (Oct 24, 2013)

So much good advice. I am so grateful and excited by your responses. I should be writing in the goat forum, I wonder how Angora goat keeping compares to sheep. Aren't goats supposed to be escape artists? Oh and the crimpy mohair of the goats. I wonder how that affects spinning. Just thinking out loud.

I wanted to ask about one more breed. The Romeldale CVM. Do you think they would be difficult to manage if I could get hold of one. I heard these have soft wool also. 

Now horns on sheep ... huh! I guess it must make it just that much easier to handle them.I am thinking about it. A soft fleeced-sheep with horns. When I plug a breed into google images, like Shetland or Finnsheep, sometimes they appear with horns and in other photos, not. I wonder why. I don't know if Jacob sheep have soft fleeces. Isn't that indicated by micron count?


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## RovingAcres (Mar 3, 2013)

My romeldales are very friendly and love coming up to see new people, which can be a bit intimidating when they get pushy about it. They can be quite big (my ewes are easily 100 lbs more than my jacobs) so getting them to do something they don't want to can be tricky. They also eat a lot. Way more than the smaller breeds. 

If you are looking at larger finewools check out cormos too. Cormo boys are just the sweetest big marshmallows and I think some cormo wethers would make an excellent backyard fiber flock. Mine love hugs and laying at my feet for pats and cuddles. Their fleece is gorgeous too.

Jacobs can have very soft fleece if they come from a flock that breeds for fleece. I've bought jacob wool that's been very coarse but the fleece from my sheep is fairly fine and is getting finer generation by generation. They'll never be merinos but my handspinner customers really like it. 

Angoras aren't quite the escape artists that other goats are, but they still get into trouble. Their fleece is very nice, but slippery and can be difficult to spin. Mine seem to be much more high maintenance than any of my sheep breeds but are fun to have around and the mohair sells very well in my area.


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## sgsnoco (Oct 12, 2012)

Icelandic fleece is awesome. I have spent enough time the last few weeks chasing my tiny flock to be pretty familiar with its feel and texture, heh! 

We bought Icelandics because we wanted the wool production. It is a good wool, and if you are willing to separate out the two layers of their dual coat (tog and thel), you will have supersoft, next to skin wool available to work with. 

I have heard good things about Shetland wool though, as well.


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

IMHO, get wethers unless you are willing to deal with birthing stuff. 

Angora goats: are not escape artists compared to regular goats, but they also aren't hardy. They die easily and are far more fragile than regular goats OR most sheep.


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

Maybe buy small portions of various types of wool and spin it up to see what you like. 

Don't---> be like the lady I met who had purchased one registered doe of each breed of dairy goats (6 breeds!) just to see how the cheese from each breed compared!! I don't know why she didn't just buy a gallon of milk from each goat breeder....still baffles me.


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## spiritofthings (Oct 24, 2013)

I guess horns are good on a sheep to protect it from predators, right? And obvious thing to say, but perhaps a good thing to have in your sheep.


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## spiritofthings (Oct 24, 2013)

Romeldales and Cormos sound great to me but I'm thinking now with so little land I'd better stick to the smaller breeds. Yeah Chaimoisee, I've ruled out Angora goats and will start touring some farms.


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## purplequeenvt (Mar 3, 2013)

In answer to the horn question.....

In Shetlands, generally the rams have horns and the ewes do not. There are polled rams and horned ewes, but they aren't as common - at least not in my area.

I adore my Shetlands. My family has raised Border Leicesters for years and a few years ago someone gave me three Shetland ewes. I have a friend that also raises them and she let me use her ram. I am completely hooked! I always saw them as flighty, useless sheep until I actually had some. They are very different from your average sheep. Mine are friendly, especially the ones born on our farm. One of my lambs from this year loves attention and follows people around. 

They generally have soft fleeces and are easy keepers. My ewes weigh 70-80 lbs. They also come in many different colors and patterns.

My really friendly lamb, Kitty.









Four of my breeding ewes.









One of my ewe lambs, Freyja.









My ram lamb. He fell asleep as I was picking hay out of his fleece in preparation for a show.









Riding on a golf cart.









No one else could set their sheep up and then let go. :lookout:


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Those are some very nice Shetland sheep!


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## birchtreefarm (Jul 22, 2007)

I'm biased of course - I have Icelandics and prefer the dual coat, which has been bred out of the Shetlands for the most part.

But, if you have a small acreage, the smaller Shetlands might be better for you, as you could actually have a smallish flock that won't overtake your grass. And you still can have soft wool and lots of natural colors to play with.


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## Runestone (Jan 7, 2007)

Tomorrow, I'm getting my first flock....arriving on site - 5 Shetlands and 1 Shetland/Blue Faced Leister cross. I'm getting 2 registered ewes and the others are wethers. 
I can't wait...The paddock area for the winter is 120x80 with a nice little barn for the winter nights. 
During the rest of the year, I'm going to sectional graze since I have plenty of acreage to do that. With any luck, I won't have to spend hours mowing the yards 
It's going to be a learning curve for sure....so I'll be looking for help!


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

Why not look at romneys? Of course I'm biased but they are the best. They are quiet calm breed (smaller but not as small as the Shetland) which is good for meat and wool. The wool quality can vary a bunch between flocks but every Romney wool I've encountered is next to skin soft. 

12 hr old ewe lamb

7 month old lamb (I'm 5'6 for reference)

her wool:

my colored ram (that's his Romney/Suffolk 6 months old son behind him):

what I make with their wool:


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## spiritofthings (Oct 24, 2013)

Wow, thank you everyone for posting such wonderful pics! This is so inspiring! I'm feeling quite miffed because we don't have much land. I am leaning heavily toward Shetland for this reason. I am wishing we had way more land for Finnsheep, CVM Romeldales, Icelandics and maybe a Tunis! LOL! 
One quick question I have been wondering about but maybe thinking it was too dumb to ask... just to recap, I can really only have a couple of sheep on my little acreage. Can I keep one sheep of differing breeds? 
And one more thing... can you weave into wool fabric yarn that is pretty soft to begin with? Like can you only weave with course wool like that on the Icelandics?
Thank you so much. I am sorry I have been so late to reply. I have been visiting various farms in the area and feeling excited but also dismayed due to our small acreage. Oh well!


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## ErikaMay (Feb 28, 2013)

You sure can weave with soft wool. Think of all the woven merino clothing! I know what you mean about small acerage. I want more land for more sheep!

You can absolutely have sheep differing breeds together. A funny thing i've heard about sheep is they do seem to know "different breeds" and stick to their own kind if possible, but they are still happy as long as there are other sheep.


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

Different breeds don't seem to be a big thing (as long as they aren't too much different in sizes) but color sure is. Believe it or not sheep are raciest. I have black sheep and white sheep and unless they are siblings the white lambs won't play with the black lambs and vice versa. It's not so bad as adults although they still sort out but the lambs really won't have anything to do with a different colored lambs.


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