#soay are really small

[rederiswrites]

So in order to do this pasture improvement program thing we'll probably need to have more than two sheep. And in order to have more than two sheep we'll probably have to keep like, almost any other breed than Soay, with the exception of maybe some crazy Tunisian breed or something from, I dunno., Laos. And there are a TON of other awesome sheep breeds, and as much as I love Soays, it would be nice to keep a breed that was maybe actually a little friendly.

But even so, I've been resisting doing the research because, well, I really love Soay. (Not that we're giving up on Soay! Just supplementing.) So I thought it'd be fun--hit me with your favorite heritage sheep breeds! Show me something cool!

[starsspeaker]

Animal Twilight Pt 1

The Fili Pfeper Boys!

Sheepturus and Deerca at your service,,

Based Arcky off a Soay Sheep cause there are really only so many shepherd animals that look orange tinted. And also bc the power of fluffy boys shines through him.

Meanwhile we have Spica as a Greater Kudu. His horns are full of knowledge and magic.

Although rarely, the sorcerors sometimes butt heads over small matters, but that leaves their situation far more tangled than before-

[justslowdown]

hi! i am looking into getting sheep or goats in the future and, if you don't mind me asking, do you had hardy breed suggestions?

Hopefully some other ppl will chime in but yes!

Depends on if you want wool or hair sheep. Hair sheep are generally tougher and easier to care for. Some lines of Katahdin and St Croix are pretty much bulletproof lol. We don't have them so idk much more than that

For wool sheep, if you're in Florida or a neighboring state, Florida cracker sheep are INCREDIBLE. The parasite resistance and climate adaptations are off the charts. I've heard of similar breeds like Gulf Coast but no firsthand experience

I LOVE love Soay sheep and want to breed more purebreds in addition to the mixes. Never had to trim or treat a single Soay hoof, they've thrived on really shitty pasture, they're small, easy lambers. Love em. They didn't cope great with FL climate which is understandable, almost no sheep do, but they're doing well in GA now

http://www.windridgefarm.us/soaysheep.htm

Any of my followers have recs? There's tons I've missed I'm sure! @tsrabbits I don't know anything about Painted desert but I've heard them and Navajo churro are hardy ass mf'ers too

[creekfiend]

What's a Really Small (grazing) herbivore one could rent or keep to mow grass? I kinda sorta recall there being dwarf goat breeds but I would prefer to not have something that could climb the roof. My mind says there's something lurking between Rabbit and Goat but there's nothing there

Shapes. Sheeps . soay sheep r really small. And parasite resistant . depends where u live tho some breeds might be better depending on the area!

[farsailing]

I would love to hear more about your goals related to farming and sheep if you’re willing to share, I find it really interesting! Great blog btw

thank youuuuu sorry this is gonna be super long and incoherent 😭

so first off: all of this is dependent on me 1. doing a farm apprenticeship and determining if i can, in fact, do farm work. i have cfs and fibromyalgia and while my current plans include living with friends, i would still be the primary shepherd. 2. land availability and 3. sheep availability in canada (or in the states if i end up not permanently immigrating to canada) also sorry this is super long and disorganized if you have more specific questions i can try to give better answer !

so originally i was interested more in fiber sheep (well.. dual purpose but selling fiber primarily) but the fiber market isnt as good unless you get in w hand spinners so i may end up doing meat farming as well. theres just so many more regulations for selling meat D: im mostly interested in low maintenance primitive/landrace type sheep like soay or icelandic sheep! theyre super low maintenance, can thrive on just graze with little to no supplements and lamb super easily (and often have multiples!) theyre not the most productive breeds (soay are only like 55 pounds and produce 1-2kg of wool per year) but health is super important to me and some more commercial breeds lamb poorly and require a lot of extra care (feed supplements, susceptible to parasites, need a lot of hoof trimmings, susceptible to hoof rot, etc). soay have itty bitty little hooves that are Fantastically low maintenance. downside to soay are they have no flocking instinct so theyre super hard to herd 😭

