# Mini cheviots



## bluebirdsnfur

After some research, I have decided on the miniature cheviots. I like their size and their look and wool seems good for beginners...I want to learn to spin wool. We have half an acre we are fencing in this summer. Not interested in breeding so two of either sex will be ok. Anyone have experience with them? Anyone around Indiana with them?

Love all the sheep info on this site!


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## goodhors

If you want these for pets, you might want to reconsider.  Cheviots are VERY CUTE, but not
the most friendly, pet type sheep.  They jump WELL, so fencing needs to be good, with some
height to it.  You will need special pens to run them into for handling, because you won't catch
them out in the bigger field.

Our friends had regular Cheviots for their wool.  Raised from lambs, endeavored to "tame" 
them for easier handling.  Just never happened.  Cheviots stayed very wary, hard to handle 
individually.  I looked at regular Cheviots for us, but decided against them after visiting 
a herd that tried to commit suicide to escape THEIR OWN shepherd moving towards the flock.
Looked like a video game, sheep LEAPING high, racing away, determined not to be close
to the humans!

So you may want to have a backup breed as choice 2, if Cheviots don't appear to be what 
you want in visits to a farm.


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## purplequeenvt

I would agree with goodhors. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that mini Cheviots are as crazy as the regular ones. I helped show some Cheviots once and they fought the whole way. I was bruised and sore all over.


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## SheepGirl

At our fair, the only sheep to escape from the handlers are the Cheviots...go figure. Not all of them do it, but there is usually at least one per class. Those same people don't have issues with the other breeds they show, either.


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## TheSheepGirl

I have had a bit of experience with Miniature Cheviots and Toy Miniature Cheviots. I like the Toys the best since they are very small and quite a novelty. 

In my experience they were calm and quite different in demeanor from the Standard Cheviots. They were very easy to handle and didn't do the whole jumpy, leapy thing when we were catching them.  They were quite nice sheep, but were a bit stubborn, like most sheep. We got through the shearing and worming without much of a fuss at all. The small size helps greatly when handling comes along.

It depends on the breeder. Try to find a breeder who raises them for pets and they are likely to be pets for you. Try to get them as lambs and handle them often and they will warm up to you quickly and be quite friendly.

Since yours will be miniature cheviots you will not need quite the fencing you would need for larger sheep. About a 4 foot fence should do for them. Miniatures don't tend to be quite as good at escaping as the large sheep. They will only need about half a flake of hay daily per sheep and never more than a half pound of grain if you decide to grain them. Being miniatures they are mostly prone to single births as most miniatures are. Twins are less common because they are smaller sheep.

If you are looking for wool or pets, then go with two wethers. The wethers make the finest wool and are generally more friendly and are a better choice if you are not going to breed the sheep.

Anything else you want to know? Miniatures are my specialty when it comes to sheep.


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## bluebirdsnfur

Thank you all for your replys! I have been been giving it more thought and have decided to stick with the miniature cheviots. As I am 'not' going to breed and even tho I would like them to be pets and very tame, it isn't an absolute must. I have been in contact with a breeder in TN and will be going down to see her flock in March. Looks like she has some very nice ones.

We will be fencing half an acre with 4ft woven wire (horse fencing) with a small barn on one end...so they can stay out or go in. This area is very close to the back of our house so I will be able to see the whole area from our kitchen window, sliding doors or back deck (in the summer).

TheSheepGirl, thank you also for your input! I am glad to hear they are not too horribly hard to handle. Being I only want two, I plan on learning to shear them myself...on a table! Thanks for suggesting two wethers. I kinda thought that might be the way to go. Probably won't be ready to bring them home till mid summer so I'll be on here and gettin some books to learn more sheep stuff...and ask some more questions. Are their smaller lightweight clippers suitable for shearing just a couple sheep?


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## TheSheepGirl

> Are their smaller lightweight clippers suitable for shearing just a couple sheep?


I have used just regular dog clippers on my minis. Use the wide toothed head and it should work just fine, particularly on these guys with the fine grade of wool.

My main shears, though are a pair of scissors. I bought the best ones I could find and they have worked for me for 2 years without getting too worn out. Make sure you buy good scissors and not just the cheapy ones, since the cheap ones get dull to fast. It can be a bit hard on the hands the first go around, but with small sheep it isn't too bad.

I've never done the table shearing, but it has to be easier! I normally just lay them across my lap to shear them.


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## bluebirdsnfur

Well that would be great! I used to groom dogs and still have my clippers and an assortment of blades. I could try the lap shearing but I'm guessing it would be harder on my back. Hubby's pretty handy so I think I could eventually get him to make a low table for me. Thank you SheepGirl!


