Purpose and Use

We run a small flock of registered Shetland Sheep for wool and also to work in our hopyard. Our sheep are registered with the North American Shetland Sheepbreeders Association, and are a wonderful addition to the farm.

Our sheep are working sheep who work in the hopyard during the growing season. After first hilling and a week or so, the flock can enter the yard and start to work on weeds and basel pruning the bines. The sheep love the taste of hops, but will not chew through the bines if they are large enough, and eat the leaves off up as far as they can reach. Their work enables us to not use chemicals or even manual labor. They’re also acting as super fertilizer conversion units all over the yard while they eat. They stay in the yard right up to harvest helping maintain a clean and well maintained yard.

Of course, all along they’re growing a wonderful fleece. The Shetland breed is noted for having a high-quality wool that is among the finest of any sheep. Shetland wool can be spun to a very fine diameter, it is said that scarves woven with the finest Shetland wool can pass through a wedding band. As such, it can be highly prized by hand-spinners. We have them sheared each spring. Please contact us if you are interested in fleece or wool. Our flock has a nice color variety of fleece.

Our flock started with four ewes, and a wether. We added a ram the next year, all from Margaret Flowers at Trinity Farm and carefully genetically selected. In that spring we had six lambs, four rams (two with exceptionally primitive fleeces) and two ewes.

Currently we have 16 Shetlands; 10 ewes, 5 rams (two proven) and 1 wether all with wonderful fleece. This spring brought the addition of 7 new lambs to our flock, five rams and two ewes.