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| History of Shetland Sheep,
by David Ryle of Ryle Shetlands
History of Shetland Sheep, by David Ryle of Ryle Shetlands
Their forays into Scotland, Eire, and the coastline of England and Wales at this time were relatively common; many modern seaport towns can be dated from around this time, and were in all probability used in much the same way as Shetland. It is probable, however, that the existence of sheep on the islands dates back much earlier in the form of a primitive type of animal, not unlike Soay sheep, that were common throughout much of northern Europe. The original domestic sheep carried on board the Viking ships would have been the old Norwegian breed, that are still bred in Selbu, Bergen, Setesdal, and several other locations throughout western Norway, and were dropped at the islands to be caught up at a later date. The island's population of wild sheep, without the intervention of either genetic incompatibility, or man, would have bred with any ewe that came in season. As the population changed on Shetland from transient to permanent, farming practices of the time would have begun to take effect, including primitive but effective breeding programs, with an emphasis on the selection of livestock, best suited to the somewhat bleak and sparse terrain. It is from these haphazard beginnings, came the breed of sheep we now call Shetland.
Mulder has become an energetic entrepreneur and marketer since she and her husband, Terry, moved to their 10-acre property in 1997, dubbing it Justalit'l Farm. But many of her projects have grown out of necessity, not leisure. Two years after the Mulders moved to their small acreage on the edge of tiny Winslow, Ill., (just south of the WI border,) they were devastated by a fire that destroyed their home and five pets that were inside - including a pet raccoon. Fire officials determined that the fire was caused by circa 1940'S wiring for an air-conditioning unit that wasn't plugged in at the time of the February fire. The only things that Tami salvaged from the burning home were her two spinning wheels, rescued with the help of a neighbor. Finding that their insurance was woefully inadequate to build a new home, the Mulders set about looking for ways to generate extra money. As it turned out, the spinning wheels helped point the way, as the couple became more involved in sheep and goats. One project Tami decided to try was making goat-milk soap from the excess milk given by the three or four goats she was milking. "I heard you could make soap from goat milk and I thought, heck I'm going to give it a try," she said. Each of her goats gives about 12 pounds a day, more than enough to feed their young, supply some for the Mulder's use and still provide raw material for soap. It has worked out beautifully. She molds the soap in large pads and then cuts each bar by hand. Each bar contains 25 percent pasteurized goat milk, as well as saponified vegetable oil, olive oil, coconut oil and natural vitamin E. Her first marketing attempts were successful, so Mulder expanded her line. It now includes oatmeal-honey soap, double butter soap, unscented bars and those with aromatic herbal additives like yarrow and comfrey, bergamont, lemongrass, eucalyptus, chamomile, rose hips, jasmine, mint and patchouli. All the botanicals she uses in making her soap are grown organically and harvested on the Mulder's farm. The honey and beeswax come from a local beekeeper and Mulder said she uses no fillers, synthetics, artificial color, preservatives or petroleum products. "I was a spinner long before we had sheep," she said. She found that a flock of Shetland sheep offered a diversity of wool types that allow the creation of everything from rugs to next-to-skin baby garments. "Different animals produce super-soft fleeces while others produce wool that is more rustic," she said. The wool from Shetlands has a wide natural-color range as well, from grays to reddish browns and from fawns to black. The fleece of Shetland sheep comes in 11 different natural colors and over 30 color patterns. One of the lambs born this year at the Mulder farm has a color pattern that looks rather like a Holstein cow. The black-and-white color pattern of the new arrival is highly sought-after, Mulder said. At one time the Mulders also had up to 100 Angora rabbits on their farm in order to have angora fiber to blend with their wool. The rabbits are now gone, so Tami can focus her efforts on the sheep and goat-milk soap. But the yard still teems with a variety of chickens, and the Mulders can't resist going to sales of the Illinois Game and Pet Breeders association. Mulder said she was attracted to the Shetland breed from the production standpoint because the animals are small, docile and very personable. "They are cute and so easy to handle. I have several really tame ewes. I'd never be able to handle some of the larger breeds of sheep," she said. According to Mulder, the largest of rams will only reach 125 pounds and average slightly less than that. Ewes range from 70 to 100 pounds. Shetland ram lambs develop horns at a young age and sometimes rams are culled for the imperfect way their horns grow. When they grow as they should, ram's horns form handsome spirals away from their heads. Sometimes ewe lambs develop horns and rarely there are polled rams, although there is a polled ram used in Tami's flock. Because Shetland sheep are small and are "easy keepers" they are a good fit for the Mulder farm, which has several pastures and a stream running through it. The ewes also have very little trouble delivering their lambs. "I should be knocking on wood but we've never had to assist a ewe and never had pregnancy toxemia or anything like that. "We've never used a heat lamp