Soay Sheep
These hardy little sheep from St Kilda are feisty and fun. There are only a handful of registered Soay flocks in Scotland and we feel it is important to help more people to keep registered stock of this important and iconic Scottish breed.
Soay fleece has a short staple and some hairs as well as wool. The fleece is normally 'roo'ed', or peeled from the sheep, and this leaves the hairs behind to fall out later, while the soft wool can then be spun without pricky bits.
Although the joints are small, Soay meat is unlike any other breed, being
darker and more finely grained than even Hebridean meat and is wonderfully tasty.
Soays have a reputation as difficult to keep behind a fence but we have never had a problem with ours. Maybe they like it here! They don't like being rounded up by a sheepdog, but they will happily follow the dog in, or a bucket of food.
Our old flock was dispersed and divided amongst several flocks in Scotland and England, because of our ill health (not the sheeps!). However, watch this space...
Our Soays have contributed to scientific research. When the Moredun Institute needed Soay DNA for research into disease resistance, they came to us for blood samples from our flock. Our Soays have also contributed to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust DNA database.
www.moredun.org
www.rbst.org.uk
Soay fleece has a short staple and some hairs as well as wool. The fleece is normally 'roo'ed', or peeled from the sheep, and this leaves the hairs behind to fall out later, while the soft wool can then be spun without pricky bits.
Although the joints are small, Soay meat is unlike any other breed, being
darker and more finely grained than even Hebridean meat and is wonderfully tasty.
Soays have a reputation as difficult to keep behind a fence but we have never had a problem with ours. Maybe they like it here! They don't like being rounded up by a sheepdog, but they will happily follow the dog in, or a bucket of food.
Our old flock was dispersed and divided amongst several flocks in Scotland and England, because of our ill health (not the sheeps!). However, watch this space...
Our Soays have contributed to scientific research. When the Moredun Institute needed Soay DNA for research into disease resistance, they came to us for blood samples from our flock. Our Soays have also contributed to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust DNA database.
www.moredun.org
www.rbst.org.uk
Soay lambs
Like most primitive sheep, Soays lamb outside without assistance and are excellent mothers. Here on mainland Britain Soays often have twins, although this is less common on their home island.
Soays shed their fleeces
Backforest Guinevere demonstrating what happens to Soay fleece as summer progresses. This explains why hand spinners find it so hard to buy Soay fleece - it is usually spread all over the place, rubbed off on fences, gates, anything in fact.
Backforest Cedric
Backforest Cedric, a self black Soay ram, displaying his mane, 'chest wig' (scadder) and the primitive line of hair along the spine . We think he is magnificent.
Sadly, Cedric died last year after a long and useful life.
Sadly, Cedric died last year after a long and useful life.
Buttercup, Daisy, Dorcas and Rosie
Our first Soays, bought on impulse at Lanark Market, were self-coloured black. Since then, we have kept a black line going but now we also have some piebalds (born from a black tup and a black ewe). However, we do try and keep some examples of the original mouflon marked ones too.
All of these ewes were dispersed, but we have one of Dorcas's ewe lambs back as part of our new flock.
All of these ewes were dispersed, but we have one of Dorcas's ewe lambs back as part of our new flock.
Daisy with her lambs
Daisy again on 10 April 2010 with her first lambs Oxlip and Cowslip.
Chi Chi and her aunt Daisy
Gladstone Chi Chi was our first polled Soay, born in April 2010. Polled Soays are relatively common on St Kilda but very rare on the mainland. In
2011, Daisy gave us two more polled Soay lambs.
Soays are tough
Soays cope with winter conditions remarkably well, scraping holes in the snow to get to the grass underneath.
Larry
Larry was our first Soay tup, now long gone.
For more information on Soay Sheep, go to the Soay Sheep Society's website www.soaysheep.org
2019 - they're back!
You can only be sensible for so long.
