# Is this possible? Micro Sheep?



## Iceblink (Dec 6, 2008)

So I bought a 'lamb' at an auction on monday night to keep my week old bottle baby company. I kept the new one seperated until we went to the vet today. The vet told me she has *all* her adult teeth, and is probably full grown. She is only 12" tall and weighs 21.5lbs!

From what I can find online, not even miniature sheep are that small. And she doesn't look like any of the pictures of mini sheep I can find. Does anyone know of a breed that weighs 21lbs as adults? And what are the chances that I could have bought one at an auction way out in Podunkville?

The vet said some things that made me wonder though, like that you can't tell if a ruminant is pregnant until it gives birth. But I've read enough on here to know that there are _some_ signs. Was he pulling my leg about the whole thing? Or do some lambs grow in all their big teeth early?


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

She is probably a smaller breed of sheep like a border leister and has been severely stunted...possibly due to lack of quality feed or a worm overload. There is no breed of sheep that small that I know of. Do you have any pics?


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I can not answer the question but I would sure love to see a picture of her. I bet she is a doll.


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## Iceblink (Dec 6, 2008)

I'll try and get pictures of her tomorrow. It's hard to get good ones as she won't stay far enough away. About pictures though, how do I post them?


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## Crissa (Oct 7, 2007)

Photobucket is a free site for uploading pictures. :wink: 

I also think she was stunted. Although I could see someone breeding for mini mini sheep, they do that with miniature horses. (stupid people, it's not a good gene to breed for)


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

babydoll sheep are minitures but not sure how small they are - but I know they are fairly small.

as to the pictures -they need to be 430X430 pix - click the browse button and find it on your computer after you resized it I gave explenations on this thread viewtopic.php?f=14&t=8887


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

If you have trouble posting, you can email them to me and i'll resize and post them for ya....I don't have anything to do. :wink:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I'd love to see pics.....  :greengrin:


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## Iceblink (Dec 6, 2008)

OK, I'll try this.[attachment=2:1z9y4sbp]Ginger 001.jpg[/attachment:1z9y4sbp] Here is her head. Giving her a bottle (straight water) was the only way I could keep her far enough to take a picture. She LOVES bottles, she waggles her little tail the whole time. Is that normal for a grown sheep?
[attachment=1:1z9y4sbp]Ginger 002.jpg[/attachment:1z9y4sbp]
[attachment=0:1z9y4sbp]Ginger 005.jpg[/attachment:1z9y4sbp]
Here she is next to my 8 day old Dorper bottle lamb, Portia. In the background, you can just see a white zip-tie (I know I need to cut these off) but for reference, the zip tie is 22" from the ground.

Does she look like any breed that you know of? I did give her a bath, so her fleece is naturally that color. She was with a mixed flock, so, if she is an adult, I suppose there is a chance she could be pregnant. I really hope not though. The other sheep were a big range of sizes, mostly in the 90-200 lb range, which is why I thought she was a lamb.


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## ksacres (Oct 30, 2007)

Google *babydoll southdowns*


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## ksacres (Oct 30, 2007)

Well, she is small, even for the Babydoll Southdowns. From the association page:



> *SIZE including UNDER AND OVERSIZED SHEEP*
> All measurements are at the shoulder and perpendicular to the ground on shorn sheep.
> Babydoll Southdown sheep should be from 18-24" tall.
> Most Babydoll Ewes fall into 20"-23" range and most Rams 22-24" range
> ...


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

[email protected]


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## Iceblink (Dec 6, 2008)

KW, thank you, I poked around, and I think I figured it out. Can you all see them?


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## ksacres (Oct 30, 2007)

Well, she doesn't look like a Southdown.

Actually, what is her fleece like? She looks more like a hair sheep than a wool breed.

But, still small! 

Is there any chance your vet could be mistaken about her teeth? 

I do have a three year old goat that will still greedily take a bottle, but *most* animals loose the ability to suck a nipple unless they use it regularly.


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## Iceblink (Dec 6, 2008)

It was the first time I have gone to that vet, and he is the only one who sees large animals in the area. He said some other things that I didn't think were right, so I suppose he could be wrong about her teeth. That's why I asked here, because it seems unlikely that she could be an adult. 

Not knowing all that much about fleece, I would have to describe it as soft and fluffy. Maybe 1 1/2" long, but that probably doesn't help you much? Her fleece is much softer than Portia's, who is a hair sheep.


