#soaysheep

[southpacifictravel]

Feral soay sheep originally first bred during neolithic times still range across remote St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

[blackykrabbe]

Raubtierfütterung für das Fotoshooting... #naturephotography #minishettys_am_segeberger_forst #kleinearchewahlstedt #Stadt_Wahlstedt #soaysheep #burenziegen #goat #canonphoto #winter (hier: Kleine-Arche-Wahlstedt) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmUqdj2t5vb/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lord-allo]

Schöne Herde alter Schafrassen | Nice flock of old sheep breeds

Ovis gmelini aries

1 = Bentheimer Landschaf | Landrace of Bentheim

2 =  Jakobschafe | Jacobs, Jacob sheep

3 = Ouessant-Schafe | Ouessant sheep, Ushant sheep, Breton dwarf sheep

4 = Skudden |  East Prussian Skudden

5 = Soay-Schafe | Soay sheep

[samtheacesheep]

I am back with more sheep rambling 

so, this time the subject is Soay sheep. they’re from an archipelago in Scotland called St Kilda 

^ there’s one. They’re the most primitive looking of any British sheep breed, and they’re named after the island of Soay (part of St Kilda). Soay means “sheep island” so there have probably been sheep on that island since at least Viking times. They’re very hardy lil sheepies (and they are quite little, being about one third the size of most domestic sheep). here’s some pictures from the Soay Sheep Project website (which you should check out) which show coat and horn varieties 

On Hirta, they’ve counted the whole Soay Sheep population most years since 1952. They’ve found that these sheepies have bloody weird population dynamics, basically the population will rise to the maxima and then crash at irregular intervals. 

In conclusion, these are some cool sheepies, I like them a lot, and you should go check out the St Kilda Soay Sheep Project website for more information 

[neolithicsheep]

Introduced new ewes yesterday - my little light phase wether is absolutely fascinated. #soaysheep #rarebreed #heritagebreed https://www.instagram.com/p/B700Kttp74e/?igshid=y83qt2mi69fn

[rederiswrites]

Me and my boy Kratos. #soay #soaysheep #heritagebreed https://www.instagram.com/p/Byas_mSgN6a/?igshid=1clu4d6sizaqv

[thisheathenlife]

A week old Soay lamb #soay #soaysheep

[blackykrabbe]

Und noch ein, gerade geboren...🥰 #soaysheep #soayschafe #canonphoto #kleinearchewahlstedt #glück #frühling #Stadt_Wahlstedt (hier: Kleine-Arche-Wahlstedt) https://www.instagram.com/p/CcFda4CN7QO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[neolithicsheep]

Soay ram Tanllychar has been doing extra strutting since he has two new ewes to impress. #soaysheep #rarebreed #heritagebreed https://www.instagram.com/p/B73f4DRprAh/?igshid=d7vw8yg3k3ji

[animalsustainability]

Supportive Soay is just checking in to make sure

have you eaten lately?

have you gotten up and stretched recently?

have you had water lately?

Supportive Soay knows that people are busy right now and wants you to know he thinks you can do it! All animals need food and water to succeed, and eating and stretching and hydrating on a regular basis helps you do your best!

This has been a PSA from Supportive Soay ^^

(Good luck with finals, all of you)

( Photo credit: The Soay Sheep Project, https://twitter.com/SoaySheep/status/676336606001893376)

[blackykrabbe]

Scheue Soay-Schafe... #soaysheep #canonphoto #kleinearchewahlstedt #Stadt_Wahlstedt #winter https://www.instagram.com/p/CbxLwv7NS-K/?utm_medium=tumblr

[neolithicsheep]

New ewes Taffy and Havra have settled in well and are now spending their time no more distant from the flock than any other ewes! #soaysheep #rarebreed #heritagebreed https://www.instagram.com/p/B73fvxNJ81I/?igshid=1vr9p14qgz8e

[neolithicsheep]

Two minutes after I gave them a new bale of hay... #soaysheep https://www.instagram.com/p/B9AJJUbov54/?igshid=ayl0takh82lw

[animalsustainability]

Breed of the Week #1 - Soay Sheep!

Image: a Soay ewe and her nursing lamb. Photo credit: Andrea Chandler

Welcome to Breed of the Week, where every week, I talk about an interesting breed of livestock!  This week we are starting out with one of my favorite breeds in general, the Soay! The oldest surviving breed of sheep, the Soay has many interesting features that make it one of my favorite breeds of livestock, and a great way to start off Breed of the Week!

