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About Miniature Sheep
Miniature Sheep are ruminants and have four-chambered stomachs. They are cud-chewing animals. Male
sheep are called rams. Female sheep are called ewes. Miniature Sheep mate from August to December.
It takes a female sheep five months to have a baby lamb. Miniature Sheep give birth only one time a year,
usually in the spring. They often have twins and occasionally triplets. The baby lambs are usually weaned
between eight to twelve weeks old. They live 15 to 16 years. Miniature Sheep make wonderful pets. They are
quiet and gentle. They love weeds, honeysuckle and kudzu. Miniature Sheep help farmers clean ground in
vineyards, high bush fruit fields, and small orchards. They are small enough not to damage the fruit and
do not eat the bark off trees. They keep down weeds, insects, and leave behind all that fertilizer!
Miniature Babydoll Sheep
Miniature Olde English "Babydoll" Southdown Sheep originated around the late 1700's in the southdown hills
of Sussex County, England. They were popular because of their extreme hardiness and they produced a carcass
with tenderness and good flavored meat unmatched by any other breed.
Miniature Babydolls were imported to the United States in 1803. However, the demand for larger cuts of meat
almost forced the breed into extinction. By the year 1990, only 350 miniature sheep were all that could be
traced to still exist. Only after the many exhaustive efforts to form a foundation registry to preserve the
original miniature sheep, the numbers of sheep have gained resurgence.
The registry breed standards are a height of 24 inches or less at the shoulder without wool when fully mature
at age two. Babydolls get their name from their attractive teddy bear faces. Neither males nor females have
horns. White is the predominant color, however, there are a few blacks. Their wool is short, stapled and fine.
Fleece tests at 19-20 microns which puts it in the class of cashmere. It has more barbs per inch than any other
wool types and makes it ideal to blend with mohair, angora, or alpaca to make a stronger yarn without losing
softness. It also felts well.
Miniature Shetland Sheep
Shetland Sheep are a British breed brought to the Shetland Islands of Scotland by Vikings over a thousand years ago.
They are a primitive breed of sheep, very hardy and tough little animals. They are a calm, docile and easy-to-manage
breed. Most respond well to attention and ours all even wag their tails when petted! Although Shetlands are small and
relatively slow growing, they maintain 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 many of their primitive survival instincts, they are easier to care for than
many of today's commercial breeds.
Miniature Shetland Sheep are one of the smallest of the British sheep. Rams usually weigh 75 to 100 pounds and ewes
about 60 to 85 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.
Shetland wool is very soft and is produced in a wide range of colors. It is great for making garments to be worn next
to your skin, and the color range encourages using creative and exciting knitting patterns. The wool comes in a rainbow
of natural colors (there are 11 official colors many with their original Gaelic names). White, musket
(light greyish brown), fawn, mioget (light moorit, yellowish-brown), moorit (shades between fawn and dark reddish brown),
dark brown, light grey, grey, emsket (dusky bluish grey), sheala (dark steely grey, resembling black frost), and black.
If clean, their wool will command a premium price.
A very important characteristic of Shetland Sheep is their beautiful wool, upon which the world-renowned Shetland wool
industry was built. It is one of the finest and softest of any UK breed, with an average fiber diameter of 23 microns.
Highly variable, the Shetland fiber can range very from an incredibly fine 15 microns fiber found around the neck to a
coarser wool as great as 36 microns to make rugged, warm fabrics like woven tweeds.
We are very proud of the daily handling and care given to our miniatures here at Tanglewood Farm. We provide proper
nutrition and quality veterinary care to all of our animals. Our livestock is current on vaccinations, dental checkups,
hoof care, and worming. The health of ourÊanimalsÊis very important to us, and we follow rather strict
practices. We maintain a closed herd, which means we do not bring in any new animals, embryos or semen. Once an animal is
sold, it may not be returned. So that we do not unintentionally introduce disease into our herds, we do not bring ourÊanimals
to shows, and we do not borrow or lendÊanimals for breeding. We prefer weanlings do not leave Tanglewood Farm before they are 2 months of age. They need time
to grow and play with other weanlings, receive discipline from their mothers, and time to change their diet gradually to
eliminate the desire for mother's milk. This also enables Tanglewood Farm time to deworm the weanlings and give them their
first vaccinations. All miniatures come with Tanglewood Farm health papers showing up to date vaccinations, deworming
schedule, and hoof trimming schedule. If you need
transportation, we can arrange ground transport within the US and Canada. To other countries, we can arrange air transportation
on major airlines.
We are very proud of our foundation bloodlines. You are welcome to ask for an extended Pedigree and Pictures for any of
our miniatures. If you see any you are interested in learning about, you may contact us by
email
or telephone us at 770-667-MINI (6464).
View our Miniature Sheep,
Miniature Babydoll Sheep
and our Miniature Shetland Sheep for sale.
Click to view our Foundation Sheep.
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