Home  Hebridean Breed  Badgerface Breed  Showing  Gallery & Stock for Sale  Latest News  Links & Contact Hebridean Breed The Farm The main flock of ewes are kept at Talcen Foel on the slopes of Mynydd Anelog at Uwchmynydd. Here they graze on a mixture of habitats ranging from semi - improved pasture to rough coastal heathland, whilst enjoying the views of the Wicklow Mountains to the west, Cardigan Bay to the east and Ynys Enlli straight ahead. All these views have their price and Talcen Foel is a very exposed site with only the earth banks as shelter. Lambing starts outside around the second week of February. Since renting extra land at Y Ffor, which is just three miles down the road from Chwilog, the ewes are moved there for lambing. Talcen Foel is currently part of the Tir Gofal Agri Environment scheme, which is where the Hebs come into their own aiding with the grazing of the rougher areas of heathland in an effort to create favourable conditions for the Chough population. We have grazing rights on Mynydd Anelog where some of the less well-marked Torwens go over the summer months. Silage is also taken to keep the sheep over the winter and we have also experimented with root crops in an attempt to finish the lambs a bit quicker without the need for costly concentrates. Trwyn Uwchmynydd - Talcen Foel - Ynys Enlli Gimmer Shearling Brightside Inchrory Hebridean Sheep The Hebridean breed is derived from the North European short tailed breeds, thought to have been brought to the highlands and islands of Scotland by Viking settlers. No detailed description of these sheep exists but they would most certainly have been small hardy sheep, in all probabilities horned, and would have had short tails. Other British breeds derived from these early sheep are the Manx Loghtan and the Shetland. The Hebridean soon became an integral part of the Scottish croft renowned for its tasty meat, and ease of management, but during the early nineteenth century it became a victim of agricultural modernisation, replaced by the modern improved breeds such as the Blackface and Cheviot. This, in tandem with the Highland clearances, threatened the existence of a breed that had served Scotland for almost a thousand years.   Salvation came when fashion dictated that the aristocracy grace their parklands with ornamental breeds, and these distinctive sheep, also known as St Kilda sheep soon became popular. Had these flocks not existed in such an unimproved way, it is doubtful whether the breed would have survived to be taken under the wing of The Rare Breed Survival Trust in 1973. Today, the ‘heb’ has again found its niche, and is now used as an environmental tool for conservational grazing on a variety of ecosystems, whilst once again being prized for its tasty mutton. Breed description The Hebridean sheep is a small fine boned sheep with two or more horns, and a dense black weatherproof fleece. They are not renowned for carrying excess body weight, a typical ewe will weigh little more than 40kg, and a condition score of greater than 3 is rare. The hebs face should be dished and clean of wool except for as small patch on the forehead, have small ears, and in two horned animals, the horns should sweep backwards and outwards. In multi-horned sheep, the upper horns should not be too far forward as to impede grazing, and the lower pair should not curl too much into the face. The tail should be short, not extending below the hock, and be fully fleeced. The fleece itself should be weatherproof and black, although the sun can bleach tips giving it a brown appearance. Older sheep can grey with age, but no other colouration is desirable. Why Hebs? In April 2008, following the rather sudden and unexpected death of “my” only remaining badgerface show ewe, I made the decision to give up any remaining control of the Badgers, and look for a breed that I could show and develop on my own. During our trip to the RWAS Smallholder show at Builth Wells the decision was made that it would be a primitive breed, but not Shetlands as they were dominant, and the array of different markings and colouring was too confusing. Having struggled to perfect the many markings of the Torwen, a one colour, easy to prepare breed was required. For a few years Robin had been shearing a small flock of Hebrideans kept by Paul and Christine Turkentine at Carmel near Caernarfon. I did some investigation on the web, and found that the breed showing ‘standard’ indicated that they needed little or no preparation, no brushing or carding simply pull the worst of the vegetation from the fleece, and possibly a lick of hoof oil to the horns, and so the decision was made. Two shearlings were purchased, and another years shearing was exchanged for an ewe lamb. During June, I saw an advert for shearling rams for sale at Llangwnadl, and Becks Barnaby was purchased from Peter Rowe as the future father of the newly created Anelog Flock. In October, we travelled to York for the rare and minority breed show and sale, returning with 3 ewes, and an ewe lamb. 4 sheep for less than a Torwen shearling at the society sale! Email us: robin@hebsnbadgers.co.uk - meinir@hebsnbadgers.co.uk