on Shetland lambs," Mulder said. "We've had them born in the snow and never lost a lamb. They are hardy little critters and, once dry with warm milk in their bellies, they will take quite a bit of cold." Because Shetlands are so easy to live with, the Mulders flock has grown. They now have 26 mature and yearling ewes and 34 lambs. Shetland sheep have naturally short, fluke-shaped tails that don't require docking. Because the breed evolved in a harsh environment - the Shetland Islands of Great Britain - where forage was sparse, natural selection favored small, thrifty sheep that can fend for themselves. During the last century thought, the diversity of the breed was depleted and number of Shetland sheep plummeted. Crossbreeding was used to produce larger carcasses for market and all -white fleeces for woolen mills. Concern for loss of the gene pool prompted some breeders to begin conservation efforts, but even today, the Shetland is considered a minor breed. The first Shetland sheep came to North America in 1948 when a family imported three ewes and a ram from the Shetland Islands to Saskatchewan, Canada. A second importation came in 1980 when the Rare Breeds Survival Trust helped with the importation of 28 ewes and four rams to an Ontario Farm. Some of these sheep were brought to the United States in 1986 and form the base of growing Shetland Flocks in this country. "All of the Shetlands in the United States came here in the last 15 years," she said. One of the drawbacks of raising a minor breed that is close to extinction is that it is tempting to "breed anything just because it's Shetland,) Mulder said. She has been more stringent in her culling standards, taking animals from the gene pool if she things they have undesirable characteristics. One of her adult rams will be culled because his horn is growing towards his eye - something she thinks should not be reproduced in future lambs. What she does like to see reproduced is lustrous fleeces. The Mulders invested in a carding machine so they could produce clean, carded wool for sale. A sheerer comes and harvests the fleeces, and the fleece of each animal is kept separate. Mulder cleans and washed each fleece, cards it and packages it for sale to hand spinners. Those who buy the roving, as it's called, can also learn about the animal that produce it. Mulder includes a photograph, the name and other information on each of the animals whose fleece she sells. "That way people who don't have a chance to keep their own animals can have some of the fun of what it's like to spin wool from animals they know," she said. Mulder has also become active in the Midwest Shetland Sheep breeders association, a group of breeders and others who want to promote the breed. A photograph of a favorite Mulder ewe formed the basis for the group's logo. As if all of the entrepreneurial activity wasn't enough, Mulder has worked full time for 26 years as a computer-aided drafting technician at Honeywell. For more information on the breed, go to www.midwestshetlandsheep.org or write MSSBA, North 9166 Hwy J, Iola, WE 54945. The web site for the North American Shetland Sheep breeders association is www.shetland-sheep.org .
What a wonderful event MSSBA's first annual Shetland Sheep Show was! We had over 65 sheep entered for our first outing at Jefferson County Fair Grounds in Jefferson, WI. Partnering with WSWF (Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival), we had a great venue to have our first sheep show. All of the spectators were impressed with the wide variety of sheep that were on display during the show, with a huge range of natural color and fleece types. We had all colors represented,including browns (moorit), blacks, creams (musket) and everything in between. Even some with those coveted spots!
The show results were as follows:
Congratulations to all of our winners! We look forward to seeing you all at our Second Annual MSSBA Shetland Sheep Show! We would also like to extend a message of “Join us!” to those who could not make it this year. What a wonderful event!
Turn up your hot water heater to a minimum of 140 degrees. If you have hard water like I do, put 1/2 a cup of Mule Team BORAX natural laundry booster in your washer and fill with the hot water. I can fill halfway for a 4 pound fleece and fill on "large" capacity for 6 pounds and over. Add one cup of any liquid dish soap. I use Valley View Emerald dishwashing liquid that I purchase at my local Farm and Fleet. It comes by the gallon for $3.99.
Next, using rubber gloves, take the fleece out in handfulls, squeezing the water out. I have a 5 gallon pail handy that I put this wool in. I set the washer on spin and spin the water out but as soon as the water is gone, I stop it momentarily and return the fleece. Start up the spin again to spin the water out.
Repeat the washing except this time use 1/2 a cup of soap and less water. If there is very little to no dirt on the drum, it's time to rinse your fleece. The only time I've never had dirt on the drum was for fleeces I purchased that were covered year round. I then saved the lanolin, but that's another story! So to rince the fleece, remove it from the washer and fill with warm or tepid water. Hey! Fleeces will NOT felt if you change the water temp, so why waste hot water that you have to pay to reheat????? Fill your washer with the rinse water and return your fleece. Swish the fleece around good and using your hands, squeeze the fleece. You'll feel air bubbles squeezing out as you do this. NO! You won't felt it! Really, wool isn't all THAT fragile! After you've done that, there is no need to soak, just put the washer on spin and spin the water out and leave the fleece in the water. If it's clean, theres no dirt to get trapped! Well, that's it. Easy, isn't it?