but yeah id ideally want a herd thats like minimal care and has strong immune systems. the good part about being in canada is that theres less parasite problems than say florida, but id still like hardy breeds. id still select for like quality wool etc but my main focus would be maintaining a healthy herd. the exception being my mom is trying to convince me to get leicester longwools which are a bit pickier lol i just love sheep idk

as for other farm stuff im not really interested in agriculture outside of personal use, so i have no like. crop plans lol but if there was existing forest on the property id want to do a survey of it and do my best to maintain it and also practice in situ cultivation of native plants so like,, instead of planting normal ginger in a garden, id sustainably harvest and maintain existing patches of the native canadian wild ginger. im pretty sure canadian ginger is actually a bit toxic?? idk if thats like the leaves or also the rhizome... so . maybe not this exact example but you get the idea! or if there wasn’t existing forest id probably still section of a decent portion of the land to restore to native habitat as best i can. theres lots of discussions to be had abt like. patch size and connectivity and im not nearly knowledgeable enough to like take. a hard stance on conservation strategies (or i guess. my stance is dont take a hard stance conservation strategies are super site specific) but. anyways. some patches is better than no patches so if i could restore even a bit of natural habitat on my land thatd be nice :)

basically im more interested in land stewardship than traditional farming (traditional as in white settler farming). i will still probably have some (raised 😍) beds for like veggies and maybe a small orchard ??? idk for myself + my friends + to donate but yea animal husbandry is my primary interest.

sorry this is ridiculously long i have too many thoughts most of which boil down to “i know i dont know anything yet” and “im love sheep”

oh also i want to raise pigeonsssssssssssssss probs just racing homers and lucernes or classic old frills :000

[fisherfurbearer]

It's almost 6 am. I've been awake for HOURS buzzing about apple trees and orchards and animals and genetic conservation and my chest hurts SO BAD from anxiety because my hands won't type fast enough.

I want to write paragraphs and paragraphs for you folks so you can be up to speed with what's happened while I've been Gone, it's been so much, I want to explain my series of Realizations and my plans for the future but I'm so worried I'll be ridiculed or it'll all go wrong and my hands won't type my thoughts fast enough anyway so it'll never be finished.

Bottom line? I realized my biggest passions in the past 7 years (reptiles, inverts, rodents, poultry, conservation, gardening, and art) all have a common theme (animal welfare, environmental welfare, caring for people, Growing and Raising and Making cool stuff that makes people/animals/myself happy) and one thing clicked after another and basically I'm tired and Fuck college it's just not for me, I don't need $35k in loans every year (after $20k in scholarships) to learn illustration and be guaranteed a job in something I don't even see myself doing.

Nah bruh I want to raise little geckos and make vivariums/inverts/reptiles my hobby and make needle felting and sheeps and tree crops my main gig, it all fits together,, I'm so tired and I feel like I'm going to pass out from the anxiety I've been awake for so long and rewrote this so many times,

But basically I was so horrifically depressed and couldn't leave bed or go to work for days, for many reasons but mainly because it hit me that I spent the past 6 years going to school/trying to be in school for Nothing and wasted so much of my life and was Sick of it all and feeling like I had nowhere to go, until it hit me. My life is Fucked and the world is Fucked and everyone is miserable and not ok and I'm not fine and I can't do anything about it.

Or can I?

In college, I had a class called Visual Thinking where I only did needle felting for my projects and told people, I do art because my goal with my work is to make someone else Feel. I want them to Feel how my inspirations and view of things makes me feel. I want them to laugh, smile, cry, feel enraged, invigorated, spark CARING of themselves, one another, and the world, just make people Feel and give a damn about other living things. That's why I care so deeply about animals and the enviroment and domestic/wild animal welfare and the state of everything. Why I dreamt for so many years of raising rare lizards and growing vegetables permaculture-style.