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## goodhors

With the miniature animals, maybe an old dog grooming table would
be a better height for clipping than a sheep table.  You might need to 
add a head holder instead of the leash hook, to keep the sheep on the
table.

Sheep grooming tables are not tall, designed for bigger sheep.  So for 
the minis, you still would be really bent over much of the time.  Or you
could have husband make a sheep stand with lots longer legs!!  Just
pick the sheep up and put them on the taller stand or grooming table.
Head rest makes trimming lots easer.

We have a sheep grooming stand, an think it is WAY BETTER than trying
to clip them standing or sitting on the ground.  No backaches.


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## bluebirdsnfur

As a matter of fact, I do still have my grooming table! The height comes to my hip so it would be a good height to shear at. It would certainly be worth trying. Thank you! I have actually seen similar head holding attachments for dogs and will have to check them out to see if they would work for sheep. Never even thought of that! You guys are great! 

If I am able to get a couple of wethers young enough, I can maybe work with them a little at a time up on the table. Trimming feet would be a whole lot easier too!


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## aggieterpkatie

I would caution against using a dog grooming table, especially if the sheep is flighty.  THey can tip tables over licketly split, and at least with sheep height tables they don't have a far fall.  Dog tables (the ones I've worked on) arent' nearly as stable and would have a much farther fall.


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## purplequeenvt

I would also hesitate to use a grooming table. I would think it would be too unstable, plus, you'd have to lift the sheep up higher. Much easier on the back to bend over for a little bit.

This is what we use at shows to fit our sheep, but we also use it to shear on. There are basic models that are a fixed height and models that raise and lower with a crank or hydraulics.
http://www.sydell.com/products.asp?id=27&title=Fitting Stands.


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## SheepGirl

I have tried to shear one of my ewes with the clippers my mom uses to give my dogs, my brothers, and my dad a haircut with. Didn't work...at all. I would suggest getting some sheep shears (they usually have a larger motor and larger clippers) so they can actually get through the wool. The lanolin in the wool just clogged them up because they aren't built for cutting thick, greasy fibers.

Our hand shears were dull and I didn't have anything to sharpen them with, so I ended up just taking brand new, SHARP scissors and cutting her. She looked awful, btw.

So instead of using dog clippers, I would get hand shears or electric sheep shears because they work much better. (Well, only when they're sharp!)


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## 20kidsonhill

Our kids put the lambs on a grooming stand and shear them, husband made a wooden ramp and we walk them up it. then the kids shear them. It works pretty well. Probably take a little longer than just flipping them on their backs. but that would be impossible for my kids to do on their own. 

We have actual lamb shears.  It was well worth the investment, even with  just the 3 or 4 lambs the kids shear, but they shear them 3 or so times before the fair. Plus we use the same shears with different blades on our goats.


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## goodhors

I suggested the dog grooming table because she plans to have SMALL sheep to clip.  
Those dog tables are built to handle LARGE breeds, heavy dogs that are larger than
the little sheep.  So while individual dog tables may be less stable than others, overall
a good dog grooming table should be able to hold up a very small sheep for shearing. 
A dog can wriggle about as hard as a sheep up on a surface, so clipping either species 
can be an "exciting" job to get done.

I figured she would probably just pick up the sheep, which seems quite common for 
small sheep owners.  Owners all appear to just lift and hoist the animals about to get them
where they want them.  In our 4-H club, the Shetlands came to meetings in dog crates
in the back of their van.  Kids just lifted the sheep into the van, pushed them into the 
crate to go home.

While sheep are not the smartest of pets, they DO seem able to learn things if you 
work with them a bit.  Ours quickly learned to hop in and out of the stock trailer's 
side door for rides.  They had no problems learning to hop up on the sheep stand
for being clipped.  So if a person worked with their sheep on being trimmed while 
standing on a higher table, I don't think there would be any problems after a bit 
of practice.  Sheep would learn to stand quietly, get their wool removed.  We also 
did the clipping several times before Fair, so they did get lots of practice!!

Goats are commonly milked on higher stands to save your back milking them.  I 
don't see a problem with sheep standing higher in the air than is common, if you 
need them higher to save your body from aching later.

Have to say the headrest is a great help in keeping sheep and dog quiet during clipping!  
I use the sheep stand for grooming my dog, so headrest comes in handy for certain 
parts on her.  She gets sheared too, have half as much dog left as when I started!!  
Enough hair on the ground to make several small dogs with.  She is improving, 
but 90# of wiggly dog is still work to shear off.  I would rather shear the sheep.


