Local Farm Breeds First Purebred Ouessant Sheep in the U.S.
- jwebb072
- Apr 7
- 2 min read
By Jack Webb
BELLEVUE, Mich. – Located on M-78 between Bellevue and Olivet, a local farm is home to the nation’s first purebred Ouessant sheep. Midwest Mini Sheep, which is owned by Jen Vegh and Kraig Shattuck, places a focus on the breeding of smaller sheep varieties.
The Ouessant breed holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest sheep breed, and it was their unique size that ultimately persuaded Vegh to look for the breed.
“I have a physical disability, and they can't push me around like the bigger sheep did,” Vegh said. “So I loved just the idea of them from the beginning.”
The search for Ouessant soon proved to be quite a challenge, however, with there only being one breeder in the U.S. with Ouessant sheep, at the time. They soon found out, however, that Ouessant semen had just become available for the first time in 10 years. Before then, it was illegal for it to be imported into the United States, as a way to possibly prevent the spread of diseases.
“When I found out that it was here in the United States, I immediately contacted them and we got enough semen to artificially inseminate six ewes,” Vegh said.
Artificial insemination (AI) is how the breeding process begins, as Vegh mentioned it takes 147 days from conception until birth, a period also known as gestation. With the AI taking place on Oct. 23, this round of offspring started being born one day early on Mar. 18, with more being born after that date.
This is all a part of an upbreeding project that the farm has been conducting, with the goal of producing purebred Ouessant sheep right here in our neck of the woods.
“Upbreeding is when you take one breed and you have to usually use semen from a full-blooded animal and artificially inseminate,” Vegh said.
Using imported semen from purebred Ouessant on ewes that are already seven-eights Ouessant have led to the birth of that are fifteenth-sixteenths Ouessant, which are the first pure bred Ouessant in the nation, according to Vegh. Utilizing the same method, the next offspring will be thirty-one-thirty-seconds (31/32) Ouessant (or 97%).
It is clearly a busy time out on Butterfield Highway, and both Vegh and Shattuck each have their own responsibilities. With Vegh mostly doing the behind-the-scenes work, Shattuck is more hands-on.
“I do a lot of the physical labor around the farm,” Shattuck said. “I feed them, I take care of them, and I build things for them.”
Dr. Emily Rolan also helps out with the farm, offering additional help to the two co-owners.
“My role is pretty much manual labor support,” Rolan said.
However, the farm means so much more to Rolan, who comes from rural Missouri. The farm truly acts as an escape for her, amidst all that life has to offer.
“In a lot of ways, going and working on the farm reminds me of being back home,” Rolan said. “And it’s also something that I’m really glad I can provide for my kid.”
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