Our philosophy and breeding goals



USA0001 Elion winter 2007
photo by Steve Werblow

Southern Oregon Soay Farms is committed to the conservation of this special breed of sheep. Our project is based on the understanding that the Soay's value is not its rarity, but its history and wide genetic diversity. Our goal is to preserve an undiluted core flock (at a distance from its homeland) that future farmers can turn back to if the need arises as agricultural whims and practices change with time. Saving as much of the Soay's diversity as we can is the focus of our program and to that end we have been developing an AI program with semen imported from an historic flock in the UK. We use a  professional database with the guidance of retired geneticist Dr. Steven Weaver to determine all of our breeding schemes. In some cases our pedigrees go back thirty years or more in England and Scotland to sheep taken directly from St. Kilda.  Because the British (RBST) Soay is so rare in North America and new animals can not be imported from the UK, we do not selectively breed for specific phenotypic traits such as size, horn width, color or pattern in an attempt to create a more marketable animal. The risk of loosing other genes which may be linked to parasite resistance, rapid lamb growth or increased survival rates is simply too great.


                                                                          Photo by Steve Werblow

Sales

Placing sheep on other farms is critical to the success of any preservation project. Each autumn when we plan the following spring’s lamb crop we make every effort to select our breeding groups in such a way that  we will be able to combine starter flocks of unrelated sheep for others. Further, we try to place genetics on different farms so that those farms can later work together on building a national flock. Our sales are done on a first come first served basis. To reserve a lamb we do require a deposit, which will be refunded promptly if an order cannot be filled. Soay sheep are easy to care for and are ideal for people who have little experience with sheep but who are interested in joining an exciting and rewarding international conservation program. We encourage anyone who thinks they may have such an interest to contact us.

If you wish to learn more about the Soay sheep (or the availability our British Soay Sheep) we love to talk about these wonderful little creatures and are always eager to answer any questions we can. Please feel free to email us or call  541-955-8171

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