But then it hit me again, I like, no I love my geckos and I love my inverts but let's be honest, it won't pay the bills and I don't think I'd be happy making it my career, either. I still want to raise/breed Eurydactylodes and maybe japanese Goniurosaurus and have a nice amount of reptiles and spiders in the future, but maybe it won't be my Everything. And that's a GOOD THING. I've learned with experience now that it's better for them and myself to keep it compact and a hobby, not a profession. Then I realized. I want to do needle felting, I want to make animals and plants out of wool and make pets and wildlife and talk about welfare and conservation with my art, and both Make Cool Things and Send a Message with what I do. But I thought of sustainability and where my supplies come from and thought wait. I like small livestock too. I just never really wanted a farm 'cause it wasn't my deal, but I literally learned how to work with miniature donkeys as my graduation project in high school, my SO's mom literally owns and breeds them and has a little farmette, I'm not completely out of my league as I already have years of research into gardening and poultry care, dude what if I raised my own sheep for wool and made art with that and oh my god what a journey that thought started.

It would take HOURS AND HOURS to write let alone read the disorganized disaster of a story of how I got to where I am now, with my Goals/Dreams, but basically...yeah I know it's becoming mainstream I guess but I seriously want a farm and we're gonna make it happen, one day. We have a rough plan for building up savings (our tentative goal is to be ready for a property in 2025, which is 5 years after Jessie graduates and gives us time to build up finances and figure out where he's working) and starting small (I already have button quail, so coturnix quail is a great first step for 'livestock' and in the next year or two angora rabbits are looking to be a great option for our first fiber animal...) and I've really refined my "Niche."

It's uhh hard to explain, in the sense of I'm very tired and it's 6:07 am and I'm losing track and my chest hurts and it's a long winding story, but the end result is for Many Reasons is I've fallen in love with heritage/landrace breeds and specifically northern european short-tailed sheep (finnsheep, gotland, icelandic, shetland, soay, etc..) and diversified farming, and especially concepts like agroforestry and using native forages/pastures and rotational grazing, to not just benefit the livestock but also the environment! I have SO MUCH RESEARCH DONE and I've learned SO MUCH and the best part is my past knowledge/notes has already given me a FANTASTIC head start so these concepts aren't hard for me to grasp and I'm just so excited. I want to focus on perennial crops (fruit/nut trees and berries, mostly...heavy inspiration came from our local orchard, which also kickstarted this idea) and grazing livestock in orchards (IT'S ALL CO-DEPENDENT IT'S BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVE IT ALL SO MUCH I COULD CRY,, WHY IS PIG WELFARE SO BAD WHEN THEY COULD BE OUT UNDER THE FRUIT/NUT TREES LIVIN' LIFE,, OTHER COUNTRIES DO IT AND ITS SUCH A GREAT IDEA [p.s. check out 'HogTree' for more awesome ideas on that! Not entirely unique but that lady has some awesome ideas]) and focusing on conserving heritage/landrace/localized livestock and crop varieties....for both conservation and practical reasons! It's...Ihave it all worked out mostly I swear I'm just very tired and anxious right now haha!! Oh jeez!!

But basically it's still in tne works and I have a good 5+ years to iron it out but instead of going to college I'm going to take workshops on orchard and livestock management and take felting/spinning classes (like yarn, I mean, I want to learn more fiber arts) and start small with quail and angora and we'll also go on trips to the local state parks and around campus here and learn more about our native environment and I'll maybe raise bees someday soon and I'll never ever stop loving inverts and reptiles ever but maybe instead of keeping 200+ Ts lots of reptiles one day I'll keep my home guys compact and give them lots of love and care and switch some of my attention to the NATIVE guys too...my biggest goal is for a more sustainable approach to agriculture (I KNOW IT CAN WORK, DAMMIT, OTHER PEOPLE HAVE PROVEN IT AND HOW ELSE DID FOLKS FEED THEMSELVES FOR SO LONG hshdbfjfush but that's an argument for another day) that balances human needs with animal welfare and environmental impact and hopefully turn the same land we use for agriculture (ex. grazing pastures, fruit/nut orchards) into land for native flora as small species as well, like birds and insects and such, and even bigger things if we did managed grazing in woodlands because...AHH THAT'S A WHOLE BIG DISCUSSION AND I'M TO EXCITED ABOUT IT ALL TO EXPLAIN AHH JEEZ

