Welcome to British Registered Soay Sheep.

 Prepare to be amazed!

I first saw these hardy, intelligent little Bronze Age sheep scrambling ledges of apparently vertical cliffs on the remote St. Kilda archipelago off the Western Hebrides, a double World Heritage site between  battered cliffs facing vicious Arctic gales and the warm Gulf Stream. Here people miraculously survived leading a Neolithic lifestyle until missionaries ‘improved’ them in the mid 16th C. This feral flock, remnant of original Bronze Age sheep, retained remarkable population vitality with exceptional disease resistance – largely because there was little human interference. Their resulting unique diverse gene pool evolved by survival of the fittest, is the treasure we inherit. 

Great mothers who well manage their own lambing, these sensible sheep take good care of themselves. Small, they are economical to feed & light on pasture. Superb eco-grazers they eat a variety of herbage, weeds, blackberry, pine seedlings, so are excellent fire retardants.  Hard hooves require little trimming. Exceptionally disease resistant they are less prone to fly strike. We are enrolled in the USDA Voluntary Scrapie program. Mature ewes average 55 lbs and rams 80 lbs. Fine boned, late maturing, the full flavored lean meat is more deer-like than mutton.  Fleece sheds in spring (no shearing – just minimal trims). Double coated with down plus an outer coat, some are woollier, some hairier (an ancient Turbary trait) yet they survived wild a few thousand years of 200 mph Arctic gales. Usually the ancient camouflage of wild mouflon coloring with pale underbellies and white ‘knickers’, some are self colored, some with white markings, some piebald. Face and legs are brown or tan with lighter marks over eyes, muzzle and jaws and ‘dished’ noses. Some horned, some hornless, some have nubs of primitive horns (scurs).  They belong to the ancient Northern Short Tail Sheep group (no tail docking). Ewes are friendly. Their value is the broad diversity of their unique gene pool heritage from which to develop future specialized breeds to meet future commercial needs. 

All my sheep are registered with Rare Breeds Survival Trust, UK and are the only sheep on my farm. I work with like minded breeders to expand pure bred RBST registered flocks so we can preserve genuine Soay sheep for the year 5000! Visitors and Inquiries welcome.