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                                  Wild Soay ewes grazing on Hirta  St. Kilda, island of Boreray in distance
                                                                      photo by Kathie Miller

British Soay are either brown or tan (blond) with a white belly, white rump patch and occasional white markings on the face, legs and/or body (referred to as mouflon or wild pattern). Rams horns vary from tight to wide curls. Scurring in rams and polling (no horns) or scurring (short, misshapen horns) in ewes are important characteristics of the feral flock on St. Kilda, but so far none of these traits have appeared in the US. Self-color (solid black or tan) also have not been seen here yet.

All have a naturally short tail, their soft, short wool molts in the spring if it is not rooed (hand plucked) and ewes lamb very easily with few problems. As browsers they thrive on land often considered too marginal for use by more domesticated breeds. With females commonly weighing less than 50 pounds and rams less than 80 they are very manageable, even for one individual. Soay are delightful to live with and very forgiving which makes them ideal for people who have little experience with sheep. Comparatively low in maintenance they make a wonderful addition to a small farmyard.

British Soay are being kept in the US as part of a global conservation effort to preserve this historical archive, with all of its diversity, as an undiluted genetic reservoir for the future  . Because this is a controlled population (a small group with complete breeding records) it also provides a unique opportunity to study inheritance in sheep. Their wool is prized by handspinners and artisan hand weavers, their low fat tasty meat is ideal for personal consumption or gourmet meat markets. Their value for conservation grazing and forest fuel reduction is just beginning to be recognized in the United States.

                              
                                                             Soay ram, Oregon,  Nov. 2009                                       
                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                        

Who are we and how did we discover Soay Sheep?

We are Val Dambacher and Kathie Miller, two Pacific Northwest friends from Oregon, who fell in love with these marvelous little Scottish sheep and whose husbands gladly encouraged our association so they would not have to listen to us talk about Soay.

Val (now retired) had raised sheep since her move to Oregon in 1992 while I, on the other hand had respected my husband's request "to bring anything home, but sheep!" For 25 years I raised everything else, until one evening the phone rang and the woman on the other end of the line said she needed a home for some SMALL and very RARE..... I didn't hear the rest. Within the week I was a sheep farmer. My only regret now is that I did not know about Soay sheep while I was living in southern California; they would have been the perfect animals for my "farmette" in the city.

As our passion for these sheep grew we made friends in both Canada and Great Britain. Over the course of three years, 1998, 1999 and 2000 we imported the only flock of  true Soay sheep outside of Europe from Montreal, Canada. As a result of this opportunity and of our travels throughout England, Wales and Scotland, including St. Kilda preserving this treasure became our mission and our interest shifted entirely to the conservation of this British Soay flock. Working with fellow US breeders the population is slowly increasing. Because sheep registered with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in England are reciprocal (interchangeable) with Soay in Britain an eight year dream of importing RBST semen from the UK to establish an artificial insemination program was realized 2008. It was the first time in the 4000 year history of Soay sheep that AI had been tried and the results were very encouraging; we will try  again in 2009.  Hopefully important characteristics seen on St. Kilda, but not in the US (polling -non horned ewes, scurring and self (solid) color) will find their way into North American flocks. We are now working even more closely with keepers in the UK to save this diverse prehistoric relic for future generations of farmers.

We are members of the Soay Sheep Society (UK), the RBST (UK), Soay Sheep Breeders Cooperative (US) and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Our sheep are registered in the Combined Flock Book of the RBST and we have been enrolled in the federal Voluntary Scrapie Program since 1999. Visitors and inquiries are always welcomed.

                                        
                                                      "Maya", Kathie, Val and "Lindy"

                                       We hope you enjoy the information on our site.
Click on the links below to learn more about Soay Sheep and how to care for them.

                                                             
                    *  British Soay is a term used only in the U S and Canada to distinguish RBST registered Soay sheep
                                       from North American Soay Sheep which are only registered in the United States.
                            Ryder, M.L. Sheep and Man, London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., Ltd. 1983 pg.522