My Soay Struggle

Soay are descended from a primitive breed, and catching them for the abattoir run is a major challenge, says Sam Gray

- Sam Gray

I don’t mind admitting that the thought of capturing Soay sheep on an annual basis is enough to keep me awake at night. It’s like a game of chess and if I’m to be successful in loading my lambs I have to be several moves ahead. There is only one chance before the abattoir run, otherwise it has to wait at least another week.

Although a beautiful breed and an ideal smallholder choice, Soay (unless tamed to be pets) are naturally very wild. I’ve seen fully grown rams jump as high as a grown man to escape their captor and with horns like theirs you definitely don’t want to be on the receiving end.

Safely confining them into a small space using hurdles so no jumpers can escape (excuse the pun) is task number one. This can be easier said than done. To plan for task number one takes (in my case) several weeks, if not months.

Firstly, feeding them daily in a reasonably sized fenced area within their field all year round has proven invaluable in getting them used to coming to call and into an enclosure. I choose to feed my sheep in the morning during the summer. Not much because they have plenty of grass but by early autumn I start feeding them in the afternoons as well. This has two purposes; one, they benefit from the extra nourishment before and during winter and two, it gives me the opportunity to capture them in the pen at the right time of day i.e. the evening before the ‘crack of dawn’ abattoir run. There is one catch however, the lambs often don’t come in. Some are big and bolshie enough to feed alongside the older breeding stock but there are always a few stragglers that are either disinterested or are made to wait their turn. This is the game I have to play – how to get the remaining lambs in without stirring those that are already inside the pen, thus making them run away.