Boreray Sheep are Awesome
We think these Boreray Sheep are awesome, but they are not very popular among farmers.
The sheep are very rare; there are only around 600 breeding ewes in existence. They originate from Scotland and are very hardy breed. They are much smaller in size than standard commercial sheep, each ewe only weighs about 30kg, as they have not been breed to improve the meat yield.
Boreray sheep are usually horned, and come in beige/ white and brown/black.
The Sheep are naturally easy to care for, they do not require expensive footbaths, lots of chemical sprays. They have a natural resistance to foot rot, and are a truly easy to care for sheep.
Our Boreray ewes enjoy eating a varied diet of grass, wildflowers and even weeds. We also give them a few sheep nuts to keep them friendly, so that every time we go into the field they rush to us to be fed and petted.
Boreray ewes are fantastic mothers, they are naturally very milky and are good protectors of their lambs. The lambs are quick to stand and stay close to their mothers.
So why aren’t Boreray sheep more popular?
The problem with Boreray is that the ewes only weigh about 30kgs and the rams only weigh 35kg, Compare this to a commercial meat breed where the ewes will weigh more than 60kg. The butchers and supermarkets prefer lamb over hoggett / mutton and in order to be sold as lamb the lamb must be butchered when it is less than 12 months old. At this point a Boreray lamb will only weigh 12kg and a commercial lamb would weigh in excess of 45kg. Also the commercial lamb has reached it’s maturity in terms of flavour by 12 months, but the Boreray lamb takes 18 months to get to its flavour maturity.
What this means is that there is a really limited market for the lambs so it doesn’t make financial sense for most farmers to keep Boreray, and so the breed is endangered.
History of Boreray Sheep
Boreray Sheep originate from the unihabited island of St Kilda off the west coast of Scotland. St Kilda is an RSPB reserve and so the sheep remain there protected.
Boreray Fleece Characteristics
All of our Boreray Sheep fleeces are soft and fine. They have a longer than average staple length and generally very little crimp.
This fleece is a wonderful choice for traditional woollen crafts, the white and black together can be used to make a variety of intricate patterns.
Boreray fleece is a great traditional choice for the home spinner or crafter looking to try something special.
Find out more about Boreray Sheep
- Rare Breeds Survival Trust – this is a great informative site for all aficionados of Boreray Sheep.
- Soay and Boreray Sheep Society – a good resource for Boreray Breeders
Find out more about our Farm islandfarmshop.com
Boreray Sheep Key Facts
- A small primitive sheep
- Both ewes and rams have horns
- Originating from the island of St Kilda, Scotland
- Ewes normally only have singles and sometimes twins
Boreray Fleece
About the Boreray Fleece
- Normally White / Cream or Black / Brown
- Some fleeces have darker patches around the rump area
- Staple length is normally around 10cm or 4″
- Ideal for spinning and felting
- Good depth of colour to the black fleeces
Our Customers say
Absolutely beautiful fleece. Spins so nicely.
jpmitchwhite
Lovely fleece. Prompt service
nellie_stew
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Rare Breeds Survival Trust are a wonderful organisations that are critical to ensuring the continuation of the Boreray Breed of sheep.
Our farm is proud to support RBST in the work they do.