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## bluebirdsnfur

Thank you guys for all the input! I really appreciate it! It gives me a lot of food for thought! Yes, my grooming table is very strong and stable but... I would try to slowly train them to stand on it while young and 'way' before they were due for shearing.Plus I can have either DH or one of the grandkids give me a helping hand.  Now if it seems like it's not going to work, I can remove the legs and have DH build me a lower frame to attach the table top to...with a ramp. As far as my clippers...I would like to try them first before I go out and drop a couple hundred on regular sheep shears that I will  only use once a year. Although I will if I have to.

Does anyone do shearing while the sheep is laying down? I used to groom a few medium sized dogs while they lay on their side then turn them over and do the other side. Worked pretty good for trimming nails too!


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## bluebirdsnfur

purplequeenvt said:
			
		

> I would also hesitate to use a grooming table. I would think it would be too unstable, plus, you'd have to lift the sheep up higher. Much easier on the back to bend over for a little bit.
> 
> This is what we use at shows to fit our sheep, but we also use it to shear on. There are basic models that are a fixed height and models that raise and lower with a crank or hydraulics.
> http://www.sydell.com/products.asp?id=27&title=Fitting Stands.


Those are pretty nice shearing stands! I have seen kids using ones like that at the fairs. If my plans don't work out, I guess I will have to invest in one. I will be attending a couple of fiber fests this spring and hopefully will get to see some sheep shearing and equipment. Thank you!


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## TheSheepGirl

I shear my little guys while they are laying down. Works quite well for my shetlands, but it involves a lot of sitting on the ground. I just spread out a sheet and sit on that with the sheep across my lap. It works quite well and they are easy to handle that way.

Your dog clippers should work just fine. It works with my minis and even the Llama. Make sure it is a wide toothed head, though. The wool on Miniature Sheep is much finer than the wool on large breed sheep and there is about 1/4 as much to shear off, so the clippers don't have to go through as much abuse to shear two little sheep.

The grooming table will work just fine. It is nice and sturdy and has the head attachment for the extra restraint of the sheep. The sheep will be small and will be quite a bit easier to handle than most larger breeds. They will stay small enough to pick up off the ground.

Remember that she has SMALL sheep, not LARGE sheep. There is a vast difference in handling, shearing, and many other aspects of raising Miniature Sheep as apposed to Large Breed Sheep. The wool is much finer and easier on the clippers, so dog clippers are a perfectly good choice. They are much smaller and easier to pack and lift being around 30-40lbs. full grown. They are even shown differently most of the time.


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## aggieterpkatie

TheSheepGirl said:
			
		

> Remember that she has SMALL sheep, not LARGE sheep. There is a vast difference in handling, shearing, and many other aspects of raising Miniature Sheep as apposed to Large Breed Sheep. The wool is much finer and easier on the clippers, so dog clippers are a perfectly good choice. They are much smaller and easier to pack and lift being around 30-40lbs. full grown. They are even shown differently most of the time.


That sounds a little on the small side.  The Mini Cheviot site says mature ewes are 45-85 lbs and mature rams are 55-100 lbs.    And while I don't have experience with the Mini Cheviots, I have shorn several Babydoll Southdowns and they weren't all that much different to shear than standard sized sheep.  I know for sure dog clippers would not have shorn them.  There's a big difference in wool quality between breeds though, and even individuals so what may work for some sheep won't necessarily work for others.


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## SheepGirl

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> TheSheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Remember that she has SMALL sheep, not LARGE sheep. There is a vast difference in handling, shearing, and many other aspects of raising Miniature Sheep as apposed to Large Breed Sheep. The wool is much finer and easier on the clippers, so dog clippers are a perfectly good choice. They are much smaller and easier to pack and lift being around 30-40lbs. full grown. They are even shown differently most of the time.
> 
> 
> 
> That sounds a little on the small side.  The Mini Cheviot site says mature ewes are 45-85 lbs and mature rams are 55-100 lbs.    And while I don't have experience with the Mini Cheviots, I have shorn several Babydoll Southdowns and they weren't all that much different to shear than standard sized sheep.  I know for sure dog clippers would not have shorn them.  There's a big difference in wool quality between breeds though, and even individuals so what may work for some sheep won't necessarily work for others.
Click to expand...

X2.

The ewe I was referring to in my post was a 3/4 Babydoll ewe...and dog/barber clippers didn't work on her. However, Cheviots (no matter the size) are a meat breed, and so they do have medium wool, just like a Babydoll (Babydolls are "British Southdowns" - Southdowns are a meat breed).

You can try to clip the sheep with dog clippers, I'm just not sure it'll work.

P.S. I re-read the first post...you said you want them for wool, but being a medium wool breed, I'm not sure that they will produce a good fleece for you if you are looking to spin. The only thing I think medium wool would be good for is for felting.


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## TheSheepGirl

Most of the smaller breeds have the finer wool and most breed them for wool production. However, medium wool works quite well for spinning. Most use it for socks.


