The Soay Sheep Chronicles

By the time we discovered Soay sheep, we already lived on a farm with a huge old dairy barn.  At first, it seemed a waste to raise animals too small to take full advantage of our cavernous barn.  But we soon realized that little sheep can co-exist quite nicely with a very tall, very wide structure.

We should all look so good well past our hundredth birthdays.  There is quite a story to the restoration of this handsome structure, but that’s for another day.  Back to the utility of a big barn for raising Soay sheep.

As our flock grew and grew and grew, we were glad we had ready-made storage for the many tons of hay it takes to feed all those hungry mouths in winter.

I’m sorry I do not have a camera with a lens sufficient to capture the haystack top to bottom, but at least you can see how to make use of the tall center section of an old dairy barn.

If you have a barn, it will come in handy for both housing and working your Soay sheep.  Although legendary for their hardiness, if the truth be known our sheep like getting out of the heavy rain and occasional snow here in Southern Oregon.  In our climate, sheep also need protection from the sun during the hot, dry summer months.  Barns also can function as predator control.  Sheep trained to follow you into a barn each night are safe from coyotes, cougars, and whatever other animals lurk about hoping for rack of Soay on their menu. 

When it comes time for annual tetanus vaccinations, hoof trims, or periodic worming, having a barn will give you both an enclosed small space (for example, the old milking stalls) to actually work the animals, plus a secure place to store your supplies:  a camp stool for you, a sheep chair for particularly large rams, extra “hog” panels for nudging your flock into the work area, and almost any old discarded cabinet-like affair for storing the little stuff.

What if you do not have a barn?  Pretend.  Treat a small shelter as a barn.  A square roofed shelter with even two enclosed sides (made of old plywood, for example) can double as your working and sun protection area.  Here’s an example.  Even though the sheep (and baby llama Hank) are grazing a section of pasture some distance from the shelter, Steve has left a path for the animals to reach the shelter, where they can get out from under the sun, have access to their mineral feeder, and find water (the tank is barely visible in front of the shelter, left side).

If you give the shelter four high sides and just one door and your flock is small, the shelter can serve as night protection as well.  Voilá!  You’ve got yourself a reasonable facsimile of a barn.   True, the shelter will not give you the same warm, fuzzy feeling as a barn redolent of new-mown hay, but then again, the shelter will cost a whole lot less and will not take up as much valuable pasture space, either.

Author’s note:  This post began life as a 10-minute exercise in “just getting started” at a recent farm writers’ workshop sponsored by Oregon State University.  You never know where you are going to find blog material.
 
For now …

If your first Soay sheep are about to arrive, you may be a little apprehensive about whether you have the right “stuff” and the right setup for your new flock.  There are a number of detailed “how to” accounts online and in books, but here is a rock bottom list that will get you started.  Details in subsequent posts. 

1.  Food.  Grass and forage in the summer if you are lucky enough to have grass all summer, either naturally or because you irrigate.  When the grass gives out, switch to good quality grass hay.  Sheep do not need anything as rich as alfalfa hay and you should not feed it to your rams anyway.

2.  Water.  A stock tank will do just fine.  Where we live, they come in tall and short – get the short one.  If you only have one or two animals, you can make do with a big plastic bucket secured so it will not tip over.  Sheep need access to water 24/7/365, which means if you live where water freezes in winter, you need to make provision for that sooner or later.

3.  Mineral.  Get sheep-appropriate granulated (not a block) mineral from your farm store.  Cow mineral contains too much copper and is toxic to sheep. Put a pan of the sheep mineral where the animals can get at it 24/7.  Keep it out of the rain, preferably in a container up off the ground so it will not get kicked over or pooped in.

4.  Treats are an easy way to persuade your sheep to follow you. Use just a little in a bucket (so you can shake it and make a sound the sheep recognize), but do not give it to the sheep on a regular basis or they will follow you all the time and become a nuisance.  Any sort of treat will do:  ewe/lamb mix, beet pulp (soaked overnight), COB (corn, oats, barley mix).  See what is on order at your local farm store.  Caution:  never give more than a few particles of a grain-based treat such as COB to the rams.  The only times Soay need supplement beyond grass or hay are when you are flushing them or they are gestating or lactating ewes, and all that comes later.

5.  Fencing to keep your new flock from running away.  You need mesh with fairly small holes, e.g., 2 x 4 no-climb or similar, or else a solid wood barricade fence.  Sheep can get their heads stuck in ordinary field fence trying to reach for grass on the other side (remember, “the grass is always greener … “), and lambs can crawl right through.  If you are buying both genders in order to breed later in the fall, you need two separate areas, and a view block if they adjoin.  You do not want your new ram(s) bashing down your new fence(s) to get at your new ewe(s).

6.  Shelter.  In the summer, any structure or area with a roof  that is big enough to let the sheep to get in out of the sun.  A tarp over a section of the fenced area will do in a pinch.  In the winter, depending on your climate, the sheep will need an area they can retreat to in heavy rain or snow, and in severe winter areas, the shelter will need sides to cut down on wind.  If you have a barn, all the better.  The sheep do not need heat, just protection from rain/snow and wind.

7.  Predator control.  Unless you are sure there are no coyotes or mountain lions in your area, protect your sheep at night by (1) bringing them into a barn or other enclosed shelter that coyotes can’t get into; (2) procuring an experienced livestock guardian dog or llama that can live with the sheep outside 24/7; or (3) electrify your fences with a hot wire on top and on the bottom (coyotes will dig under).

8.  Medical.  Locate a veterinarian who will treat sheep and if you can, get to know him or her before a medical issue comes up.  Buy a rectal thermometer and keep it where you can find it, since it is your number one ally in diagnosing whatever may ail your sheep.  If you do not already own a large airline dog crate (hard plastic, slatted sides for ventilation, we’ve all seen them), go out and get one so you can take a sheep to the vet if necessary.

9.  Book learning.  If you do not already own either Storey on Sheep or Ron Parker’s The Sheep Book, go online to your favorite book purveyor and get yourself one of them to read in your spare time (see below).
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10.  A comfortable chair.  How else will you be able to sit and fritter away hours watching your irresistibly adorable Soay?

That’s enough for now …