
American RBST Foundation
Flock USA0001
Breeders of
British Registered Soay sheep

Kathie and the girls heading to pasture
photo Steve Werblow Deere & Company, Homestead
magazine
(winter 2006)
About Soay Sheep
The Soay (Ovis aries) is a
small Scottish sheep which is often grouped with the northern short-tailed breeds but
it is in fact more primitive. No one is certain of its origins, however, it is
thought to be the remnant of a prehistoric semi-domestic sheep brought to Britain prior to
the invasion of the Romans; certainly the Soay is the UK's oldest surviving livestock
breed. Because of its broad genetic diversity this feral ruminant was able to adapt to the
challenging island environment of St. Kilda (off Scotland) where it has lived for
thousands of years. Since the late nineteenth century conservationists and farmers in
the UK have kept Soay in small numbers and a few are now found in Europe and the United
States as well.
There are two different
breeds of sheep in the US and Canada called Soay Sheep: American and
British. American are a modern composite breed developed in the United
States in the 1980s and British are the historic sheep of St. Kilda. British
Soay*originated with six RBST (Rare Breeds Survival Trust) registered
animals exported from England to Montreal on January 10, 1990. After a ten
year quarantine in Canada all of their progeny were exported to the United
States. This is the Trust's only satellite flock outside of the UK. Soay
Sheep in America must be registered (or birth notified) with the RBST to be
recognized as British Soay and RBST registration is currently the only tool
we have for protecting their purity. There are
presently 476 registered British Soay ewes in the US and Canada as
of January 1, 2012.
.
Wild Soay ewes
grazing on Hirta St. Kilda, island of Boreray in distance
photo by Kathie Miller
Presently all British Soay are
either brown (dark phase) or tan (light phase) with a wild or Mouflon pattern; white
belly, white rump patch and occasional white markings on the face, legs and/or body. Rams
horns vary from tight to wide curls. Self-color (solid black or tan), scurring in rams and
polling (no horns) or scurring (short, misshapen horns) in ewes are important
characteristics of the feral flock on St. Kilda which do not appear here yet, but with the
introduction of new genetics from the UK in 2007 and 2010 that is expected to change.
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.
They
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 the US flock is a controlled population (a small group with complete
breeding records) it also provides a unique opportunity to study inheritance in sheep. The
wool is prized as a novelty by hand spinners and artisan weavers and it is especially
suited for felting. The low fat, tasty meat is ideal for personal consumption or gourmet
meat markets and the sheep's value for conservation grazing / forest fuel reduction is
just beginning to be recognized in the United States.
British Soay ewe lamb, April 2011
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 Soay sheep outside of Europe from Montreal, Canada. As a
result of this opportunity and of our travels throughout the UK, including
St. Kilda, preserving this treasure became our mission and our interest
shifted entirely to the conservation of this British Soay flock. US born
Soay sheep registered with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust are considered
reciprocal (interchangeable) with Soay in Britain and because of this
(after Val retired) I was able to establish an artificial insemination program with the help and support of
a breeder in the UK. With semen she had collected from four of her RBST
registered rams in 2007 and 2010 the very narrow gene pool that we had been
forced to work from the beginning has finally been widened. The first
lambs were born in 2008, a second round in 2010
and a third in April 2011.
Southern Oregon Soay Farms is a
member of the Soay Sheep Society (UK), the RBST (UK),
and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC).
Our sheep are all 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"
(Nene gosling)
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.
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Soay
Conservation
The Sheep of St. Kilda, Soay and
Boreray
A website dedicated to
information about the two unique breeds of
sheep that live feral on the
islands of St. Kilda
with a photo gallery of Soay
sheep as they are found in their
native habitat
and in the UK
Color
and Pattern in Soay Sheep, Photographic
ddescriptions of dark
phase, light
phase coloration and
Mouflon/wild and
self patterns in Soay
Sheep
on St. Kilda
Conserving
Soay Sheep in America
why we need
to be committed to the conservation of
endangered livestock breeds and in particular to the
ancient British Soay sheep of St. Kilda.
Viewpoint, a monthly farm
newsletter
is designed as an educational,
entertaining and useful tool to enhance the reader’s knowledge and
enjoyment of this breed and its care. Husbandry,
resources, management ideas.
PDF Index
History of Soay
Sheep
History
is an important component of any breed conservation program
and it has been critical to this one. Without it pedigrees and databases
have little meaning.
Raising Soay Sheep
-
Care &
Maintenance A quick summary guide
- Lambing
and Lamb Care
also available in PDF
format
A basic guide to lambing and lamb care in Soay sheep, from birth to
weaning, castration, vaccinations, common problems
-
A
Beginners Guide to the Care of Soay Sheep
also
available in PDF format
A comprehensive
booklet on how to care
for Soay sheep: Bringing your sheep home,
What do Soay sheep eat, Handling Soay Sheep, Keeping your animals
healthy, Routine maintenance, A Soay's life cycle (rams and the rut,
lambing, old age) Shipping , Biosecurity. Poisonous plants,
Precautions, Resource guide
-
Housing
Fences, Shelter (sheds and barns),
Catch pens, Creep Pens
and Feeders
Information on a variety of Soay shelters and fencing ideas from the
US and Great Britain.
Extensive photo gallery
Our Breeding Program & Sales
Primitive Sheep Shows and Events
Selected US/UK show schedules for 2012
The
issue of scrapie in the UK
Of Sheep and Friends, A Circle of British Soay Conservationists.
A circle of friends,
located in all parts of the USA, who are dedicated
to the conservation of this very special flock of sheep.
Breeders lists, Calendar of events, goals and
objectives.
www.britishsoaysheep.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Wool & Meat
Fiber: Shedding,
rooing (hand plucking) and collecting wool.
The
double coated Soay
produces soft, short wool that makes it ideal for
felting but
it can be hand spun or commercially processed into
yarn for use by handweavers
Meat:
Low cholesterol heritage meat for
personal consumption
and gourmet
meat markets and restaurants.
Links and Literature Our
Links and Literature page got so long and cumbersome we have broken it into
three separate pages Links on the internet, places in the UK to see
Soay sheep, Resources for flock management
Literature DVDs, Books on a
variety of topics related to Soay sheep
endangered
livestock breed conservation, Livestock Protection Dogs
and St. Kilda Resources and Catalog Suppliers Livestock
handling equipment (including
the US version of a British hurdle), veterinary supplies,
lambing supplies, halters, fencing supplies, Soay baby ear tags Conservation Grazing & Forest Fuel Reduction
Photo Galleries of Soay Sheep (our own and St.
Kilda)
British Soay Sheep pictures: Southern
Oregon Soay Farms St.
Kilda pictures: Wild Soay Sheep on St. Kilda (Hirta)
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Kathie Miller
Southern Oregon Soay Farms
P.O. Box 1382
Merlin, Oregon 97532 USA
kathiem@soayfarms.com
(541) 955-8171 |

Thanks for Visiting!
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