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Boreray
Watchlist; Category 1, Critical.
The short-tailed Boreray is the one of the smallest of our native breeds. They originated on the island of the same name in the St Kilda archipelago off the western coast of Scotland beyond the Outer Hebrides, from a small flock of sheep left when the inhabitants were evacuated in 1930. A group of six were taken off the island in the early 1970s and, although a small population of breeding animals has been established on the mainland, the largest population remain as a feral flock on the island.
Adult ewes weigh about 28kg and stand 55cm at the withers. Both sexes are horned, and the horns of the rams are impressively spiralled. The face and leg colour is mainly black and white or grey and white, sometimes with tan markings. The fleece is mainly grey or cream in colour, often forming a dark collar around the neck and a dark rump patch, and is shed naturally in July. The wool can be used for tweed or carpet yarns and the horns for walking sticks or shepherd’s crooks.
E-mail christine@gaerllwyd.co.uk
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