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## bluebirdsnfur

The breeder in TN I talked to said the mini cheviots do have a finer wool that would be very good for spinning. I will continue my research tho and will be attending a few fiber fests and will see if any spinners have used cheviot wool. I just really like their size, clean faces and no horns. Like TheSheepGirl, I would try to train them (plan to have only two) to lay on their side for shearing...gotta be worth trying!

I do appreciate all your suggestions!


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## TheSheepGirl

bluebirdsnfur said:
			
		

> The breeder in TN I talked to said the mini cheviots do have a finer wool that would be very good for spinning. I will continue my research tho and will be attending a few fiber fests and will see if any spinners have used cheviot wool. I just really like their size, clean faces and no horns. Like TheSheepGirl, I would try to train them (plan to have only two) to lay on their side for shearing...gotta be worth trying!
> 
> I do appreciate all your suggestions!


Get them as lambs and handle them often and they will lay for you during shearing. Mine lay with my hand on their neck to start out and then just lay still once they have calmed down a bit. 

I love the look of the cheviots and always have! I'm sure they will work just fine for you and be nice easy wool producers!

Best of luck to you and if you have any questions along the way feel free to ask or to PM me with them!


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## bluebirdsnfur

Thank you...I will. I don't even know how to knit yet  so I am also looking for a knitting class in my area. I envy those who have been doing their own spinning and knitting for years.


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## bluebirdsnfur

I am so excited! I found a mini cheviot breeder down in Alabama and put a deposit on one ewe lamb and one wether. Will be picking them up end of June. We recently bought a nice little used 16' livestock trailer so we could pick them up. It's going to be a 12 hour drive home. I'm sure they are going to be very stressed. How can I make the trip less stressful for them? If she has recently wormed them, should I worm them again when I get them home?


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## feed grass

i didn't know you could get much smaller than a cheviot-- why not stick to dogs and cats?  will they weigh 50 pounds mature/


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## bluebirdsnfur

feed grass said:
			
		

> i didn't know you could get much smaller than a cheviot-- why not stick to dogs and cats?  will they weigh 50 pounds mature/


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## bluebirdsnfur

Barn and fence are up. We are now building a wood portable 8'x20' pen, to put on the back side of the barn, to temporarily keep the two lambs in till they are wormed and settle in. Hopefully we will be able to pick them up within the next two weeks.


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## aggieterpkatie

Very nice!!


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## bigshawn

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> Very nice!!


x2!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## goodhors

Might sound silly, but hauling in this heat will be hard.  You could consider
hauling at night, without the sun beating down on the trailer.  If you have an 
SUV or van, putting the lambs inside the air-conditioned vehicle in dog 
crates might make them more comfortable to haul.  Also save a bit in 
gas money not taking the trailer!!  Tarp the floor, crates on top of tarp.
We had some 4-H kids who brought their little Shetland sheep to our 
meetings in the crates, inside the air-conditioned van.

An option we use for the horses in heat, long hauls, is to ice the bedding.
This involves getting some bags of pine shaving bedding from the farm
store, to put on the floor of trailer.  You want some depth to the bedding,
probably only going to use half or less of the trailer for lambs
anyway.  I wouldn't open the bags until almost to the sheep farm, so
they don't blow around in travel.  So a couple bags of shavings should be 
enough for 2-3" depth in the trailer.  Save the extra if not needed, for 
use another time.  

Then stop at a party store before you get to the sheep farm, get a 2-3 large
bags of ice  Slice open the ice bags, dump them onto the spread shavings on
trailer floor.  You then mix the ice into the shavings, get ice covered.
Continue on to the sheep farm and pick up the lambs, put them in on
the iced bedding.  Lambs will get cooled off thru their hooves, laying on
the bedding, so any heat, high temps, will have less effect on them, should 
lower travel stress.

I would give my lambs hay, hang a water bucket, for travel.  Other folks 
would rather not feed for travel.  I figure if they will chew and eat, drink, they 
will settle, get working on their cud to quiet down.

Our horses like the iced bedding, are much more comfortable traveling
in extreme heat, over hot roads.  They arrive much "fresher", not 
distressed when we finally get to our goal.  Having cool or cold hooves
lowers the body temps a bit, which is real helpful with the work of riding
in a trailer and a hot day.

Do clean the iced bedding out of trailer soon, since the wet bedding, 
enclosed trailer heat, can get molds going fast.  We dump the damp/wet bedding 
into stalls, horses use it, stalls are cleaned daily, so nothing is wasted.

