"North House" - Shetland
"North House" Herd - Willie and Pearl Young, Westerskeld, Shetland
Pearl's mother had always kept Shetland Cattle and Pearl could never remember a time when her family did not have a Shetland Cow. This, along with the fact that their byre was too small to accommodate larger cattle, made the breed a natural choice when Pearl and Willie started their North House herd.
The foundation of the North House herd was with Littlester Laura (Hjem Lowrie x Littlester Josephine) who was bred by Laurence Odie. The herd was named after Pearl and Willie's croft in the north west of Mainland Shetland and was registered in 1999. The influence of Littlester Laura can still be found in the North House herd today, as the vast majority of the herd traces back to her and her daughter North House Annie (by Islesburgh Dexter).
Although North House Annie (1999 - 2020) is no more, her daughter North House Miriam - by Collafirth Robert and born in 2006 - is still very much Pearl's favourite cow. Miriam was capable of giving over 30 pints of milk a day when she was a bit younger, although not at the moment as she has a greedy young bull calf on her who only leaves one quarter for milking; even so, that one quarter still gives 9 pints. When Miriam was freshly calved this year, Pearl was able to supply about 15 pints of beest (colostrum) to folk around and she still had plenty left for themselves and the calf! As well as being a superb hand milking cow, Miriam has been successfully shown and is represented in the SCHBS semen store by her 2013 son, North House Victor.
The North House herd has always been bred with the emphasis on milkiness and Pearl has always milked her cows, making both hard and soft cheeses, butter, blaand and yogurt. The household has been self sufficient in dair products. As the milkiness is so important, it comes as no surprise that the first thing that Pearl looks for in a Shetland cow is a good udder, although a good calm temperament and a straight back have to be there too. Pearl and Willie prefer black cows with white, but have had other colours too.
Pearl is currently a member of the SCHBS management council, both she and Willie have seved on it over the years, with Pearl also serving as president 2017 to 2020.
Photos, clockwise from top left: 1) North House Miriam at 18years with this year's bull calf (2024.) 2) North House Andrina, North House Miriam's 2019 daughter by St Trinians Masse Kos, with this year's heifer calf (2024). 3) North House Lisa. 4) North House Victor. 5) North House kye gently locking horns. 6) North House Blondie (North House Andrina x Collafirth Sidney) at 5months. 7) Pearl & Willie with an extremely laid back North House Andrina.
