Selective grazing by sheep to help keep scrub at bay?

[bigdave60dog]

From experience with such animals I reckon that these are probably Soay Sheep.
I`ts hard to tell the Iron age Sheep apart though.
Dave

[bigdave60dog]

Originally Posted by Johnny Redgate

Perhaps a more careful reading of the thread would have shown you that no-one has speculated that the OP's photo showed soays, st kildas or north rons but they were mentioned as part of a general discussion on breeds and conservation grazing. Also, the photo referred to in Ashgale's link is very likely soays. So speculation doesn't really apply, does it?

OOH! My word we are touchy today. The whole thing is one of speculation as to what something may or may not be. That is the best that any of us can do from the picture.
Sorry I did not mean to offend anyone but living in Orkney I know North Ron Sheep well. North Ronaldsay Sheep WERE suggested these do not resemble them. St Kilda WERE suggested which ARE an Iron age breed as are Soays.
The one at the back definitely looks like a Suffolk Cross to me.
From the general appearance they all look like crosses. I am surrounded by Shetland crosses. The sheep in the picture would fit these very well but from the picture it impossible to judge accurately.
Speaking as a retired shepherd I generally do know my sheep breeds.
To be honest. Those in the op are probably a bunch of Store Lambs which have escaped from their original field.
Dave

[Deb London]

As the OP I can assure you that those were not animals that had escaped from anywhere.

EDIT in case you are skeptical of my sanity, please observe the "animal salt block" located on the fence. There were also warnings about dogs being kept on a lead due the the presence of sheep at the gate to this "field" (I would prefer to use the term enclosure). What was lacking was an explanation as to why they were there.

[Johnny Redgate]

Originally Posted by bigdave60dog

OOH! My word we are touchy today. The whole thing is one of speculation as to what something may or may not be. That is the best that any of us can do from the picture.
Sorry I did not mean to offend anyone but living in Orkney I know North Ron Sheep well. North Ronaldsay Sheep WERE suggested these do not resemble them. St Kilda WERE suggested which ARE an Iron age breed as are Soays.
The one at the back definitely looks like a Suffolk Cross to me.
From the general appearance they all look like crosses. I am surrounded by Shetland crosses. The sheep in the picture would fit these very well but from the picture it impossible to judge accurately.
Speaking as a retired shepherd I generally do know my sheep breeds.
To be honest. Those in the op are probably a bunch of Store Lambs which have escaped from their original field.
Dave

Suggest you read the thread .... again. I mentioned North Rons as the sheep kept on seaweed in response to Ladywell thinking that St Kilda's were kept in that way - not because either of us suggested they were the sheep in the OP's photo. I don't doubt your knowledge as a shepherd (I know a little about sheep myself) and agree that those in the OP's photo look like crossbreds of some type but it is difficult to tell (which is why I didn't post an opinion on what they were). But phrases like "Don't specualte if you don't know" seem designed to end discussion and come across as arrogant, especially when they are not relevant in the context of the thread. And "Ooh. My word we are touchy today" doesn't help either, especially when I've been up half the night lambing. Right, I'll try and stick to my narrow field of expertise in future

[Jonathan]

Plenty of downloadable .pdf's concerning conservation grazing here:

GAP - Setting Up a Grazing Scheme

Have a look at the 'Breeds Profile' sections for various breeds of cattle, sheep, etc. used.

'GAP News Archive' on the left also has some old newsletters.

The top menu's don't work so it can be a bit of a bind working your way around the site!

I remember watching a program about pastoral breeds of dogs (border collies, kelpies, huntaways, etc.) many years ago. One piece depicted a small strain of border collie that was used on some of the Scottish islands to help round up sheep. 'Round up' is perhaps the wrong term, as some ancient breeds of sheep don't flock. So the dogs were trained to chase the sheep individually, grab them, then hold them until the shepherd arrived. Fascinating stuff!

Cheers
Jonathan

[Ladywell]

Originally Posted by Johnny Redgate

Suggest you read the thread .... again. I mentioned North Rons as the sheep kept on seaweed in response to Ladywell thinking that St Kilda's were kept in that way - not because either of us suggested they were the sheep in the OP's photo. I don't doubt your knowledge as a shepherd (I know a little about sheep myself) and agree that those in the OP's photo look like crossbreds of some type but it is difficult to tell (which is why I didn't post an opinion on what they were). But phrases like "Don't specualte if you don't know" seem designed to end discussion and come across as arrogant, especially when they are not relevant in the context of the thread. And "Ooh. My word we are touchy today" doesn't help either, especially when I've been up half the night lambing. Right, I'll try and stick to my narrow field of expertise in future

I was merely listing the old breeds which browse rather than graze - not suggesting that they were the breeds in Debs post. I did say 'I think it is St Kilda's eat seaweed' and thank you Johnny R for correcting me

[tom00_uk]

Yorkshire wildlife trust have a external grazer that puts Hebridean Sheep on to an area at potteric carr

[witham]

Our local Lincs Wildlife Trust have one of the biggest herds of Heribdian sheep in the country which they use to graze their reserves as they will eat allsorts of scrub, nettles etc and can access difficult areas.