ANYWAY I'M GOING TO MAKE A DANG DIFFERENCE IN MY OWN DING DANG WAY AND I DON'T NEED NO COLLEGE EDUCATION TO DO IT, NOT THIS TIME AROUND

I'm going to combat my inner demons and also the Outside problems with the power of Sustainable Agriculture and Fiber Arts and prove that people and animals (domestic AND wild) and the environment can have a SYMBIOTIC relationship that CAN be profitable AND sustainable for ALL parties involved and it'll take a whole lot of doing but goDDAMMIT I'VE GOT MY SPARK BACK AND I'M GIVING IT MY ALL!!!!!

[last100munros]

#244 Sgùrr Dubh Mor and #245 Sgùrr nan Eag

Route: SMC route from Glen Brittle Campsite 

Height: 944m, 924m      

Date: 7 May 2017

Time to summit: 4h 18mins, 6h 23mins

Total time: 9h 13mins

With: Dominic

Weather: Sunshine, quite warm, some wind at times, occasional clouds

Notes: We left Dave M at his car at the end of the Glen Brittle road and then parked up at our camping spot. The route followed the path up to Corie Lagan for about 1km and then turned off, crossing a small stream shortly afterwards. The going was good along the path and there were fantastic views over to Rum and down to the small island of Soay. When we’d left Sligachan in the morning the clouds at the north end of the ridge looked quite threatening but the south end of the ridge was clear.

We made our way along the path, pausing for Dom to trim an errant toenail, then followed it into Coir’ a’Ghrunnda. The route then steepened but had reasonable zigzags in the scree. After a while we reached a wider area in the corie and took the cairned path that skated the bottom of the cliffs, avoiding the bouldery area. At the base of the slabs up to the loch we ate our lunch before beginning making our way up. It was fairly easy going on a vague path although there were a few more scrambly bits where we had to take a bit of care in selecting the right route. Eventually we made it up to the top and into the corie, where the fantastically blue lochan was surrounded by rocky peaks.

After re-applying suntan lotion, we made our way around the side of the lochan, passing quite a few circles of stones where people had bivvied. Our route took us up scrambling over bouldery slopes up to the ridge between Sgùrr Dubh an Da Bheinn and Sgùrr Thearlaich. Reaching the ridge we had fantastic views to the northern end of the ridge, where there was still a bit of cloud on the tops and out over to Blaven. We went down a short way and then continued scrambling up over boulders and ledges to the very narrow top of Sgùrr Dubh an Da Bheinn. We didn’t pause there long before continuing down to the col between it and Sgùrr Dubh Mor. There was a reasonably clear route, some of it a bit scree-y and one little bit of scrambling. We passed a couple of groups of people coming up including two runners we’d seen down in Glen Brittle.

The way up Sgùrr Dubh Mor looked reasonably intimidating with lots of steep faces. The key to getting up was following the ledges around to the right until there were good bits to climb up, with the climbing being fairly short, not too bad scrambles. The summit with a cairn was tiny, only really space for two people, but was a fantastic view point. I went a short way along the narrow arete because I wasn’t sure if the highest point was actually ahead, but looking back it did look higher where the cairn was.

The descent down was okay with bits of down climbing, but this time we could see the ledges rather than the cliffs. We then retraced our steps back up to the top of Sgùrr Dubh an Da Bheinn before beginning the descent down the south ridge. This was a similar type of descent - short sections of scrambling with ledges in between. About half way down we couldn’t see a good way along the crest so we took a route down more on the east side. This involved going down over large boulders and then a bit of down climbing but got us to the base of An Caisteal. The textures in the rocks - peridotite by this point - were really interesting, and were very good for scrambling.

