Soay Sheep - our latest project

[M. A. C. Newsome]

It was indeed Gavin Maxwell who used(not sure if he bought it) the island as a base for his basking shark enterprise. Those that might be looking for the Isle of Soay, it is situated just off the Southern shores of Skye.

Different Soay. The Soay these sheep are named for is in the St. Kilda archipelago, of the northwest coast of Lewis (there is also a Soay south of Skye, so it gets confusing). The Soay near Skye is a larger island. If you go to Google maps and just type in "Soay, Scotland," it will show you the one off Skye. However, if you type in "St. Kilda, Scotland," it will show you a tiny dot far off the coast of Lewis. And if you zoom in on that tiny dot, you will see it is actually three tiny dots. The small dot to the far left (west) is Soay.

The largest of the St. Kilda islands, just to the east of Soay, is Hirta. Most Soay sheep have been moved in modern times to Hirta for conservation purposes. My sheep all descend from sheep on Hirta.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Matt,
I am curious about not having to shear these sheep. I understand that it must mean their hair will stop growing at some point, but what will be the best way for you to get the wool? Brushing or shearing anyway?

They shed their wool annually. Those who are not interested in collecting their wool generally just let it all shed off naturally. It comes off in bits and clumps, and I'm told the sheep help it along often by rubbing up against fences and trees, etc. (I don't have experience with that yet). But those who want to collect the wool do so by "rooing." You can tell from looking at it when they are loosing their wool. You just grab the sheep and begin working it off with your hands. It pulls right off when it's ready. (Learn more here).

Their wool is incredibly soft. My wife has a shopping bag full of it that the breeder in SC gave us when we first visited. She can spin, but has limited experience in cleaning and carding raw wool to make the roving. She's done a bit with this wool, but found the process labor intensive. So in all likelihood we'll be sending our raw wool off to a mill to make into roving for her to spin and then knit or crochet with.

Depending on the size of the sheep, and whether the ewe has lambed that season or not (its a hormonal thing) we might get between 1 and 2 lbs of wool per animal per year. So not a huge amount, seeing as we only have four sheep. But enough for my wife to do a special project or two.

[Jock Scot]

Different Soay. The Soay these sheep are named for is in the St. Kilda archipelago, of the northwest coast of Lewis (there is also a Soay south of Skye, so it gets confusing). The Soay near Skye is a larger island. If you go to Google maps and just type in "Soay, Scotland," it will show you the one off Skye. However, if you type in "St. Kilda, Scotland," it will show you a tiny dot far off the coast of Lewis. And if you zoom in on that tiny dot, you will see it is actually three tiny dots. The small dot to the far left (west) is Soay.

The largest of the St. Kilda islands, just to the east of Soay, is Hirta. Most Soay sheep have been moved in modern times to Hirta for conservation purposes. My sheep all descend from sheep on Hirta.

Well I have to admit that I was not aware of that. Never too old to learn, thank you Matt. Anyway, I do know that Gavin Maxwell's Soay was the Skye one.

[oregonsoay]

Tex Geddes did bring Soay sheep to the Soay island off Skye in 1963. He was also a basking shark fisherman.

[sevenoaks]

Matthew it so good that you have chosen this very old breed of sheep. We are loosing far to many ancient plants and animals in our rush to increase food production. Huge companies like Monsanto are destroying the Gene pool and manipulating nature to man's questionable benefit.
I wish you well in your adventure. The donkey will be a great companion for sheep.

[Pleater]

Duh - yes - I was thinking of Jacob sheep - the piebald ones.

I don't think that a sheepdog would be any use, as I suspect that the Soay do not flock, so any approach by a dog would result in a star shaped separation of individual sheep rather than a huddle. I think it is the long tailed sheep which flock together and the short tailed breeds which scatter - different survival tactics.

I spin and ply using both a wheel and a spindle. The process is quite labour intensive, but very satisfying.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[oregonsoay]

Dogs do very well with Soay and they are used both here and in the UK, but the dog has to be taught to work further back than it does with commercial sheep. If it crowds the flock too tight then the sheep will scatter.