Soay Sheep Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Soay sheep is an old breed of sheep that descended from feral sheep on the small island of Soay in the St. Kilda Achipelago. They are a small short tailed breed of sheep that naturally shed their wool coat in the spring months. They are a much smaller breed than most domesticated sheep we find today but they are said to be a great prime example of what sheep used to look that inhabited the British Ilse before it was inhabited by the Romans and Norsemen.

SOAY SHEEP QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Soay Sheep breed maintain the look of their primitive feral ancestors and are a small compact sheep breed.
Country of Origin:	Scotland
Other Names:	None
Breed Size:	Small
Main Purpose:	Meat and can be used for wool
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Can be used for	Breed, **LSC, Meat, Wool
Temperament:	Alert and wary
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most climates
Conservation Status:	Not listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Rare and listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Sheep?	Advanced sheep farmer/keeper level
Sheep Associations:	Soay Sheep Breeders Cooperative and The Soay and Boreray Sheep Society
Sheep Clubs:	Please refer to the Soay Sheep Breeders Cooperative and The Soay and Boreray Sheep Society members/breeders directories for more information
Note: ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy * LSC stands for Landscape Management – the animal is used for controlling various vegetation growth

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

They are fine boned small sheep with a small delicate face and an alert wary disposition. They have a clean face and legs with black hooves.

Color(s):

Brown or black

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Breed Weight:	25 kgs	40 kgs
Breed Height:	Unclear they are a small breed	Unclear they are a small breed
Hair:	Coarse/kemp hairy fibers to soft fine wool texture	Coarse/kemp hairy fibers to soft fine wool texture
Ears:	Small, pointy and alert	Small, pointy and alert
Horns:	The ewes are either tow-horned, scurred or be polled	The rams are two horned or scurred.
Matures at age:	10 weeks/15 months or 15 years	10 weeks to 15 months
Puberty Age:	5 to 12 months	5 to 7 months
Breeding Age:	18 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	1 Breeding cycle per year	Cover 5 to 10 Ewes in 1 season

EWE BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION
The ewes breed once a year and mostly produce enough milk to wean their lambs.
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 24 to 36 hours
Estrous cycle:	Ave. 17 days/13 to 19 days
Gestation Period:	Usually, around 150 to 155 days but most gestation is 152 days
No. Lambs/Litter:	1 lamb or sometimes 2
Lactation Period:	Usually, around 150 to 240 day but most are milked for 180 days
Milking From:	4 to 6 weeks after lambing
Milk Quality:	Good
Milk Ideal for:	Lambs
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SHEEP MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

They are raised mainly for their meat which has a wild gamey taste but is used as a gourmet meat product that can fetch a top premium rate. The meat is usually that of a hogget or mutton as lamb carcass does not get a good size. At 1 year the sheep is around 12 to 13 kgs of weight and ready for slaughter. The meat is lean, tender and low in cholesterol.

Meat Production:

N/A

SHEEP ⇒	LAMB	HOGGET/MUTTON
Approx. Maturity Weight:	25 kgs	40 Kgs

SHEEP WOOL PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Soay sheep fiber is sought after in most craft industries and special hand knitting. They naturally shed their wool each year around the spring time. Because of its color and the soft textured fleece type and the rarity of the wool it is sought after by most hand spinners and weavers.

Wool Production?

Yes, Quality: Fine to coarse fiber with a Bradford count of 44 to 50

Wool is used to Produce:

Crafts, hand spinning and weaving.

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Age they Produce from:	6 to 8 months	6 to 8 months
Approx. Length:	5 to 15 cm	5 to 15 cm
Microns:	9 to 48	9 to 48
Approx. Quantity:	From 1.5 kg up to 2.25 kgs a year	From 1.5 kg up to 2.25 kgs a year

SHEEP SKIN PRODUCTION INFORMATION

They are not primarily bred for their sheep skin production. Although their skin is or has at some time been used for the production of some form of sheep skin product such as chamois, etc.

Skin Production?

N/A

Skin is used to Produce:

Kid skin leather products such as shoes, car seats, fine leather coats, gloves, etc.
Chamois cloths, leather goods such as seats, shoes and other garments and leather materials such as furniture, etc.

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Age they Produce from:	3 to 10 months for Kid skin 1 to 2 years old for Normal leather	3 to 10 months for Kid skin 1 to 2 years old for Normal leather

GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT THE ROMNEY SHEEP
A few more interesting facts to know about the breed
Child-Friendly?	They are very wary and should not be left with unsupervised children
Landscape Management?	They are excellent for landscape conservation especially in wood land areas.
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the Soay Sheep Breeders Cooperative and The Soay and Boreray Sheep Society members/breeders directories for more information
General Information:	The Soay sheep comes from a line of feral sheep in Scotland and are a breed of North European short tailed sheep. The island on which they were bred was 240 acres and lies about 250 kilometers from the Western Isles of Scotland. The Soay sheep shed their wool naturally each spring and do not need to be sheered.

HISTORY

The Soay sheep breed is a very rare breed of sheep that originate from two islands off the west coast of Scotland. These Islands are extremely difficult to get to and usually are only able to get to at certain times of the year.

They are said to resemble that of their primitive ancestors of the Bronze Age and believed to be direct descendants from the first domesticated sheep breed.

They are a hardy, shy, disease resistant, highly adaptable and able to withstand some of the harshest of climates and environments.

They do no have a great flock instincts to herding with dogs just scatters and stresses out the flock. Their lambs mature late and tend to produce a carcass that is to small for production purposes.