[melodysheep]

Hello again. I've just read the posting on multiples but think I should have put my question on here instead of 'Introduce yourself'! If any of you have a moment, can you look at Hello from East Devon? Many thanks
(thank you Kimbo!)

[Thyme]

Hello. We (ponies, guinea pig, goldfish, several VERY elderly Shetland sheep and oh, the other half) arrived in Devon a couple of years ago from East Sussex. We would like to get a few more sheep (Shetland) and have found some suitable beasties. We are buying them purely as 'mowers'  and for their fleeces, or at least that is the plan at the moment. The sheep we have found are pedigree but unregistered, as to do so was becoming very expensive for them. Can someone tell me IF I decided after all, at some point, to breed from them, as long as I've got the sire/dam details, would I be able to register them? I'm only asking the question as because they are only one/two years old (not the 3/4 year olds that I would have been more then happy with and hopefully they'd have been a bit cheaper!) I'd like to keep all options open! Do hope this makes sense and I would appreciate any input on this. Many thanks.

Possibly.  Have a look here.  Are their sires and dams registered?  You can check here.

Sheep can be registered at any age, but I'm not sure how flexible the SSS is about registration by someone who isn't the breeder.  You could email the Registration Secretary and ask, she's a nice lady.  If you are on good terms with the breeder then perhaps she would register them now for you, if you cover the fee?

[Anke]

Registration itself is quite cheap per sheep and can be done at any age, but membership of the Shetland Sheep Society (necessary to register) is 30 quid per year for not much else other than the pleasure of being able to register your sheep, so I would seriously think about registering them (or asking the breeder to do so for you, s/he may not be a member anymore). Unless you are seriously going into breeding AND showing your sheep, you will also be unlikely to achieve a significant difference in sale price between registered and unregistered sheep in the future.

What I am saying is - keep them unregistered (and pay for them accordingly), and enjoy them as they are... if you change your mind later re breeding and showing, you can always eat the unregistered stock (they taste the same) and buy in registered stock and become a member yourself.

[melodysheep]

Thank you Thyme and Anke. Have spoken to the seller and he's going to let me have the 'family tree'. Going on your comments, I think I'll leave it at that and just enjoy having some young Shetlands around again munching and hopefully producing some good fleeces. Not sure what the oldies will make of them but they can view safely from the other side of the fence!!

[landroverroy]

Thank you Thyme and Anke. Have spoken to the seller and he's going to let me have the 'family tree'. Going on your comments, I think I'll leave it at that and just enjoy having some young Shetlands around again munching and hopefully producing some good fleeces. Not sure what the oldies will make of them but they can view safely from the other side of the fence!!

Very wise.
Registration is not the be all and end all of having good stock. And by saying that, I am not decrying those of you who breed pedigrees, have a good reputation for their animals, and are descriminating about what is worth registering and what would be best eaten and not bred from.
There are so many breeders who think that because their animals have paperwork with them then they are superior to those that don't, and should command a higher price. This is not necessarily so. A good animal stands out whether it is pedigree or not, and when you come to sell you can get as good if not better price for a quality pure bred as for an inferior one with papers.
Having already got Shetlands, then you know what you're looking at. So decent unregistered stock will do your job, and as said, will taste just as good.