Shetland Wool

The Shetland Sheep, or 'Peerie' sheep, is the smallest of the British breeds, found mostly in the Shetland Islands. It is believed to be of Scandinavian origin, most probably brought to these shores by the Vikings, who settled here over a thousand years ago. They may have interbred with primitive sheep already in the islands. This cannot be proved, but they retain many characteristics of wild sheep. They are small bodied animals with a distinctive face and nose, bright eyes, small erect ears and usually wool on the forehead. The legs are fine and of medium length. A distinguishing feature is the tail being fluke shaped, broad at the base and tapering to the point. Rams have nice round horns while ewes are horn-less.

Their wool is most distinctive, being of a very fine fibre quality which is prone to tenderness because of climatic and feeding conditions, and has a very soft silky feel. Being a small animal, the fleece only weighs 1-1.5 kils on typical hill ground but can increase in weight on a richer, greener pasture. Staple lenght is approximately 10cm, usually with a wavy tight crimp. The fleece colour is mainly white, but one can get various other shades, i.e. moorit (reddish-brown), shaela (steel grey) and black (dark brown). You can also get variations of these shades, but they are less common. It is these natural colours that the traditional Shetland pattern is based on.

The Shetland Sheep are known primarily for their wool, but they also have some other notable features, for example, they are very hardy and agile, able to withstand harsh weather conditions. They can pick their way down dangerous cliff ledges to the sea shore, where they supplement their feeding by eating seaweed in the ebb-tide. Their size enables them to find shelter in exposed places.

The Shetland Sheep also make ideal mothers, and are much sought after to cross with the Cheviot for their mothering abilities. They are both prolific and long lived and there is an instance at Berry Farm, Scalloway, of an ewe that had twins at the ripe old age of twenty-one years, and lived a further six years.

The mutton has a unique quality of its own, especially off the heather hills. It flourishes mainly in its own environment, but adapts quite easily to richer, greener pasture, although one can detect a change in the 'handle' (feel) of the wool, which becomes more bulky, losing its bounce.

With the current down-turn in the wool trade due to synthetics or market forces, one cannot blame the producer for looking to the more lucrative mutton market, and for crossing the Shetland with one of the larger breeds to obtain a bigger carcass, hence changing the pasture to accomodate them.

We can only hope that enough of our heather clad hills remain to provide a home for the true native, the Shetland Sheep.

View our Shetland Collection

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