Breeding for Type

A few breeders in the U.S. who focus on North American sheep have either bred for a distinctive “line” of Soay sheep or are working towards their own “look.” By far the longest-running and, in our eyes, the most successful example of these customized flocks is the Blue Mountain line, created and fine-tuned for more than a decade by Kate and Bob Montgomery in Port Angeles, Washington. Their Blue Mountain legacy is a textbook example of how to develop a characteristic or “line” of North American Soay sheep when conservation breeding is not your goal.

An example

Anyone familiar with the Blue Mountain “look” could almost certainly pick out the 100% Blue Mountain Soay sheep in any pasture. They are large, well-constructed, with a wide spectrum of rich brown fleece, and often characterized by particularly symmetrical, long sweeping horns. Kate bred for just this “look.” What is less apparent on first inspection, but almost always true of a Blue Mountain sheep, is that it will shed easily and roo out cleanly. Kate had no time for a Soay sheep that came into summer with a scraggly-looking partially-shed coat, much less one who failed to shed altogether.

Kate also accomplished a great deal in restoring a truer Soay appearance to her North American flock by breeding her North American ewes to British rams, and the results are a nationwide family of well-conformed Soay sheep.

Nearly 300 Blue Mountain lambs were born on the Montgomerys' farm. Today, Blue Mountain Soay sheep are found on between 50 and 70 farms in the U.S. and Canada, an extraordinary feat. We are proud to have had Blue Mountain ewes and rams over the years, including our “logo” British ram, Astro, in our pastures. Many of our first Soay sheep came from Kate's flock.