Ewes tend to first lamb by the age of 12-18 months, and the rule of Soay, is the only tools you should need during lambing season is a pair of binoculars. Second, they are highly variable in appearance. Pemberton, T. Coulson, I.R. Soay sheep are small, almost deer-like, about one-third the size of domestic sheep. Adult weights are usually 60-90 pounds by about 6 months. They are excellent conservation grazers, being content in woodland and on hillsides. Lambing intervention is very rarely required.
First, Soay sheep are tiny. Their small size and light weight impacts pastures less than heavier meat and wool breeds.
‘Sheep Ailments’ by Eddie Straiton (about £19) covers all aspects of health and its pictorial presentation makes it easy to understand. They are intelligent, nimble animals with excellent mothering habits. They are intelligent, nimble animals with excellent mothering habits. We get an average of 200g of wool from each sheep…our Shetland (another small breed of sheep) gave us 2kg of wool last year from one fleece.
The research team analysed body size and life history data, which records the timing of key milestones throughout an individual sheep's life, for Soays on Hirta over this 24 year period. Since then, the sheep have decreased in size by 5% - their legs getting steadily shorter and their body weight decreasing. In August mature females average around 24kg in weight while mature males are around 38kg making them about one third the size of most modern domestic sheep.
Soay sheep are small, almost deer-like, about one-third the size of domestic sheep. Second, they are highly variable in appearance. Their size makes them easy to handle, and feasible for a shepherd to handle them alone. Soay Sheep are a very rare, very hardy, landrace sheep. Stevenson and A.D.C.
Occasionally it does not molt and should be clipped (easily done with scissors) to keep the sheep cool in the heat of the summer and to protect them from fly-strike problems.
Since we are able to monitor the growth, movements, breeding success and sur-vival of large samples of individuals as population density changes, the Soay sheep offer … Adult ewes weigh 50 lbs, rams 75 lbs. Currently they are native to a few islands off the coast of … Population dynamics in Soay sheep 53 fluctuations in population size (Hanski 1987; Saether 1997). They tend to look like miniature Bighorn Sheep.
‘Island Survivors – the Ecology of the Soay Sheep of St Kilda’ by Peter Jewell is the bible for Soay keepers. Soay are easy keepers and easy lambers. Scientists first began studying Soay sheep, on the island of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago, in 1985.