# Wannabe sheep keeper



## Mykl1 (Nov 18, 2013)

I'm considering getting 2 or 3 Shetland sheep and have a couple basic questions.

Can I keep just 2 or 3 weathers together?

Do Shetland sheep have to be sheared yearly?

Will they be fine eating baled hay and a bagged diet?

Thanks,
Mike


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## purplequeenvt (Nov 18, 2013)

You can keep any number of wethers. Wethers are very flexible creatures - they can be with rams or ewes and are generally very even tempered.

Shetlands do need to be sheared yearly. Some people shear twice a year. I usually have a shearer come in January for the spring shearing and then in the fall I shear anyone that I want sheared again.

If you only have wethers, they should do perfectly fine of straight grass hay. Because they aren't putting any energy into breeding or growing/nursing lambs, they don't require as much high quality feed as rams or ewes.


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## Mykl1 (Nov 18, 2013)

purplequeenvt said:


> You can keep any number of wethers. Wethers are very flexible creatures - they can be with rams or ewes and are generally very even tempered.
> 
> Shetlands do need to be sheared yearly. Some people shear twice a year. I usually have a shearer come in January for the spring shearing and then in the fall I shear anyone that I want sheared again.
> 
> If you only have wethers, they should do perfectly fine of straight grass hay. Because they aren't putting any energy into breeding or growing/nursing lambs, they don't require as much high quality feed as rams or ewes.



Thank you for the info.

What does a shearer usually charge?


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## purplequeenvt (Nov 18, 2013)

That depends a lot on where you are located. There is usually a base "set-up" charge (covers gas, etc...) and then a per animal fee. We paid somewhere around $200 and had about 30 sheep sheared.

In your case, I would build or purchase a milking stand and a pair of hand shears and do the job yourself. It can be hard to find a shearer to come out for 2 or 3 sheep.


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## Mykl1 (Nov 18, 2013)

purplequeenvt said:


> That depends a lot on where you are located. There is usually a base "set-up" charge (covers gas, etc...) and then a per animal fee. We paid somewhere around $200 and had about 30 sheep sheared.
> 
> In your case, I would build or purchase a milking stand and a pair of hand shears and do the job yourself. It can be hard to find a shearer to come out for 2 or 3 sheep.



Thanks, again


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## Sheepshape (Nov 19, 2013)

This is probably about as useless a post as anyone can make (as I am in Wales), but the shearers here charge a lot less. Our regular shearer (who competes in national championships) charges £20 to set up the equipment £1 for each ewe and £2 for a ram. He only takes a couple of minutes on each animal.

Hand shears certainly work,but you will need to learn to handle sheep first (they are NOT always co-operative).

Good luck if you decide to keep these lovely animals.


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## Mykl1 (Nov 19, 2013)

Sheepshape said:


> This is probably about as useless a post as anyone can make (as I am in Wales), but the shearers here charge a lot less. Our regular shearer (who competes in national championships) charges £20 to set up the equipment £1 for each ewe and £2 for a ram. He only takes a couple of minutes on each animal.
> 
> Hand shears certainly work,but you will need to learn to handle sheep first (they are NOT always co-operative).
> 
> Good luck if you decide to keep these lovely animals.



Thank you.
All replies are greatly appreciated


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## Ruus (Nov 19, 2013)

It depends on the area, but around here (KY), a shearer won't come out for just a few sheep. Some people with small fiber flocks just bring all their sheep together to one farm on shearing day and go shares on hiring a shearer. Or a large farm will let a smaller one bring their sheep over to be sheared. 
I have one Shetland wether running with my Soays, and I'm just going to shear him myself.


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## norseofcourse (Nov 19, 2013)

Pardon my ignorance, but I thought Shetland sheep shed naturally in the spring?  I've seen some videos on youtube of people 'rooing' Shetland sheep and it looked rather interesting.  Is it a trait being bred out of them?

I found someone who will come out and do small flocks - he charged $30 to come and do my five Icelandics this fall.  He does other small flocks in the area, so it helped that I was flexible enough to wait and do it on a day he was coming this way for another small flock.

Mykl1 - you might check with 4-H groups in your area, especially any that have wool sheep, for possible contacts for shearers willing to do small flocks.  Also if there's a spinners and weavers guild around, contact them.  If you don't know of any guilds, try asking at yarn shops, they might know of area guilds.

Good luck with your sheep, I love having mine!


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## purplequeenvt (Nov 19, 2013)

There are some Shetlands that roo, but the majority of them in the US don't.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 19, 2013)

If you are just going to keep wethers together (which is perfectly okay), then all they need is hay, water, and a loose mineral. Check their hooves, shear them, and vaccinate them once a year and you will be okay.


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