How to Show Your Shetlands, by Nyla Catanzaro When you decide to go to a show, try to gather as much information as possible. You will need health papers, registration papers, entry fees, halters, bedding, feed, buckets, pans and of course the SHEEP! Find out when you can enter, when the show is, and who to contact for more information. If you are going out of state you may need special papers or a special seal from the state vet office. If it is a large show, such as a state fair, find out who the breed manager for Shetlands is and ask when they are checking papers. Some shows have special ring cards that help the clerics keep track of placing. These need to be filled out before the show begins.
The exception to the spacing rule comes into play when you are showing group classes. In this case you will want to keep your sheep directly next to each other. Be prepared to answer questions such as age, weight, feeding program, and vaccination program. Few judges ask these in the open shows but 4-H judges like to find out if this is the child's project or Mom and Dad's. When the judge comes up to handle your sheep you will want to brace it so that it will not jump. This means standing up if you have been hunched down. I don't like to ever see a sheep's front feet off the ground when the judge is handling it. You will see this often in market classes. Let it be their problem and remember that if Shetlands were meant to stand on two legs than God would have made them that way. When the judge is in front of your sheep, you should step to the side, hold the head up and allow for a good front view. It is best to open the mouth for the judge to see the teeth yourself instead of having the judge stick his fingers in every sheep's mouth, this will also prevent a sore mouth from the potential struggle. Try to keep the sheep between you and the judge. When you switch sides of the sheep, do it gracefully after the judge has passed. The judge will often look back at your sheep after he has moved on to the next one, so keep paying attention and keep your sheep set. The judge is constantly comparing and placing sheep in his mind as he goes through the line. Never stop showing, even as you are leaving the ring, you may be back in with that sheep in a later class or back in front of that judge at another show. My advice to parents is to enjoy the show and try not to coach from the perimeter. You may distract your child and he/she may feel so much pressure that it isn't a fun experience for him/her. Some people are natural showman and some aren't. T he more you practice at home the easier it is. If it is the first show for you or for your child, find someone who is experienced and ask for pointers. Watch for a good showman and study how they do it. My kids have spent hours with younger showman over the years teaching them to show, prepare animals, block (our Oxfords), and clean shear for market classes. This not only helps the younger 4-Hers it gives the big kids added confidence. We have had some younger kids that have shown such an interest that we have taken them along to open shows to help us out. Everything doesn't always go as planned, no matter how much you practice, so try not to get flustered. I have had rams that insisted on dancing through the ring, sheep that got tired of showing, 95-degree weather, and kids that got grouchy. Call it a plan B day and make the best of it. My advice for the show season: go to shows, meet people, have fun! |
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The
history of sheep on the islands that are now known as Shetland can reliably
be dated to the ninth century. It is known that the islands began
to be occupied with populations of people of Scandinavian extraction at
about this time. The islands were in all probability, originally
used by the Vikings, as a crude staging post for their travels along the
extreme edge of the European shelf. 
One
of the best parts of Tami Mulder's day is walking among her flock of Shetland
sheep, calling even the newest lambs by name and getting close enough
to see how each is doing. Growing a rare breed of sheep is just one of
many things that keep her busy. 
While
the goats were providing the raw material for her soap enterprise, Mulder
also began to cultivate an interest in raising her own sheep. A longtime
spinner, kitting and crochet fanatic, Mulder soon took an interest in
Shetland sheep, a somewhat rare breed that offers a wide variety of natural
colors and textures in it's wool. 
Our
show day began with setting up the MSSBA booth and getting our silent
auction items in place and ready for bidding. We had a huge selection
of goods to offer including: roving in a number of colors, homemade goat's
milk soap, handspun yarns, a rice basket, an Angora bunny, a hand felted
hat, ball winder, and a starter flock of four very special lambs that
were donated by some established MSSBA breeders. If we did not have what
you were looking for in our booth, there were MANY other vendors on the
grounds with a big variety of handmade goods. A big Thank-You to all of
our MSSBA volunteers for making the show such a success and additional
thanks to Pat Dunham and Nancy Larsen for acting as liaisons between WSWF
and MSSBA for organizing our show location. 
Our
rare breed has so much to offer and every aspect of this very diverse
Shetland breed was well displayed for the public to see. The audience
commented on how tame they seemed, not to mention adorable, being led
into the ring with a halter and lead, much like their pets! This does
not mean we didn't have moments of excitement! Some of the younger lambs,
with great enthusiasm for showing off, demonstrated some “airs above the
ground” with great grace and agility. Happy to report, those “sport enthusiast”
lambs were quickly calmed with soft words and gentle pats from their handlers.
