Shetland sheep ancestry goes back over a thousand years, probably to sheep brought to the Shetland Islands by Viking settlers. They belong to the Northern European short-tailed group and are considered a primitive or "unimproved" breed. This means that although they are small and relatively slow growing, they maintain their natural hardiness, thriftiness, easy lambing, adaptibility and longevity. Shetlands survived for centuries under harsh conditions and on a meager diet, although they do very well under less rigorous conditions. Having retained most of their primitive survival instincts, they are easier to care for than many of today's "improved" breeds.

Shetlands are one of the smallest of the British sheep. Rams usually weigh 90 to 125 pounds and ewes about 75 to 100 pounds. Rams usually have beautiful spiral horns, whereas the ewes are typically polled. They are fine-boned and agile and their naturally short, fluke shaped tails do not require docking.
They are a calm, docile and easy to manage breed. Most respond well to attention and many even wag their tails when being petted!

A very important characteristic of the Shetlands is their beautiful wool,one of the finest and softest of any British breed.Shetland wool comes in one of the widest ranges of colours of any breed. There are these eleven main colours as well as thirty markings, many still bearing their Shetland dialect names.

Traditional "rooing" or removing the flece by hand in the Shetland islands.