Recent content by Ruus

According to most British Soay breeders, if they're not registered with the RBST they're not British Soay, regardless of the animals' genetics. Doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's the prevailing attitude. If they're genetically Soay but not registered, you're probably safe calling them...

I think it depends on the individual sheep. Most of my sheep are sheared once a year, but one of my Shetland boys has to be sheared in February and again in August or else he gets heat stressed by the end of summer. Both the spring and autumn fleeces are in that 5-6" length range, which is...

BrownSheep is right about watching out for the ram. In general Soay rams act almost like wethers 3/4 of the year and only become aggressive in the fall, but I would never turn my back on an intact ram tame or not. I've never personally had a behavior problem with a ram outside of the fall rut...

I raise Soay! :-) Great little sheep.You have a ewe lamb and a ram lamb, correct? The pictures aren't very clear, but ewe lamb looks about 3-4 months old to me, and the ram (or wether?) lamb looks a bit older. Maybe around 5 or 6 months? It takes quite a bit of patience to tame Soay ewes that...

60 days is enough time for most ewes to cycle 3 times, thus three chances to get pregnant. 45 is long enough for about 2 cycles for most of them. Most good ewes bred to a fertile ram should settle on the first or second breeding, so 45 days should probably be enough. You'll notice I'm using...

I'm going to put my rams and ewes together Oct 1, and leave them in until Dec 1. Like you, I have an operation too small to keep the ewes out of sight/sound/scent of the rams. The ewes are plenty excited about breeding just from "talking" through the fences. The mature ram is driving himself...

I'm pretty sure that just applies if you're selling the wool. hair fibers devalue your clip.

Ram lambs exist to make shepherds go gray prematurely. :old

I've heard that it makes a fantastic mulch, but I don't know how people use it as such without making a huge mess. It seems like birds would scatter it everywhere trying to carry chunks of it off.

American Soay ram, ewe, and ewe lamb.

Shetland ewes can also have horns, though I understand it's not common and they're generally small. If it's squatting to pee, I'd say it's a horned ewe.

No, no sign of infection. He was doing a lot better by the time I put them up tonight. Still moving very gingerly, but keeping up with the rest.

My little guy got a tetanus shot when he was castrated, and some Banamine yesterday when he wouldn't get up or walk. It didn't help much. He is also supposed to be a fiber boy, so I'm going to be pretty upset if this messes him up. Just getting him castrated cost more than he would have been...

I've seen ram lambs banded, and most of them were behaving normally in about half an hour. I had my ram lamb surgically castrated Wednesday, and he still isn't eating, won't walk unless forced, then he drags himself on three legs just a short way and collapses, looking dull. Doesn't care if his...

Soay Ram Lamb "Neo"