We skirted the base of An Caisteal and then began to scramble up the crest of Sgùrr nan Eag. This was more of a ridge to go along, but keeping slightly on the west side was quite good fun and not too tricky. Eventually we reached a much gentler gradient, and it was then a bit of a way along to the summit with the cairn on it. The cold wind became much stronger on this section of the ridge and at the summit we didn’t stay at the cairn very long because it was so windy. 

We dropped down slightly to have something to eat and were caught up by two men who’d been following us since Sgùrr Dubh Mor. On the descent down we ended up overtaking them and being over taken a few times. We took a line below the crest of the ridge on the west side going down some small scrambly bits and then more boulders and scree, eventually making our way down to the lochan.

Making our way around the edge of the lochan we then began to retrace our route up Coir’ a’Ghrunnda, involving some bits of down climbing at points where we’d scrambled up. We took a lower route across the scree slope, which was also okay to go across, before hitting more of a path again. There were lovely views over to Rùm still and the lighting was very pretty. From there It was a fairly easy walk back to the campsite in Glen Brittle. 

[rederiswrites]

Haven't had a fraction of the time I'd like to socialize the new ewes. Soay sheep are nearly feral by nature, and the girls won't come within ten feet of me yet. But my boys were like that once, and a winter of sitting on my ass in a pasture with a fistful of Cheerios won them over.

So when I go out, if I have time, I bring a scoop of grain. Sheep in general and Soay specifically don't really need grain, but they love it as a treat. The grain comes out with me, I put it in the feed bowl and sit down several feet away. Then I just fly casual-- Quiet, small movements, not facing them head on--and exist near them. If they don't come up, which so far they don't, the grain leaves with me.

Hopefully, at some point soon, they'll come to the bowl if it's six feet away from me. Then five, and four. Someday, I'll rest my hand in the bowl while they eat. And eventually, with patience, I'll be able to scratch their chins.

It's important that they trust me and come to me, so that they can be caught and handled without too much stress, for hoof trimming, health checks, rooing, and so on, and eventually so I can assist with lambing.

I'm learning more and more that what applies to most sheep often doesn't apply to Soay, and so in a lot of ways we've got to learn on our own or from other Soay keepers. But I think it's worth it.

I leave you with my half-tame dorks, Kratos and Mimir, excited about an armload of lambs quarters. Guess that makes sense.

[justslowdown]

your sheep are so cute oh my goodness!!!!!! please feel free to use this ask as an opportunity to spout some things you like about your sheep or about keeping sheep or literally what ever you would like to say about sheep. i will appreciate all of it.

I normally feel bad rambling so ty for this! And yes they are The Cutest can you even fathom what it’ll be like when next year’s lambs start arriving I.. wow

Personally I think everyone even somewhat interested should look into owning some if they own/rent more than an acre! I feel they’re a great species to start hobby farming with, because (based on my experience with my unique breeds) all you really need is a small shelter and some pasture or hay. The fencing doesn’t need to be intensive. And many breeds don’t require much medical intervention (some need a ton tho) which is good for a beginner. Dairy goats on the other hand……

So I guess the first step in picking a species and then breed of livestock is to get your priorities organized, talk to people who own different types, read up on everything til you have a broad range of opinions to learn from

I got my first sheep two years ago after doing this, my first large livestock species. I miss the goats a lot, but think I’ll focus primarily in landrace type sheep from now on. So much lower stress and lower maintenance. Bonus: mine never test fences. Some goats make it their life mission.

Sheep (like goats) are a species that has been selectively bred in so many directions that you really gotta know what your goals are with them and what work you’re willing/able to put in, before picking breeds/types. 

Personally, I don’t want to dock tails, to castrate to prevent aggression, to have to assist with many lambings, trim hooves and crutch (shave booties) and run fecals/deworm often, or to have to feed a lot of grain to keep weight on them. Because I’m not doing all of these things very often, friendliness/not being flighty and wary are not traits I care about. So probably no 4H friendly sheep for me. Just not a priority.

 DO want some usable, interestingly colored wool so pure hair or commercial white wool breeds aren’t a good fit. They also have to be hardy in both 95 humid summer and 0 plus windchill winter because fuck Indiana. 