Shavings or deep sawdust will keep the ice pretty frozen, even in the 
summer heat.  We have found the ice still solid when cleaning out the trailer
the next day, over 24 hours since we put ice in for a 100F day of hauling.
Horse was bright, alert, when he got home after 14+ hours of driving.  One of 
"THOSE" kind of road trips from H3LL !!  We humans were whipped!!


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## kfacres

did you go overboard with the fencing?  Pretty sure mini cheviots will be about 20 some inches tall once mature-- and you have $10,000 worth of fencing 4' high...


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## aggieterpkatie

kfacres said:
			
		

> did you go overboard with the fencing?  Pretty sure mini cheviots will be about 20 some inches tall once mature-- and you have $10,000 worth of fencing 4' high...


It's wire mesh with wood posts.  What is the big deal?  You think they should only get short fencing because they have small sheep?  What about predators? What about planning ahead and getting a dual purpose fence in case they get more/other/different animals?


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## goodhors

kfacres said:
			
		

> did you go overboard with the fencing?  Pretty sure mini cheviots will be about 20 some inches tall once mature-- and you have $10,000 worth of fencing 4' high...


Regular Cheviots have at LEAST a 4-5ft vertical leap, so you NEED good fencing!

I expect the mini Cheviots to also have a great vertical leap, so the 4ft fence is needed to restrain their enthusiasm!  

Good fencing pays in restraining your animals safely, not "letting" accidents happen.  I think the new fence, stable
to put them inside, useful, safe gates, is BEAUTIFUL.  

Having well built fence is pleasing to the eyes, looking out the house windows.  Good fence will probably be protective 
as well, preventing other animals from getting in with the sheep.  And if you put the fence system up well to start, you 
don't have to be out tinkering with it to fix stuff all the time.  I can't see if there is electric inside the mesh, to prevent 
any fence rubbing.  But with sheep, electric inside should be considered to keep the mesh tight and no heads caught.  
Might want electric on top of the mesh, so dogs could not jump over the fences.  Fences are made to keep things OUT, 
as well as contained.  Short fences are often not a barrier to predators.  Electric is something you learn to use with 
experience, tricky sheep, for a lot of reasons.

We had our fencing professionally installed.  It has proven to be one of our best farm investments.  Little to no work
in maintaining it, animals are securely inside.  No injuries from loose wires, fences down to escape.  Gates work well,
in handy locations for various field configuration changes.


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## kfacres

electric fence is virtually the biggest waste of time involving grazing sheep with any kind of wool on them- or trying to keep rams/ freshly weaned lambs seperate.  They are also the most labor intensive.

Those little toy poodle cheviots-- will go right through, or under those gates.

According to your logic- regular cheviots need 4' fencing-- I don't argue-- I've seen my ewes standing still hop right over pipe gates and cattle panels-- plus more.  I don't see much of a reason to need a 5' tall fence for a sheep that's only 20 inches tall.  The bigger they are the harder they are to keep in-- jumpers.  Smaller can't jump


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## bonbean01

Bluebirdsnfur...totally love your barn and fencing!!!  Want to come to my house and do some more?


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## RemudaOne

"I don't see much of a reason to need a 5' tall fence for a sheep that's only 20 inches tall."


Apparently the OP does.  Last I heard its each of our own perogative as to how we spend our money. The OP doesn't owe anyone an explanation of why they used the materials/design they did. 


Bluebird, I think it looks great. Hats off to all of your hard work!


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## aggieterpkatie

I've got a strand of electric fence on the inside of my wire mesh fence and it absolutely keeps the sheep off it. I hated sheep rubbing on the fence, getting wool wrapped around the wires and bending the fence when they rubbed on it.  A strand of electric fence is just the ticket. VERY cheap to install, easy to install, and the sheep absolutely respect it.  They also respect the electronet fence I use to divide grazing areas.


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## kfacres

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> I've got a strand of electric fence on the inside of my wire mesh fence and it absolutely keeps the sheep off it. I hated sheep rubbing on the fence, getting wool wrapped around the wires and bending the fence when they rubbed on it.  A strand of electric fence is just the ticket. VERY cheap to install, easy to install, and the sheep absolutely respect it.  They also respect the electronet fence I use to divide grazing areas.


electronet is completely different-- both in style and cost.  

Try weaning lambs with a 3 or 4 stand hot wire, as the only thing seperating them.

Your sheep respect the hot wire b/c the woven is there.


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## aggieterpkatie

kfacres said:
			
		

> Your sheep respect the hot wire b/c the woven is there.


And that is exactly what goodhors was referring to when she brought up electric.  Nobody but you is talking about using 3 or 4 strands of electric as the permanent fence.


