In 2015 we changed our name to The Soay and Boreray Sheep Society to reflect the association with both breeds. 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. All Rights Reserved. Please use the links above to explore the site and find out about our, You may also be interested in our sister project, the. Visitors to St Kilda will immediately notice three striking features of the sheep. The fleece is, normally, shed naturally. This individual identification allows us to follow each animal throughout its life. Our studies have shown that the dark/light colouration is due to a gene called tyrosinase-related protein 1 or TYRP1 which is on sheep chromosome 2 -genetically dark is dominant to light. NG007, also known as Bond, was such an animal. We also define three different horn types: normal horns (carried by 85% of males and 35% of females), scurred horns - small and mis-shapen (15% of males, 37% of females), and polled – having no horns at all (28% of females). Occasionally, we catch a sheep as an adult and cannot estimate its age; in these cases it gets a pink tag and is known as an Old Pink or OP. OG023 was born in 1984, survived the population crashes of 1986 and 1989 and lived until 1992. Soay Ewe fully shed, Ruaival, Hirta NOTE: The photos at the beginning of this article are mainland (UK) sheep because we have only visited St. Kilda in the summer months when fleece differences are not as obvious as when they have their winter coats.

They are registered with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) in Great Britain.

In addition, a small proportion of Soays have variable amounts of white colouration. 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 … Identification of individual sheep is key for the research we conduct on St Kilda. Boreray rams on the Island of Boreray photo courtesy of Paddy Zakaria, Scotland.

About one day after birth we catch and tag most lambs and then reunite them with their mothers; any we miss are caught in later expeditions. The Soay Sheep Project has been running in its current form since 1985, with continuous collection of information about individuals including genetic parentage, morphological data and life-histories. The name is from Old Norse Seyðoy, meaning "Island of Sheep". They are both British breeds of primitive, short-tailed sheep that live feral on the islands of the spectacular St. Kilda archipelago west of Scotland, a Double World Heritage Site.. We use six main tag colours and so we also prefix the tag colour to indicate each set of six years. Welcome to the St Kilda Soay Sheep Project.

In consequence, many of the sheep we study today are his descendents. The third feature visitors will notice is that, unlike the rest of the island, virtually all the sheep in Village Ba. You may also be interested in our sister project, the Rum Red Deer Project. Contact Us | Credits and Disclaimer | Privacy Statement Please use the links above to explore the site and find out about our research. Soay rams grazing in the Village area of Hirta. The 2011 lambs are the so-called beta greens or BGs. The texture of their wool can vary, from soft fine wool to more coarse hairy fibres (or “kemps”), and mixtures in-between. The project is run by researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh and Imperial College London with several other … This has enabled ground-breaking research into topics including population dynamics, evolution and genetics, ageing and parasite infection in a natural setting. The project is run by researchers at the. In a wild population of Soay sheep where mean body size has fluctuated substantially over the past 25 years and has, on average, gotten smaller, an …

Soay and Boreray Sheep are unique. Soay sheep are fine-boned and late maturing, with prominent withers. Welcome to the Soay and Boreray Sheep Society The Soay Sheep Society was founded by a group of Soay breeders realising the need for a representative body to speak and act on behalf of Soay and Boreray sheep. . Locally we called him 'Clark' after Clark Kent, a.k.a. She had her first lamb, a singleton, in 1985 and then a lamb in every year up to 1994, including twins in '87,'88,'90,'91 and '93 yielding a total of 15 lambs. The Soay sheep is a breed of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) descended from a population of feral sheep on the 100-hectare (250-acre) island of Soay in the St Kilda Archipelago, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) from the Western Isles of Scotland. First, Soay sheep are tiny. This distinguishes them from the 2005 cohort which are the alpha greens or AGs. Second, they are highly variable in appearance. OG042, here pictured with her twins (YY115 and YY116), was born in 1984 and died in 1995. They are both British breeds of primitive, short-tailed sheep that live feral on the islands of the spectacular  St. Kilda archipelago west of Scotland, a Double World Heritage Site. Each Soay is tagged with a single colour and number showing in both ears, back and front. First, Soay sheep are tiny. The different frequencies of the horn types in the two sexes arises as a result of the genetic factor for normal horns being more dominant in males than females. It is the variation in individual life histories and the causes of this variation that generate the population dynamics of the population. The project is run by researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh and Imperial College London with several other participating universities and research institutes. Welcome to the St Kilda Soay Sheep Project. Many Soays have the ‘classic’ Soay coat colour which we call ‘dark wild’ (with ‘wild’ being short for ‘wildtype’) this coat pattern features a light belly and rump patch. Some are now kept in domesticated flocks in Great Britain and North America. Welcome to the St Kilda Soay Sheep Project.
Photo Credits for the St Kilda Soay Sheep Project Site Banner Images: Tom Black, Welcome to the St Kilda Soay Sheep Project. Soay and Boreray Sheep are unique. Both breeds have unbelievable, fascinating histories. The tail is short and thin. Both breeds have unbelievable, fascinating histories. with several other participating universities and research institutes. Superman! The island is part of the St Kilda World Heritage Site and home to a primitive breed of sheep. All of this variation is also present within the source population on the island of Soay, St Kilda. All of the photos of sheep retaining their fleece or shedding were taken on Hirta, (St. Kilda). All the lambs born in the same year have the same colour – for example the 2011  lambs have green tags. He lived from 1992 to 1997 and despite his handicap managed to father at least five lambs. Soay (Scottish Gaelic: Soaigh) is an uninhabited islet in the St Kilda archipelago, Scotland. The wild/self colouration is due to the locus Agouti which is on sheep chromosome 13 - wild is dominant to self. Welcome to the St Kilda Soay Sheep Project.

It is the westernmost point in the United Kingdom, excluding Rockall.

Visitors to St Kilda will immediately notice three striking features of the sheep.

Occasionally rams are born with such extremely scurred horns that they have no observable horns at all. The third feature visitors will notice is that, unlike the rest of the island, virtually all the sheep in Village Bay are tagged.
Some are now kept in domesticated flocks in Great Britain and North America. We also recognise three other varieties: ‘dark self’, ‘light wild’ and ‘light self’ (where ‘self’ refers to ‘self-coloured’ – a coat pattern with the same colour all over including belly and rump patch). It is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep breeds. For much of his life he was the largest ram living in Village Bay and consequently enjoyed high mating success with well over 40 offspring to his name. Copyright © 2009 - 2014. The horn variation is mostly controlled by a so far unidentified gene on sheep chromosome 10.

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