Sure did make for an exciting show! 
Our
classes started at noon with the first class being junior showmanship
with three adorable and somewhat serious competitors. They all did such
a wonderful job that everyone was awarded a prize! Letty Klein, our judge
for the day, was great with the kids and helped them learn how to show
correctly as they went. 
The
Yearling Ram class drew a large crowd and several comments could be heard
on “how well-behaved” and “how massive the horns are” were uttered. All
of the “experienced” rams were the model of well-mannered gentlemen. We
had many competitors for both the Ram Lamb and the Ewe Lamb classes, and
had to split the divisions in two, providing a better look for the judge.
The Championship class for each division took the top two winners from
each lamb division and the top two winners from the Yearling class and
Letty selected the best of the bunch. As they were all beautiful animals
and very good representations of the Shetland breed, I am sure the decision
was difficult. MSSBA also offered some diverse classes such as Pair of
Ewe Lambs, Best Four Head (ewes and rams), Best Small Flock, and Best
Fleece on Hoof. 
We
had participants come from Wisconsin , Minnesota , Illinois , and Indiana
and are hoping to attract a broader circumference next year. All seemed
to have a good time and most competitors learned something new. We also
had some new members compete for the first time and they were welcomed
into the competitive ring by the other competitors. 
I
then put the entire fleece in the water after it's filled and after I
add the soap. I add soap AFTER it's done filling and just swish around.
I then add the skirted fleece and using rubber gloves so as to not burn
my hands, I push the fleece under the water. THEN! I go around the tub
and grab big handfulls of wool, and pull it up and out of the water and
then push the handfull way down under again. Do this all around the drum.
What this does it loosen up the wool you pushed under the water, letting
hot soapy water get to ALL the locks AND gets rid of any air bubbles.
Then close the lid and set for 15 minutes or half an hour. 
The
reason I remove the fleece first is really simple if you stop and think
about it! The wool acts like an air filter in the car IF you leave it
in the water (ladies, ask you husband to show you an air filter if you've
never seen one.) The water must run thru the wool on it's way out and
the wool then filters the dirt out of the water, holding the dirt in the
wool, like an air filter from your car filters dirt out of the air. Remove
the wool again and look at the drum. It is really dirty? Wipe the dirt
off with a paper towel. 
Preparation for the show begins at home. Practice with your sheep so that
they move naturally when being lead on a halter or by hand. We start
taking our sheep for walks about a month before the shows starts. This
can be difficult and can lead to the "Shetland drag, belly flop, and back
roll". We have found that if we take two experienced yearlings and two
lambs together that the lambs usually catch on by the third day. All of
our show sheep are halter broke for our convenience as well as an aid
to showing. I typically show on a halter. My teenagers prefer to show
the standard 4-H style. 
Know
the weak and strong points of your sheep. The judge may ask your pinion.
Be honest even if it puts another sheep in a better light.
The judge will respect your knowledge. The sheep should be free of
straw, bedding material, and dung tags, the hoofs should be trimmed and
the tags and nose clean. Some shows allow the bellies to be clean sheared
and some don't. Find out well ahead of time. Do not wash or comb out your
Shetland sheep -you want the natural crimp to be evident. The exhibitor
should also be neat and clean. Don't wear hats, don't chew gum, and don't
wear clothes that are revealing when you kneel down or bend over. Try
to watch a few classes before it is your turn to enter the ring, this
helps you become familiar with the arrangement and what requests will
be made by the ringmaster. Enter the ring on time and be courteous to
other exhibitors. Walk in on the left side of your sheep, keeping an eye
on the judge and the ringmaster. The sheep should be moving in a clockwise
motion in the ring. Smile! This is supposed to be fun and it is if you
let it be. 
When
you stop you need to set up your sheep. This means all four feet
should be squarely under the sheep. If you are working alone maintain
control of the lamb with your left hand and set the feet, if needed with
your right hand. When setting a lamb's rear leg, pick up the leg and set
it down in one smooth motion. The lamb will fight less if you pick it
up above the knee or hock. You can set the right rear leg from over the
top or underneath. NEVER step over the back of your sheep. If it is an
open show you can have someone in the ring to help set the sheep. This
person needs to make sure they are not blocking the judge's view of your
sheep. Do not over stretch the sheep. This makes the back appear weak.
Avoid kneeling in the show ring. Stand in front or slightly to the left
of the sheep or squat on your haunches (this is what I do, and watch the
judge over the sheep's back or head). When in a nose to tail lineup, try
to keep 2 to 3 feet between lambs. In a side-by-side arrangement, try
to keep about a two-foot spacing. The number of sheep in the ring will
also determine the amount of available space.