Soay sheep are the first of a range of livestock that will be kept as part of the settlement project. Soay are the most prmitive breed of sheep having been isolated on the uninhabited Scottish island of Soay in the St Kilda group and therefore are close to the unimproved sheep of the early Anglo-Saxons. They strongly resemble the sheep depicted in the 'Labours of the months' MS (BL Cotton Julius A. vi - May).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Soay don't need to be sheared as they shed their fleece naturally in the spring. Collecting the wool for spinning is a simple matter of pulling the loose wool out.
 |
 |
 |
|
Catch your sheep! The wool is starting to fall naturally.
|
The wool comes away easily leaving the thin undercoat.
|
The finished job and the fleece for spinning.
|
The flock will eventually reach between 55 and 95 depending on the time of year. Four rams and 25 breeding ewes will give some 25-35 lambs each year. The lambs will be grown on for 18 months, by which time they are known as hoggets, before being slaughted for meat. From 2007 we will have ewe and ram lambs available for sale. All our breeding flock are registered with the Rare Breed Survival Trust. If you would like to know more about Soay sheep please contact us.
Back to settlement project main page