[Bramblecot]

Good luck .  It will either go like a dream...or not.  I like the sound of your ewe and lamb, even though they have caused you so much work .

[in the hills]

Any news? 

[Pundyburn Lynn]

Well, I now know where they are but catching them is a different matter. We've tried tricking them into a race/pen, tethering them, using the local shepherd's dog, arranging horse boxes and simply wrestling them to the ground.  No use whatsoever.  They've gotten clever! We now have a post in the marketplace looking for access to a livestock trailer for around a week to slowly lure them inside with food!

Should've listened to the advice about Soays...



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[kanisha]

Is the owner of the other sheep aware  and could they help out?

Ouessants have a poor flocking instinct particularly when somone is trying to pen them and pressurizing them.  My solution is to build a pen infront of the gate to exit the field into another one. allow the sheep to move through several times and then close the far side of the pen. the sheep move into the pen willingly thinking they are going through to the other field.   

Saw this video a while ago an exercise in patience... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLocjkHotw4

[Dogwalker]

I haven't read the rest of the thread so this might have already been tried but when we needed to round up three awkward castlemilks for shearing my neighbour turned  his sheep into the field then gathered them all together with his dog through three fields, down his track into his barn.

They went easily in a flock but had been impossible on their own.

[shygirl]

I haven't read the rest of the thread so this might have already been tried but when we needed to round up three awkward castlemilks for shearing my neighbour turned  his sheep into the field then gathered them all together with his dog through three fields, down his track into his barn.

They went easily in a flock but had been impossible on their own.

thats what i was thinking but alot depends on how helpful the flock owner is. i feel for you. 
i suppose there is an alternative of shooting them - not ideal but might solve the problem if they are going to sent to mart anyway - may save money in the long run.
or gift them to the flock owner?

[Pundyburn Lynn]

Well, the other sheep have now been moved... So my two Soays are in a field around 3-ish acres (I've never found acreage easy to judge).  Fences are adequate but not soay-proof, so they're presently CHOOSING to remain there.  Sheep owner now uninvolved, field owner VERY patient! Watch this space...

[shygirl]

this is better than Emmerdale.....

have you considered electric fencing - making the field smaller and smaller and making it as tall as possible til you have them in a smaller area?

get a foot/neck crook to catch them.

or borrow a football net off a goalpost and scoop them up?

[Womble]

I was wondering about using a load of HERAS fencing panels like un-jumpable hurdles?

You could make quite a big pen with them to catch them in, then working from the inside, make it progressively smaller and smaller until you've eventually got them properly. You could even have a trailer inside the last pen so you don't have to transfer them at all.



You might have to use the panels upside down of course, to stop them from wriggling under?

or borrow a football net off a goalpost and scoop them up?

Now you're just being silly! 

You have my complete sympathies Lynn - this must be such a nightmare for you!

[in the hills]

I don't know how to post the link  but I have watched film on the net of the 'wild' Soay on St Kilda being caught .

Perhaps watching that could give you some ideas. I think they used netting to help 'channel' the sheep.

How wary are they? Are they going into a small hurdled area to feed?

[lowlander]

Any news?

We were leaning towards Soay but are starting to reconsider...!!

[Pundyburn Lynn]

Finally, some good news.  A contract shepherd managed to round up our two Soays in 5 minutes, and they have now moved to a lovely meadow with wild flowers and good fences (at least that's what I'm choosing to believe!).  I suspect that they may actually be heading for his freezer...


Soays ARE wonderful sheep, very clever and endearing.  But we've learned our lesson that they're not for us.  Once they'd had a taste of the wild there was no way they'd be satisfied at home and they were almost impossible to track down and catch. 


Many, many thanks to you all for the advice and moral support throughout this period!  Does anyone know of a small, docile breed that can't read road maps?


Lynn x

[lowlander]

Glad they have been caught at last! I think your story has convinced me that they are not for us either! Would Shetlands tick similar boxes to Soay (small, hardy, etc.) but without the wanderlust? They are next on my list to investigate....

[in the hills]

I'm going to think of them being in that meadow too, Lynn.

Lowlander, we've had Soay for 5 years now and so far we have had few problems. Normal stock fences but we do have good thick hedges on most sides in addition. There was only a hedge as a boundary to one paddock and the farmer who owns the adjoining field checked all my boundaries for me before we bought our flock to check that they were good enough. He thought they were. The hedge contained them for the first few months but they did on one occasion get into his field. His wife spotted them and told me (they had only been gone for a morning). I just shouted and they all came running home! Hedge now has a fence behind it.

The lambs are so tiny that we did have to check all the fences for teeny gaps. Once all secured we have had no problems and the lambs of the commercials around here are always out on the lane so I guess all lambs squeeze out where they can.

I can understand that Lynn's sheep became 'wild' as they were gone for a long period .... same can happen to 'pet' cats ..... as I found out not long ago  but in general we have found that Soay do not deserve the reputation that they have.

[shygirl]

glad its resolved now and you have recovered from the stress.

we had soays once but was alarmed by them jumping over our fences so sold them on to someone who adored them and started breeding them. different breeds for different people.