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## bluebirdsnfur

Thank you everyone! I appreciate 'all' comments! Yep, the minis will only be about 24" full grown but they are still pretty good jumpers so I am hoping they can't jump a 4' fence, lol! You can't see it but the red gates have the same woven wire fencing attached to them. There is a bigger gap under the gates then I would like so we will be putting a board along there.
The 'BIG' wooden gate was built by my DH and me. First gate we ever built! And, yeah, it is kinda big. We wanted to use the leftover barn wood.  Lol, we may be sizing it down a bit. The fencing is attached on the 'inside' of the posts so it should be able to withstand some pushing and rubbing. Fence dude guarantees his work for 5 years so if it starts to sag or bend, I'll be callin him. And BTW, we paid no where near that price for the fencing, lol! 

kfacres, my toy poodle cheviots are still farm critters and still need too be contained and protected safely as any farm critter should be. Actually I like that term...toy poodle cheviots. =-) I used to groom dogs, 32 years. So I'd say that's perfect for me.

Goodhors, The barn and pasture are 30' from the back of our house. I can sit with my coffee and look right out the kitchen windows or sliding glass doors and see everything. If I sit on the back deck it's even better. It IS very pleasing to the eye.

Our plan is to eventually add 1x6'x8' boards all along the top of the fence. We just like that look. Then stain it a really dark brown...just like in Kentucky.

Goodhors, I like your suggestion about putting ice in the shavings. We had hoped to have everything done and lambs home in June but too many set backs. I am very concerned about hauling them in this heat. We don't have a suv so have to take the trailer. I am setting up a 4'x8' area in the trailer with several hanging buckets of ice that can slowly melt as well. Yes, we will probably be doing some night driving. The trailer is more like a livestock trailer so has a lot of open vents. But I am really praying for a break in this heat!

Again,, thanks everyone for your comments! Let me know if you have any more suggestions!


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## bluebirdsnfur

So here, finally, are Cait and Duglas, my 5 month old miniature cheviots. The breeder had to shear Cait before we picked them up as she managed to get a bunch of stickers in her wool. I am very happy with them. They have been here 2 weeks now and are settling in. I just need to get my DH to finish the hay rack so Cait and Duglas will stop jumping up on the hay.


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## Bridgemoof

That is just lovely Bluebird! The sheep have a beautiful area and I'm sure they will love it there. I only wish I had that!

I have a mini cheviot, and she doesn't jump. She and the little Shetlands will go under the electric wire, but I've never seen them go over. I'm sure what you have installed will be more than suitable for keeping them in.

I finally named our cheviot, we've had her for about a month and the name didn't come to me until the other day: Beatrix Potter! lol


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## bonbean01

Congratulations on getting your sheep!!!!  They look darling and pretty happy to be there


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## RemudaOne

Those are some nice looking sheep, for sure. Love the ears on them . But I gotta say....... I've got some serious pasture envy right now!! All of that graze, your very fortunate! I love it .


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## Symphony

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> kfacres said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Your sheep respect the hot wire b/c the woven is there.
> 
> 
> 
> And that is exactly what goodhors was referring to when she brought up electric.  Nobody but you is talking about using 3 or 4 strands of electric as the permanent fence.
Click to expand...


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## aggieterpkatie

Congrats!!  And I'm jealous of all that green grass!!!


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## Pearce Pastures

Okay, I know nada about sheep but those are so adorable!!  And I love your setup.


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## bluebirdsnfur

Thanks everyone! Lol, that hay pasture right behind our fence belongs to a local farmer...I wish it were mine! It's a beautiful 7 acres! Cait and Duglas's little pasture is only half an acre. We have a haf acre in front of the house we hope to fence in next year. Yeah, the grass is pretty green and lush right now because we have had so much rain. Very unusual for August. :/

Bridgemoof...where did you get Beatrix from? Love her name! Mine are from Terry Babb in Alabama.

Pearce...you are right down the road from me. I am in Valpo. You're welcome to come visit anytime! I love your little goats!


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## Bridgemoof

We got Beatrix from a farm in Maryland, outside of Baltimore. Her and 3 little devilish Shetland sheep, which have been roaming around the entire farm ever since they got here. They come and go right under the electric wire like it's nothing! They do stay in the areas that we have the electroweb fencing though.


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## goodhors

Looks like the lambs made a good trip home, in spite of the heat.  Nice looking 
Cheviots!    They look quite happy, having hay to jump up on.  Light color wool is
a nice color against the green pasture grass.

Are they getting friendly to you?  Cheviots seem quite happy with each other, 
so any extra time you can handle them should improve their ease to work 
with.  I hate it when the sheep see you and run the OTHER way!

You might want to mow their pasture now and again, to keep the weeds down, 
encourage new grass growth by removing old long leaves they don't eat.  Just 
like lawns, the more you mow (at a taller height) the more the grass grows.  
Keeps your pasture producing well.  Then come Fall, you let it grow as it will, 
to go over the winter.

