[rustyme]

I have decided to get a few Soay sheep sometime next year.  The main reason I have decided on them  being , they don't need shearing !!!! From what I have heard and read, they shed their fleece naturally , only sometimes does one need to be shorn. By all accounts the fleece is very usable for spinning etc, and the meat is of top quality too. They are quite small , ewes 60lbs and rams 85lb-90lbs, so even I should be able to cope with them . It is also (sort of) inkeeping with other things I am doing , doing most things as they were done years ago, ie by hand, and therefore keeping a very old variety seems to fit.
http://www.soaysheep.org/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFdYuDkbyKQ
Does anyone know of any dire pitfalls with them , before I get any !!!, I haven't read about any so far  . It has been a while since I mucked about with sheep, and the one thing I was dreading was SHEARING !!! With these problem solved......

cheers

Russ

[Blinkers]

DON'T DO IT......    .....they are an absolute nightmare to try and catch and do anything with and unlike most sheep, they don't like herding......they go in every different direction they possibly can. ....and they can JUMP - HIGH.   I speak from experience. although I'm sure there are others here who will totally disagree   , but in my opinion "Never Again".

If you want something that doesn't need shearing, then a maybe look at Wiltshire Horn?   They're supposed to be easy to do, don't need shearing and quite tasty too  .... or so I've been told.
M.

[rustyme]

lol...... cheers M.    Maybe a rethink is needed then ?... plenty of time till I get anything though. My land is surrounded by land belonging to other people, although two sides are woodland and the other two have hedges, there is only one really good spot clear for jumping ? and that I could double fence, but ..... I am not too good at running round like a maniac these days ,(the brain thinks I can still do it , but the legs say I can't !!!) soooooo, I will do lots of reading before taking the plunge...... Thanks M....

cheers

Russ

[danndans]

I totaly agree with blinkers.......................they're a pain

if you get something that needs shearing, and i've got others to do in your area, i'll shear them for you

[rustyme]

cheers DD ,
              my initial choice were Cotswolds, lots of wool and meat too, but it was the thought of shearing that put me off in the end . I have a dodgy back , and sods law would apply and when I needed to shear it would play up ....I will only be having a max of ten, so not too much work Do you have a rough idea of costs involved ?, as I know the less sheep you have the, more it costs per sheep, to get them done. Just so I can work out , roughly , before jumping in blind. 

Cheers

Russ

[danndans]

what area are you in, if  i can do a couple of lots in your area it would keep the price down, i've got some upnorth wales and south wales i do.

Dan

[rustyme]

I am in Pontsian , near Llandysul , so not too far from you  .....

Russ

[danndans]

as long as i had another lot to do well i was down your way it  would be £2.50 a head  russ, normaly for say 20 or more i work on between £1.10-£1.40 a head

[rustyme]

thanks Dan,
              that gives me at least a rough idea to work from , and I realize that costs may change over even a short time these days, but at least I know what to expect to pay appx. Thanks again ....Russ

[garden cottage]

dont know much about them but did have to catch some for a friend to do their feet, little sods to catch very flighty...........anyway good luck with your sheep rusty

[Blinkers]

In their defence......they are quite pretty.....but other than that............

[woollyval]

When my phone rings with someone wanting advice about their sheep my heart misses several beats if they say the word Soay

Unless you are a lunatic, can run very fast, or live on the Island of Soay..............I would avoid them

Mind you some people are masochists so i hear.............

[rustyme]

lol.... going on the comments here so far , I think I have decided NOT to get Soay sheep !!!
Although I AM a complete loony tune....I run like the six million dollar man nowdays ...thats the slow motion bit....VERY SLOW .....and even then only when I really HAVE to ... and I don't live on Soay , I think I will go for something else !!, like the Cotswolds maybe ....Soay sheep .....Cotswold sheep ....which ones better ? only one way to find out ... FIGHT  !!!!
  Now as for the masochism thing , thats a different story...he he he ...

cheers

Russ

[gavo]

Well we must be doing something wrong because we've never had any bother with them !!??
We've kept Soays for four years now with no ill effects whatsoever. We wanted maintenance free sheep and that's exactly what they are.

As for catching them we either herd them into a run using a bucket of feed or simply catch hold of them at feed time when they are all around us. To be fair they were nervous when we first got them but we're all used to each other now.

So long as your boundaries are secure and you are kind with them I cannot see any reason in not getting them. They are also very tasty....


Cheers

Gavin

[kanisha]

I have always wondered about this. Gavin you have restored my faith in sheep. My own first couple of sheep when they arrived were flighty impossible to catch and doing anything with them was quite a trial. even supplying hard feed was of no interest but gradually even the wiliest of sheep will now come to hand is easy to catch. i have built a small paddock in one corner.  initially just left it open and they worked their way in now its a fight to keep them out as they associate it so much with food. there is much to be said for smaller sheep if you have a bad back.Having experimented over the last couple of years with shearing mine on a stand ( well actually my grooming table for the dogs) I will be doing all my ewes this way just set the table up in the pen and off we go. to do them any other way I would need someone to come in and do them for me as by the time I got past the third my back would be crippled!