Image: A Soay ram and ewe, and two lambs. Note that the ram and ewe are both horned. Photo credit: Andrea Chandler

The Soay sheep is one of the oldest breeds of livestock in the world, and the oldest breed of domesticated sheep. The ancestors of the Soay were brought to the British Isles around 2000 B.C.E, and their descendants still live on remote islands off the coast of Scotland, having survived for thousands of years in a mostly feral state. Soay sheep were named after one of these islands, Soay Island, which is part of the St. Kilda archipelago. Soay sheep still roam the island they share their name with, which is part of the St. Kilda World Heritage Site.  In fact, these sheep even have their own Twitter account! (or rather, the biologists studying them do) https://twitter.com/soaysheep

Top image: The St Kilda archipelago, off the coast of Scotland. Image credit: Wikimedia commons; Bottom image: Showing off the color variation of the breed, and the lighter bellies of wild-type markings.  Photo credit: The Soay Sheep Project, http://soaysheep.biology.ed.ac.uk/meet-sheep

These sheep come in a variety of shades of brown and black, and can have white patches on any part of their body. Males and females can have horns.  Soays are a type of short-tailed sheep, something they share with other older, more “primitive” breeds such as the Manx Loaghtan, the Shetland, and the Faroese. Soays are relatively small sheep, with ewes weighing ~50lb and rams about 60-70lb, or ⅓ the size of many modern domestic sheep breeds.  They are slender-framed sheep, almost antelope-like in build, and well-adapted to the harsh environment of their home island as well as to more comfy domestic settings.

Top Image: Feral Soay ram and ewe, Soay Island. Photo credit: The Soay Sheep Project: https://twitter.com/SoaySheep/status/805774641008676865 ; Bottom image: Soay ewes and lambs grazing a farm pasture. Photo credit: Andrea Chandler 

Unlike many more “modern” breeds of sheep, Soay sheep don’t need to be shorn! Instead, they shed their hair like dogs or cats!  Soay wool is harvested by “rooing” - picking the loose hair off of the animal during the natural shedding season. Once gathered, Soay fiber can be spun and used in textiles. While it has different characteristics than wool from sheep that have been heavily selected for their fiber, some people find it fun to work with and a lovely addition to their wardrobe!

Image: Soay ewe mid-shed, being rooed. Photo credit: Southern Oregon Soay Farms http://www.soayfarms.com/meat.html

Image: Soay fleece and yarn. Photo credit: Margaret B. Russell, Antrim Handweaving http://www.soayfarms.com/meat.html

Soays also lack a lot of the flocking instinct of other breeds and more likely to scatter than stick together. Soay sheep also jump when startled or excited, and can jump up to 4 feet in the air!  Soay are adventurous eaters, and can be used to eat invasive plants like star thistle and poison oak, as well as to keep down forage in other areas, either as a way of wildfire prevention, pasture management, or just keeping the lawn mowed.

Image: Feral Soay ram. Photo credit: The Soay Sheep Project, https://twitter.com/SoaySheep/status/676336606001893376 

Five Fast Facts About Soays

The Soay sheep is the oldest breed of sheep currently kept in domestic settings

Soay sheep can be kept for fleece, meat, or forage management

A thriving population of feral Soays still lives on the island that gave them their name

Studying Soay sheep allows us to see how sheep changed during the domestication process and are a living snapshot of early sheep breeds

Soay sheep are easy keepers and good for small landholders due to their hardy nature, smaller size, and the fact that they don’t require shearing

Image: three Soay lambs on a farm, happily trotting. Image credit: Andrea Chandler.

Many thanks to Andrea Chandler ( https://twitter.com/civilwarbore https://www.patreon.com/ManorofMixedBlessings ), for letting me use so many photos of her sheep. I highly recommend checking her out - she posts a lot of neat things about farming, as well as neat photos.

For more information, check out http://soaysheep.com/ , https://twitter.com/civilwarbore (and Andrea’s Patreon, https://www.patreon.com/ManorofMixedBlessings ), https://twitter.com/soaysheep, https://www.soayandboreraysheepsociety.org/ , and http://soaysheep.biology.ed.ac.uk/meet-sheep 

Coming Up on Breed of the Week: You’ve seen the oldest breed of sheep, now let’s look at one of the newest!