Perhaps these minis had some other breed bred into them at some point...like
I don't know the mechanics of it, but I know several farms here in New Hampshire (USA) who have purebred registered cheviots. I had noticed at one time that several of them looked quite ragged and had chunks of fleece hanging from them. I questioned the owner and he said simply that he was shearing late that year and some of them were scratching on trees etc and catching and pulling hunks. He said that he had checked and they did not have lice or any diseases (he is a vet), but that they seemed to get itchy as the weather got hot; and whenever he sheared late his flock seemed to follow this behavior. We caught up one and I tried to roo it as I would one of my shetlands and it was a no-go. The animals was MOST displeased with me and the fiber did not simply slide off like it does on one of my shetlands that is rising.
I must say however that these were clumps in various places on some animals.... it was not all down the top line or in any consistent pattern of wool loss. They were not bare to the skin - but simply had these chunks of wool hanging about them looking quite terrible.
Nadine Nadine Chounet Painted Knoll Farm New Hampton, NH [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.paintedknollfarm.net/index.html Registered Shetland Sheep for breeding/fiber/pets Fleeces and rovings also available To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