They are CUTE!


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## bluebirdsnfur

Bridgemoof said:
			
		

> We got Beatrix from a farm in Maryland, outside of Baltimore. Her and 3 little devilish Shetland sheep, which have been roaming around the entire farm ever since they got here. They come and go right under the electric wire like it's nothing! They do stay in the areas that we have the electroweb fencing though.


No one around here has miniatures and I had a hard time finding white lambs. Well worth the trip to Alabama tho! 

We have 4' woven wire no climb horse fencing (made in the USA of course!) which is also attached to our gates. We blocked any small spaces, anywhere I thought they could get their heads thru, between gates and posts with some 2x4s. It is pretty secure. I hope it is enough to deter other critters from getting in as well.


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## bluebirdsnfur

goodhors said:
			
		

> Looks like the lambs made a good trip home, in spite of the heat.  Nice looking
> Cheviots!    They look quite happy, having hay to jump up on.  Light color wool is
> a nice color against the green pasture grass.
> 
> Are they getting friendly to you?  Cheviots seem quite happy with each other,
> so any extra time you can handle them should improve their ease to work
> with.  I hate it when the sheep see you and run the OTHER way!
> 
> You might want to mow their pasture now and again, to keep the weeds down,
> encourage new grass growth by removing old long leaves they don't eat.  Just
> like lawns, the more you mow (at a taller height) the more the grass grows.
> Keeps your pasture producing well.  Then come Fall, you let it grow as it will,
> to go over the winter.
> 
> They are CUTE!


Yes, and thanks to your suggestion of adding ice to their bedding all the way home, the trip was a bit less stressful for them! We stopped every couple hours to check on them and add more ice from the coolers. They never stopped eating...which was a good sign to me. It was 9pm and dark out when we got home so I think it was also less stressful moving them in the dark into the barn.

Well they are not as afraid of me as they were a few weeks ago... but they don't come to me. I can get about 10 feet from them then they take off. They go back in the barn at night on their own so for now I go out and close the door. I go out in the morning and gather them into a wire expen I keep in the barn (I used when I showed dogs), put a halter on and handle them. They still fight me on this but they are a wee bit better. So far they snub their nose at any treat I offer them, lol! I am not expecting them to tame down like a puppy dog...just calm down and not be so afraid of being handled. 

Thanks for the tip on managing the pasture! I have a decent riding mower I cut our grass with. If I leave the deck up I think it will leave the grass about 6 or 7" long. Will that be a good enough height to leave it? How often should I even it out? Every couple weeks or is that too often?

I really appreciate the suggestions!


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## Pearce Pastures

bluebirdsnfur said:
			
		

> Thanks everyone! Lol, that hay pasture right behind our fence belongs to a local farmer...I wish it were mine! It's a beautiful 7 acres! Cait and Duglas's little pasture is only half an acre. We have a haf acre in front of the house we hope to fence in next year. Yeah, the grass is pretty green and lush right now because we have had so much rain. Very unusual for August. :/
> 
> Bridgemoof...where did you get Beatrix from? Love her name! Mine are from Terry Babb in Alabama.
> 
> Pearce...you are right down the road from me. I am in Valpo. You're welcome to come visit anytime! I love your little goats!


WOW that is so fun!!  I would love to!  And you are welcome to come play with goats too.


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## bluebirdsnfur

Would love to visit sometime and play with the goats! We love the Scarecrow Festival Wanatah has. We try to go every year since we moved to Valpo eight years ago.


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## bluebirdsnfur

We are really enjoying Cait and Duglas and sometimes invite them into the back yard. They do have fun climbing on and off the deck and will even talk to their reflection in the sliding door. The little pen they are looking into is where our greek tortoise, Kramer Dude, lives during the summer.


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## goodhors

Well they sure are CUTE, so I guess worth the drive to get them!  Glad the ice helped 
them travel easier in that summer heat, one less worry for you.  

They "look" quite friendly, how do they work in real life?  We kept bells on our lambs
too, easy to locate fast, horses knew where they were all the time.  Just looking at them makes 
me want to sink my fingers in the wool.  SUCH a nice feel to Cheviot wool!  Daughter 
used to graze her lambs in the yard, before I put in so many bushes.  Not sure which 
might give them a bad reaction, so they usually got grazed in the horse paddocks on
plain grass.

Turtle corral sounds interesting, have only heard of folks who did that.  Never saw any
in photos.  I never knew turtles dug so much until folks wrote about trying to keep them
confined!  What kind of turtle do you keep in there?  Is it quite elderly or just a young one?
We would keep a turtle for a week or so as kids, painted turtles we found near the river
or picked up in the street.  Then we returned them to a wet place.  Sometimes we 
found box turtles, but again, just kept them for short times, released them near where
they were found if it was a safe place.  Anyway, sounds cool having a turtle that needs
his own corral.


