The Shetland's roots go back over a thousand years, probably to sheep brought to the Shetland Islands by viking settlers. The Shetland is the smallest of the British breeds and it retains many of the characteristics of wild sheep. Today they are considered a primitive or unimproved breed. Rams weigh 90-125 pounds and ewes about 75-100 pounds. Rams have spiral horns and ewes are typically polled. They are fine-boned and their naturally short, fluke-shaped, tails do not require docking.
     Shetland wool has a Bradford count in the upper 50s to lower 60s and a fiber diameter range of 20-25 µm. Fleeces weigh 2 - 4 pounds and have a staple length of 2-5 inches. Shetlands comes in a wide ranges of colors. Besides the white, the sheep produce several shades of wool including moorit (brown), shaela (silver), fawn, grey, dark brown and black. Shetland fleeces are often patterned. There are eleven distinct colors and thirty described patterns, many of which bear their Shetland dialect names. Unfortunately, many colors and patterns have become quite rare as white wool has historically commanded better prices. The wool color and high quality is commercially important to the wool industry of the islands where natural wools are often used to make high quality shetland knitwear. Extra fine ring shawls are knitted, so called because the finest can be passed through a wedding ring; in the UK as a whole the wool is prized by handspinners.
     Shetland sheep are very hardy, good mothers, and easy lambers. Yearlings make excellent eating and dress out well even when exclusively pasture-raised. Purebred Shetland meat is highly regarded but is slow to mature. The North American Shetland Sheepbreeders Association (NASSA) was established in coordination with the Shetland Sheep Breeders' Group of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in the UK. The purpose of the association is to assist breeders of Shetland Sheep in maintaining the purity and quality of the breed and to provide accurate registration and pedigree records for informed breeding decisions.The preceeding appears in its original form at the website of the Oklahoma State University, Department of Animal Science (www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/shetland/index.htm).