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Soay Sheep Breeders Cooperative |
Steven & Priscilla Weaver
PO Box 900 Jacksonville, OR 97530 541-899-1672
www.saltmarshranch.com |
Saltmarsh Ranch GeneticsSaltmarsh Ranch, located near historic Jacksonville and named for the original homesteaders, sits high in the Applegate River watershed on the northern flank of the Siskiyou Mountains, about 10 miles north of the California border. We raise both British and North American Soay for the overlapping goals of breed conservation, genetic investigation, and meat production. We strive for nicely-conformed Soay who maintain our pastures and whose gentle natures and easy keeping make them attractive to buyers. Our current breeding groups are designed to conserve the genetic diversity of our RBST-registered sheep and to produce sheep that will help us learn more about the inheritance of color and horns in our flock. Steve is the founder and proprietor of the Open Flockbook Project, so it will not surprise you to learn that we take record-keeping and phenotypic characterization very seriously. For the most part, we set up our breeding program using objective and quantitative criteria. Nonetheless, we occasionally stray, and place a ewe with a particular ram for subjective or romantic reasons, e.g., to get yet another pair of sweeping horns or a lush “Doberman” black-and-copper fleece. Saltmarsh Soay have ample green pastures in which to graze, supplemented by grass hay as needed during the winter months. Our sheep have converted fields and woodlands that were completely overrun with blackberry vines, star thistle, and poison oak, into healthy pastures, for which their guard llama, Llucy, is grateful. Soay are prodigious lawnmowers and, odd as it may seem, they prefer blackberry leaves to grass. In order to lessen their natural skittishness, we choose to move freely and often among our ewes and lambs. Steve loves to sit on a camp stool with hay in his hand until the lambs’ greed overcomes their shyness. If you are thinking of Soay as pets, you will find our animals quite approachable. Our sheep are registered before sale or breeding. We participate in the federal voluntary scrapie flock certification program. Our sheep would welcome your visit; we'll provide hay and campstools. Or, you may meet them and check out their pedigrees on our website |
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