# small sheep breeds



## Anny

There are so many different breeds of sheep out there. What are some of the smaller breeds of sheep or mini  sheep if you will, and which are easier for a beginner. And best temper. 

Thank you


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## ohiofarmgirl

my buddy had icelandics... which are small and easy to deal with. but when we dressed them out - the cuts were really small so i wasnt sold on them for a meat bread. altho the meat we got was very mild and delish!


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## Anny

I would be looking more for fiber then meat personally.


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## big brown horse

Check out the Border Cheviots, they are smaller and produce wool that can easily be hand spun.  And they are cute!


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## Anny

aww those are really cute sheep. Thanks !


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## big brown horse

Your welcome!  Let us know what you finally decide on.  Then we need photos!


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## Eliza

we have olde english babydoll southdowns.  They are minature sheep, only 24 inches tall!  Their wool is very like cashmir.  They are wonderfully gentle and love people.


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## big brown horse

Eliza said:
			
		

> we have olde english babydoll southdowns.  They are minature sheep, only 24 inches tall!  Their wool is very like cashmir.  They are wonderfully gentle and love people.


Hi Eliza, do you have a photo of a babydoll sheep?  I would love to see one!!  They sound awesome!


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## Eliza

sorry, been away for a while.  You can google olde english babydoll southdown sheep on the internet.  They have better pics than I do.  My sheep are black, so getting good shots is hard.  Babydolls have a characteristic smile that you need to see to believe.  My wethers are sweet and happy.  They love people and love to be petted.  They are great weed eaters and won't strip bark from trees or bushes. Vineyards use them specifically for this purpose.  I would love to have more of them.  We were surprised at the size of "regular" sheep, they are pretty big.  But these guys are small, so they are easier to handle, and easy to fence.


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## jen6265

Another possibility would be shetland sheep.  We breed them here on our farm near Niagara Falls, they are the smallest of the British sheep breeds.  Their wool is a dream to spin.  We have a lot of information on our web page.  Hope this helps!
Jen


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## Nature Watcher

We have Black Mountain Welsh sheep. Their wool is black and is supposed to be very durable. Some of them have very soft wool but, like all breeds, some are coarse. :/


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## nsanywhere

I have shetland/merino mix ewes and they are fabulous! Not too big and very friendly. I got Towanda as a one month bottle baby and Tilly at 2 months old. They will have their first shear soon so I'm going to see what fiber sheep are all about 

Here's a pic - I don't think there is much for scale, but will show off my girls anyway


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## j.luetkemeyer

I currently raise Soay sheep.  I only have a few; however, they are a small breed of sheep that require less maintenance than others.  You can do a search for them to get more info.  If you have any specific questions let me know.


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## equusvilla

Miniature Cheviot's are the BEST!!!

read more about our's:

http://equusvilla.blogspot.com/search/label/Cheviot Lambs

Julie


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## jessica117

My handspinner flock consisted of 2 tunis ewes and 2 shetlands, a ewe and a wether.  All friendly, small compared to say a columbia, and quite spinnable.  The wether had the best fleece.  The tunis were a little coarser than the shetland but not bad.  Just my 2 cents


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## Tashi

j.luetkemeyer said:
			
		

> I currently raise Soay sheep.  I only have a few; however, they are a small breed of sheep that require less maintenance than others.  You can do a search for them to get more info.  If you have any specific questions let me know.


My mum and I are hoping to get some of these (because the alpacas are sulking at us ) - isn't the fleece really sought after? Are they nice temperament wise? But low maintenance sounds kinda perfect!!


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## finns&fjords

Have you considered Finn sheep? They're a calm and friendly breed. Mine are very bucket (grain) oriented and will follow me anywhere if I have one in my hand. They eat brush and grass both, will nibble the blackberry vines before grass, which is a plus for our property. They're small in stature as well and I have no problem trimming feet or worming by myself. They are also quite prolific; lambing with litters of 3-5 is common. Because of this they do need extra supplementation in the form of alfalfa and/or grain, from midway in pregnancy and continuing while nursing. With good feed they can usually raise up to 4 lambs w/o supplementing the lambs. you can learn more about the breed on the Finnsheep Breeders Association website. Though I've not had hundreds of sheep in my lifetime, I have had a variety and the Finns are my favorite. Oh and their wool is topnotch for felting.


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## cinmcrk

Hello,

A finn cross is an excellent ewe.  I am going to cross finn ewes with my Dorset ram.  I have also bought Ile De France semen, I'm going to cross this with finn and Dorset.  You get the excellent hybred vigor and the milking and still stay docile like the finn.


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## firstimehogger

Im few to this....haven't gotten mine yet so I have questions about the wool of the O.E.Babydolls.  Is it hard to spin?? 
I'm putting my deposit down on them this week and   have lots to learn in the meantime.


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