Tiny Ouessant Sheep

Meet the Flock, tiny sheep with huge personalities

Hello : )

Here at Fair Green Ouessant, we want to celebrate the charm of Ouessant sheep.

Known for their small stature and resilient nature, these huge characters are perfect for hobby farmers and heritage breed enthusiasts alike.

We're happy to share the insider view of being new keepers and breeders, so immerse yourself in the delightful world of Ouessant sheep here. If your Norfolk Horns are too heavy, your Soay too spooky, or you can't justify another 3 Alpacas, then consider Ouessant as your next lawnmower!

About

Ouessant sheep -

are a primitive Northern European short-tailed breed, with a gene pool of fleece colours including soft and faded tones that look simply magical in the landscape. Rescued from the wild Isle d'Ouessant in Brittany, they are the SMALLEST sheep in the world, under 50cm at the withers, 15-20 kilos in weight.

It's our ambition to develop a Ouessant fibre flock that celebrates all their colours including the rarer genes, with a breeding program aiming for high quality fleeces in the full range of colour phenotype - white, stone, tan, caramel, moorit, brown, black and grey, in faded and solid colours. This is the inspiring palette of the North Sea coast, the tones of rock and cloud and seaspray.

Huge personalities -

the beauty of this heritage breed lies in their fair looks and pocket-rocket personalities, meaning each individual is distinctive. Dive into our ram & ewe thumbnails to learn more about each, below.

The visual 'phenotype' (or 'appearance') of Ouessant fleece covers a vast range of tints, shades & tones within the 3 approved "breed standard" colours which are black, brown & white:

Black

Black palette variation occurs with sun-bleaching and fading produced by BB and BB Ag genes. Colours range through raisin, dim grey, silver, night black, with timberwolf at the tips and hints of purple.

Brown

Brown palette featuring coppers, cafe noir and dark brown derived from Bb genes, with pale khaki brown highlights fading to off-white. Brown is a far rarer gene than black, being recessive.

White

White is determined by the Agouti white and tan gene, Awt, with the phenotype incorporating greys, silvers, smoke and blue. Technically, white is a genetic pattern that hides brown or black.

Tiny

With small hooves and lighter mass, Ouessant don't poach the ground - less mess, less damage, less soil compaction. They're also easy to handle, lift and move. And super-cute!

Hardy

Happy outdoors, they demand little in the way of shelter or feed. Primitive immunity includes disease resistance, a key driver for saving ancient breeds.

Soulful

Adding heart and soul to any landscape, they graze and nap and stretch unlike any lawnmower. Gazing at sheep has to be great for mindfulness!

Fibre

With high wool weight per head, fine wool and beautiful palettes, Ouessant fibre is highly desirable for hand spinners, and wool enthusiasts.

Heritage

Rare, unusual, and unique - by helping this breed, we preserve vital primitive sheep genetics, maybe for another millennium.

Chase

White ram 2020