Mini cheviots

[bluebirdsnfur]

After some research, I have decided on the miniature cheviots. I like their size and their look and wool seems good for beginners...I want to learn to spin wool. We have half an acre we are fencing in this summer. Not interested in breeding so two of either sex will be ok. Anyone have experience with them? Anyone around Indiana with them?

Love all the sheep info on this site!

 

[goodhors]

If you want these for pets, you might want to reconsider. Cheviots are VERY CUTE, but not
the most friendly, pet type sheep. They jump WELL, so fencing needs to be good, with some
height to it. You will need special pens to run them into for handling, because you won't catch
them out in the bigger field.

Our friends had regular Cheviots for their wool. Raised from lambs, endeavored to "tame"
them for easier handling. Just never happened. Cheviots stayed very wary, hard to handle
individually. I looked at regular Cheviots for us, but decided against them after visiting
a herd that tried to commit suicide to escape THEIR OWN shepherd moving towards the flock.
Looked like a video game, sheep LEAPING high, racing away, determined not to be close
to the humans!

So you may want to have a backup breed as choice 2, if Cheviots don't appear to be what
you want in visits to a farm.

 

[purplequeenvt]

I would agree with goodhors. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that mini Cheviots are as crazy as the regular ones. I helped show some Cheviots once and they fought the whole way. I was bruised and sore all over.

 

[SheepGirl]

At our fair, the only sheep to escape from the handlers are the Cheviots...go figure. Not all of them do it, but there is usually at least one per class. Those same people don't have issues with the other breeds they show, either.

 

[TheSheepGirl]

I have had a bit of experience with Miniature Cheviots and Toy Miniature Cheviots. I like the Toys the best since they are very small and quite a novelty.

In my experience they were calm and quite different in demeanor from the Standard Cheviots. They were very easy to handle and didn't do the whole jumpy, leapy thing when we were catching them. They were quite nice sheep, but were a bit stubborn, like most sheep. We got through the shearing and worming without much of a fuss at all. The small size helps greatly when handling comes along.

It depends on the breeder. Try to find a breeder who raises them for pets and they are likely to be pets for you. Try to get them as lambs and handle them often and they will warm up to you quickly and be quite friendly.

Since yours will be miniature cheviots you will not need quite the fencing you would need for larger sheep. About a 4 foot fence should do for them. Miniatures don't tend to be quite as good at escaping as the large sheep. They will only need about half a flake of hay daily per sheep and never more than a half pound of grain if you decide to grain them. Being miniatures they are mostly prone to single births as most miniatures are. Twins are less common because they are smaller sheep.

If you are looking for wool or pets, then go with two wethers. The wethers make the finest wool and are generally more friendly and are a better choice if you are not going to breed the sheep.

Anything else you want to know? Miniatures are my specialty when it comes to sheep.

 

[bluebirdsnfur]

Thank you all for your replys! I have been been giving it more thought and have decided to stick with the miniature cheviots. As I am 'not' going to breed and even tho I would like them to be pets and very tame, it isn't an absolute must. I have been in contact with a breeder in TN and will be going down to see her flock in March. Looks like she has some very nice ones.

We will be fencing half an acre with 4ft woven wire (horse fencing) with a small barn on one end...so they can stay out or go in. This area is very close to the back of our house so I will be able to see the whole area from our kitchen window, sliding doors or back deck (in the summer).

TheSheepGirl, thank you also for your input! I am glad to hear they are not too horribly hard to handle. Being I only want two, I plan on learning to shear them myself...on a table! Thanks for suggesting two wethers. I kinda thought that might be the way to go. Probably won't be ready to bring them home till mid summer so I'll be on here and gettin some books to learn more sheep stuff...and ask some more questions. Are their smaller lightweight clippers suitable for shearing just a couple sheep?

 

[TheSheepGirl]

Are their smaller lightweight clippers suitable for shearing just a couple sheep?

I have used just regular dog clippers on my minis. Use the wide toothed head and it should work just fine, particularly on these guys with the fine grade of wool.

My main shears, though are a pair of scissors. I bought the best ones I could find and they have worked for me for 2 years without getting too worn out. Make sure you buy good scissors and not just the cheapy ones, since the cheap ones get dull to fast. It can be a bit hard on the hands the first go around, but with small sheep it isn't too bad.

I've never done the table shearing, but it has to be easier! I normally just lay them across my lap to shear them.

 

[bluebirdsnfur]

Well that would be great! I used to groom dogs and still have my clippers and an assortment of blades. I could try the lap shearing but I'm guessing it would be harder on my back. Hubby's pretty handy so I think I could eventually get him to make a low table for me. Thank you SheepGirl!

 

[goodhors]

With the miniature animals, maybe an old dog grooming table would
be a better height for clipping than a sheep table. You might need to
add a head holder instead of the leash hook, to keep the sheep on the
table.

Sheep grooming tables are not tall, designed for bigger sheep. So for
the minis, you still would be really bent over much of the time. Or you
could have husband make a sheep stand with lots longer legs!! Just
pick the sheep up and put them on the taller stand or grooming table.
Head rest makes trimming lots easer.

We have a sheep grooming stand, an think it is WAY BETTER than trying
to clip them standing or sitting on the ground. No backaches.

 

[bluebirdsnfur]

As a matter of fact, I do still have my grooming table! The height comes to my hip so it would be a good height to shear at. It would certainly be worth trying. Thank you! I have actually seen similar head holding attachments for dogs and will have to check them out to see if they would work for sheep. Never even thought of that! You guys are great!

If I am able to get a couple of wethers young enough, I can maybe work with them a little at a time up on the table. Trimming feet would be a whole lot easier too!