I like cool horns and a wild look. Just do. I also want breeds that will eat anything, not just grass, and do well on unsupplemented (beside mineral) pasture rotation for most of the year. I want a good growth rate in case I end up producing more rams than I can sell and need to start thinking about meat. Again easy lambing is a TOP priority for sure! Some breeds are incredibly fertile but when large twins and triplets are involved there’s much higher risk.

I didn’t know all this when I started looking. But when I found Soay for sale 2 yrs ago, I fell into the rabbithole of landracey, semi-feral sheep that haven’t been super selectively bred by humans. “Wild flock management” is something I’m really interested in, and what all the breeders I have bought from do. So far I’ve gotten Soay, Shetland, a Jacob/Barbado ram, and Jacob ewes. As you can tell I have the same fondness for crossbreeding with my livestock as I do dogs. Love me some genetic diversity.

 If the humans in a breeds’ history catch their sheep to trim hooves and crutch often, then their lines will eventually end up with quick-growing, gnarly hooves and overly wooly maggot-collecting back ends. If they want a ram who will service a flock of 500 they’re going to breed the biggest, most testosterone-fueled ragey hump machines they can, lmao. There’s just no selective pressure for anything besides fertility and high wool or meat production. But if natural selection was a big part of a breed and lines’ history then they’ll end up adapting differently.

Now, if I wanted to train up herding dogs, there’s no way I’d start with the breeds I have. Mine are either confrontational with dogs, or scatter in a dozen directions while leaping five feet in the air, lmao. Whereas some breeds (again ones managed this way in history) get into a suggestible flock hivemind.

So anyways I adore my sheep! They’re calming to watch, beautiful and wild, and keep my pastures down without trampling them. I adore sheep in general but there are breeds I’d never own. And besides the breed you pick, I also think buying (or in my case often trading! love farm folks) from herds that have the same management style you want is important.

[rederiswrites]

Alright so if you’re up for some education, here’s a bit of history on Soay sheep, the type we intend to get.

[Let’s be real, it’s because they’re adorable. Photo Source, Old Line Soays.]

All modern Soay sheep are the descendants of a flock of sheep which were, at some point in the distant past, isolated and left behind on the island of Soay in the St. Kilda islands of Scotland. There, they lived feral for hundreds of years, and as a consequence they’re still very much like their Bronze Age ancestors. (Funnily enough, this isn’t as unique a story as you’d think, and I’m aware of two other sheep breeds that survived as distinct because they got abandoned on an island. There could very well be more I don’t know.) They’re listed as At Risk by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and there’s something in the range of 1,500 registered breeding ewes in the world.

They’re small (really small, like a half to a third the size of conventional modern sheep), mid-to-dark brown, tough, and inclined to privacy. They neither want nor need much interference. The joke goes that the only equipment you need for lambing time is binoculars. They’re also unusual in that they shed their fleece once a year, usually in spring. You CAN shear them before that, you can just let them tuft out all over the place and look hilariously untidy for a while, or you can ‘roo’ them and pluck the fleece off by hand. Inconvenient as hell if you’re a large-scale raiser, quality time with the sweeties if you’re a small raiser with enthusiastic kids. 

They don’t really flock together, and apparently you can’t use herd dogs on them because they don’t stick together and will just go everywhere. But I bet it’d be hilarious to see someone try. 

[Untidy. Still adorable. Photo source Old Line Soays.]

As far as I know, only two flocks have ever been brought to the US. All the soay sheep we have been considering are descendants of those, with some imported sperm thrown in for genetic diversity. Most of what we’re looking at, and what we ultimately want, are British Line Soays, in other words they’re genetically just soays and descended directly, but there are also American Line soays, which were crossbred at some point in the past and then bred back to show breed characteristics. The ewes I showed you yesterday might be that, since the guy who currently owns them somehow doesn’t know where they came from.

[And yet, yup, still adorable.]

So there you go. A very brief introduction to the world of rare breed livestock, and how the Soay stole our hearts.