[fletcherreg]

I have just retired and would like to use my time usefully by keeping a small flock of registered Boreray sheep on my 6 acre croft on the Westside of the Isle of Lewis. The croft has no other stock on it at present.
 To the best of my knowledge, no one else keeps this rare breed of sheep here on Lewis.
Can anyone provide details of anybody who may have some registered Borerays for sale in Scotland, or who may be able to give me advice?
Thanks very much.

[kumquat]

Hi,


Don't know anyone personally but i know a lady who will....get in touch with Julie Suffolk (Secretary of Soay/Boreray Society). Her email address is [email protected]


Hope it helps
Jon

[in the hills]

Try Julie Suffolk, of Soay and Boreray Sheep Society, she will try her best to point you in the right direction.


Good luck with them.


Cross posted with you, Jon 

[Dougal]

There is a flock near N.E scotlan, specializes in a number of rare breeds an sells breeding stock. You might find them on the net. One or two of the site users have them. I shear a wee flock near Insch but she'll not be selling females yet. Also keep an eye on the mart web sites (goanm.co) for the rare a minority bred sales. There may be some available at those sales. As for transport I know a lad in aberdeenshire who buys store lambs from Portree. He may be heading to a sale over there with an empty trailer and so could get them that far for you.

[fletcherreg]

Thanks to all who replied. Am now in contact with Julie Suffolk of the Soay and Boreray Society, who is advising on sourcing some of these animals.

[kumquat]

Best of luck and keep us posted with your venture 

[Chris H]

Hi, just to let you know I am on Lewis and have started a Boreray flock last year. There is also someone in Uig with a flock, happy to talk Boreray is you like, also happy to buy any fleece you may have later in the year as I am looking to weave a Boreray cloth.

[goosepimple]

Or try the Rare Breed Survival Trust website www.rbst.org.uk or phone them - they will have an rbst officer for your area who usually knows who has what     good luck

[fletcherreg]

UPDATE --  Following advice from this forum, I contacted Julie Suffolk of the Soay & Boreray Society. There do not seem to be any breeders of Registered Borerays in Scotland, who would be in a position to supply me with a starter flock.
After some discussion with Julie, she agreed to sell me a 8 Boreray lambs from her own flock in Derbyshire and volunteered to transport them here for me in August.
Unfortunately, Julie now believes that her Livestock Transporter Authorization will not allow her to transport the sheep by ferry.
I have had a look on the internet and the rules governing transportation/type of trailer used/travel & rest times etc, do seem complicated.
I wondered if anyone can suggest a workable, practical solution to getting 8 4month old lambs from Julie's farm in Derbyshire to my home on the Isle of Lewis. It is about 500 miles from Derbyshire to Ullapool and then a two and three quarter hour ferry crossing to Stornoway, followed by a thirty minute drive to my house.
All suggestions gratefully received.
Thanks.  Reg.

[Rosemary]

I hope someone can help - it would be rubbish if you couldn't get your sheep after all the research and planning 

[bigchicken]

A long way indeed, I think your way would be to hire a proper livestock company which will cost a fare bit. Maybe with ordinary diy transport you could split the journey with the sheep stopping of half way, would probably be the usual stand still period and then someone doing the second leg. Not going to be easy but where there is a will there is a way and I am sure the good people of this forum can help. I for one will help anyway I can

[Fleecewife]

I have previously offered to host Soay and Boreray here on their way north.  Julie would drop them off here, they would stay for the 13 days standstill then could be collected for the trip north.  However, I don't know if that would now be possible, or if the time from here (south of Scotland, about an hour north of the border) to Lewis would still be too long.  I did think that time on the ferry doesn't count towards the total, but it certainly did when we took sheep to NI - we only just got there in time.
 
What do others on the islands do for transporting their sheep to the mainland?  Some of the ferry crossings are quite long so you couldn't travel far at each end, and yet breeders do get to the Royal Highland Show near Edinburgh so there must be a way.  Any Shetlanders know how it works from Lerwick to Aberdeen and onwards?

[SallyintNorth]

There's a chap on Lewis goes to one of the tup sales in Lairg every year; we met up with him at a B&B there in early October two-and-a-half years ago.  I can't remember if he was buying or selling sheep but he had his trailer there.

A long shot, I know, but if you could track him down....

And I don't know about Shetland but the cattle ferries they use to transport cattle and sheep from Orkney are so well equipped that it doesn't count as travelling time!  Every bovine has its own stable, bedded, with hay and water - so it counts as rest, feed & water time and they are ready to be carted on the road on arrival at Aberdeen.

If you do decide to bring livestock up from south of the border, please give some thought as to any health checks that may be prudent - Schmallenberg, TB, etc.  It would be awful to unwittingly infect the island with anything

[bigchicken]

I have consulted AA route planer and  the journey time from Derbyshire to Lewis is 13 hours so it could be done in a split journey the half way point time wise would be somewhere north of Perth. Fleesewife you could probably manage to transport sheep to Shetland as the journey on the boat does not count as traveling time as Sallyintnorth says but the ferry to Lewis I dont think has livestock accommodation so the ferry time counts funny you could manage the longer journey but not the smaller one. Sally you are spot on with health checks.

[Dougal]

I'll have a word with a mate of mine who buys lambs out of portree every year. He'd maybe take them from Aberdeenshire over to skye, someone wold surely manage to piggy back them over to lewis for you? The other option is to contact Dingwall mart. They run the auctions at Loch Maddy and else where throughout the islands. They will have defined transport links set up between Dingwall and the Islands. I do know that when the main Ram sales are on in Dingwall there is an organised transport for the tups to go back to the islands so I'd ask if you could get them shifted then. All their dates will be on their website.
Derbyshire is just short of 8hrs drive from Dingwall so they should make it that far. Dingwall mart may allow overnight stop before onward travel.