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## ksacres (Oct 30, 2007)

Wool breed sheep will generally have a "fleece" pretty early on. It is soft, but kind of springy, and it will be kind of curled. I grew up with Dorsets, but I must admit, I don't know a whole lot about all the sheep breeds.

Your other baby is a Dorper though. And you are correct, that is a hair sheep breed.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

It's kind of hard to tell from the pics, but you could try this website to match her up as close as possible to one of these breeds of sheep.... http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/

If she just takes a bottle that easily then I would think she is probably younger than the vet thinks.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I have two bottle babies who are adults one is a 3 year old the other is 1 years old. The one year old just realized how to suck the bottle again after just playing with the nipple for a while. The 3 year old just chews it. 

it isnt impossible but I would be skeptical about her being anything older then a year old if that. But I have been known to be wrong many times.

The chances of her being pregnant are still there even if she is a baby -- either way I hope she isnt


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## Shelly (Oct 5, 2007)

Have you check her teeth? Here a site telling you how to do it. http://www.smallstock.info/tools/sheep/aging.htm#1. Compare her teeth to the bottle baby. She could be a cross between a wool and hair sheep. Most hair breeds are on the small side compared to wool breeds. My friend's painted desert sheep weight 90 at the every most. His 6 month olds lambs are half the size of my 3 month olds lambs. Shelly


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I do not know anything about sheep, but no matter how old she is she is so cute. Look at that face.

I would look at the teeth also but the ting is they cna get Adult teeth early and I have seen a three year old buck with all baby teeth so it is just a guess.


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## Iceblink (Dec 6, 2008)

I did see her teeth when we went to the vet, they are all the same size. I don't know enough to tell if they are all baby teeth or all adult teeth, and the vet said they were all adult teeth. But given all the contradictions, I am thinking maybe the vet is wrong. 

Another question, I can feel all her ribs and backbone through her fleece. She also has a big round belly. I thought it might be worms? The vet did worm her, so maybe she will start putting on more padding over her bones? Or is that normal condition? I can feel the ribs on my bottle baby, but they have a nice 'covering' and I can't feel her spine much. Also, her stomach is asymetrically bulgy. Is that normal? The vet said that ruminants just all have big bellies because they have 4 stomachs, but I have seen pictures of sleek and svelte sheep and goats. 

Thank you all for your input, it is so helpful.


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## ksacres (Oct 30, 2007)

What did he deworm her with? Yes, she may have worms, but that's not the only cause of poor condition. You also need to allow some time for the dewormer to work and for her to recover. It's not an overnight process, just like she didn't get run down with worms overnight.

Yes, it is normal for a ruminant to have a large RUMEN. But not a pot belly, especially given that she is so thin. A large rumen is a healthy rumen, and a healthy rumen basically equals a healthy animal. Large rumens can process larger quantities of roughage and do it in the most efficient way possible, and usually result in well conditioned animals, not thin ones.

Is short: My best guess is your baby had a rough go of it before you got her. Particularly if she is really an adult, it's possible she suffered from untreated cocci as a lamb and it resulted in permanant intestinal damage, which would account for her extremely small stature and poor condition. Damage in the digestive tract means she is only getting a very small portion of the nutrients in her feed. Give her time, love, and plenty of high quality roughage and feed.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

my gut feeling is this is a stunted standard sized animal, hair breed cross fleece breed, possibly a year old but no more than that. she has done it tough, possibly not enough food, high worm burden plus coccidiosis. her face is young, and it is entirely possible to mistake a full mouth of baby teeth for a full mouth of adult teeth and vice versa, I've done it before. as for the pregnancy your vet can either draw blood to test, or do an ultrasound for pregnancy. I would doubt she would be pregnant being so small, but it is a very slight possibility.


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## goatbless (Jan 10, 2009)

I once knew a bottleraised icelandic sheep that was only about a foot tall, possibly from not being fed often enough, although the breed is naturally rather small anyways. Your new lamb's face reminds me of soay or shetland sheep, which are also fairly small breeds. Just a few suggestions I thought I'd throw out there for breeds she resembles.. She's a real cutie, by the way!


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## lesserweevil (Oct 5, 2007)

sheep teeth grow the same as goat teeth do, basically. So if you know what goat adult teeth are like, you can check hers. Basically at 1 year old she will have 2 large teeth at the front and the rest will be small, at 2 years old she will have 4 large teeth and the rest will be small, etc. 

at under 1 year all her teeth will be small, at 4, all her teeth will be big, called "a full mouth"

LW


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## sealawyer (May 31, 2009)

I'm not experienced with sheep, but she does look younger than what the Vet says?! Maybe get a second opinion?!


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