CABBAGE HILL FARM– Rare Breeds/Sheep

This month is lambing season for Shetland sheep. They’ve lived for centuries in the wild on the Shetland Islands, midway between England and Norway, but now they’re being raised here in the United States. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.

“Right now, we’ve got twenty-three lambs that have been born. We’re expecting about twenty more.”

John McMahon is the animal curator at Cabbage Hill Farm in Mount Kisco, New York where Shetland Sheep and other rare breeds of animals are being raised.

The Shetland sheep come from the Shetland Islands. On the Islands they’re a native land race. The land race is a group of animals that was at one point or another left on the island and more or less forgotten about for thousands of years. The only selection that went into what creates these sheep and their characteristics is natural selection. Those who were able to survive and thrive on the island were the only ones that are still around today. They lived without sources of food, without human care in harsh, terrible conditions. They were able to survive eating very little with no supplemental food over the winter. So our sheep now are able to produce without much grain. They produce very well. They live on pasture during the summer and hay during the winter. We do not provide them with a barn any other time of year other than lambing.”

Currently, there are about 2500 Shetland sheep being raised in the United States. They’re hearty, their wool is of high quality and their meat is considered a delicacy.

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.

CABBAGE HILL FARM-- Rare Breeds/Sheep

This month is lambing season for Shetland Sheep.
Air Date:04/21/1999
Scientist:
Transcript:

This month is lambing season for Shetland sheep. They've lived for centuries in the wild on the Shetland Islands, midway between England and Norway, but now they're being raised here in the United States. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.

"Right now, we've got twenty-three lambs that have been born. We're expecting about twenty more."

John McMahon is the animal curator at Cabbage Hill Farm in Mount Kisco, New York where Shetland Sheep and other rare breeds of animals are being raised.

The Shetland sheep come from the Shetland Islands. On the Islands they're a native land race. The land race is a group of animals that was at one point or another left on the island and more or less forgotten about for thousands of years. The only selection that went into what creates these sheep and their characteristics is natural selection. Those who were able to survive and thrive on the island were the only ones that are still around today. They lived without sources of food, without human care in harsh, terrible conditions. They were able to survive eating very little with no supplemental food over the winter. So our sheep now are able to produce without much grain. They produce very well. They live on pasture during the summer and hay during the winter. We do not provide them with a barn any other time of year other than lambing."

Currently, there are about 2500 Shetland sheep being raised in the United States. They're hearty, their wool is of high quality and their meat is considered a delicacy.

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I'm Jim Metzner.