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## bluebirdsnfur

goodhors said:
			
		

> Well they sure are CUTE, so I guess worth the drive to get them!  Glad the ice helped
> them travel easier in that summer heat, one less worry for you.
> 
> They "look" quite friendly, how do they work in real life?  We kept bells on our lambs
> too, easy to locate fast, horses knew where they were all the time.  Just looking at them makes
> me want to sink my fingers in the wool.  SUCH a nice feel to Cheviot wool!  Daughter
> used to graze her lambs in the yard, before I put in so many bushes.  Not sure which
> might give them a bad reaction, so they usually got grazed in the horse paddocks on
> plain grass.
> 
> Turtle corral sounds interesting, have only heard of folks who did that.  Never saw any
> in photos.  I never knew turtles dug so much until folks wrote about trying to keep them
> confined!  What kind of turtle do you keep in there?  Is it quite elderly or just a young one?
> We would keep a turtle for a week or so as kids, painted turtles we found near the river
> or picked up in the street.  Then we returned them to a wet place.  Sometimes we
> found box turtles, but again, just kept them for short times, released them near where
> they were found if it was a safe place.  Anyway, sounds cool having a turtle that needs
> his own corral.


Lol, no...I would not call them 'friendly'. If I come out with a small bucket of corn they do come up to me. I walk around and make them follow me for awhile. Then I stoop down to their level with my back to them. When they come in front of me I feed them a little by hand and rub under their chin. When they stick their head in the bucket I can rub theirs heads and necks. Then I dump the rest in a pan and walk away. I always walk away first. That way I feel they know I am not a threat. I leave them always wanting more. And, yes, since they are my first sheep ever...I do love sticking my fingers in their wool! 

The bells sound really nice, not offensive at all, and let me know where they are. I had also read that bells can help deter preditors. Funny...the collars and bells never bothered them from day one. Never rubbed or scratched at them like a puppy would. 

Kramer is a desert greek tortoise... about 6" or 7" long. He is a vegetarian and eats an assortment of plants, fruits and vegetables. We have had him for 6 years now. He is sort of a rescue case. He had an URI and was loaded with worms when we got him. His outdoor pen used to be my flower garden. It is 8' x 15'. There is hardware cloth all around the inside perimiter on the ground covered with dirt and mulch so he cannot dig out. All the plants are safe and edible. He loves the sun but has plenty of shade as well. He LOVES strawberries! They are his favorite treat! He also really enjoys the red hibiscus flowers when they fall on the ground. He has to come in the house for the winter. We keep him in a 3' x 4'  tortoise table with a heat/sun lamp. He is soooo not happy in there! 






Cait and Duglas nibble on all the bushes and plants in our back yard. It's like watching kids in a candy store! The only one I worry about and shoo them away from is the cherry tree. They actually seem to favor the leaves on the birch tree. I love inviting them into the back yard...they are a hoot!


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## Laurel

Sheep girl- I just joined and read an old post where you spoke nicely of mini cheviot. You mentioned 'toy'. Who breeds those?  I haven't been able to find them


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## bluebird

I bought mine from Terry Babb in Selma AL.


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## ShariN

Way back when I used to raise Brecknock Hill cheviots... now called mini or toy cheviots.  They were my favorite breed.  Easy to tame down, halter trained everyone for easy handling. 
Normally ran 10 ewes, plus the rams and of course each years lambs.  
They were easy going and no problem to fence and hardy.

Fleece was more of a medium wool, not next to the skin soft.  Showed the fleece at local fairs and had more buyers for my fleece, than I had fleece for sale.

Think you will like them.


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## Laurel

My first ram arrives this next week - he is just a tiny lamby and I am hoping for a ewe lamb a few weeks after that.  Any difference between toy and mini?


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## bcnewe2

So are these mini and toy Cheviots just bred down from small sheep? Or are they a breed unto themselves?


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## ShariN

They are original sized Cheviots...  Hudson Bay co in the NW brought them in the USA, in the late 1800's.   What is now called Mini or Toy Cheviots, are the original sized Southern/Border Cheviots.

Just like the Babydoll Southdowns... are the original southdown size.     There were a few isulated flocks in the NW, that were not Upsized.


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## khellenbrand

I am soooo glad you stuck with your mini cheviot!!! we adopted a little ewe this spring and she is literally the sweetest thing on the planet. friendly, sweet, attached to us in the same way our dogs are. comes when i call her, wants to be a lap sheep. 
any updates??


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