page_title: Boreray sheep
section_title: Characteristics
hierarchical_section_title: Boreray sheep / Characteristics
caption_attribution_description: English: Our two younger Borerary ewes, Leia (the brown one) and Leelou
context_page_description: The Boreray, also known as the Boreray Blackface or Hebridean Blackface, is a breed of sheep originating on the St Kilda archipelago off the west coast of Scotland and surviving as a feral animal on one of the islands, Boreray. The breed was once reared for meat and wool, but is now used mainly for conservation grazing. The Boreray is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group of breeds.
  It is one of the rarest breeds of sheep in the United Kingdom. The breed is classed as "Category 3: Vulnerable" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, because 500–900 breeding ewes are known to exist. It had previously been the only breed classed in "Category 2: Critical" but by 2017 the population had grown.
context_section_description: Despite being partially derived from a long-tailed breed (the Scottish Blackface), Borerays display characteristics which group them with other northern European short-tailed sheep. They are amongst the smallest sheep, with mature ewes weighing 28 kg (62 lb) and standing 55 cm (22 in) at the withers.
  They have naturally short tails, which do not require docking. They also moult their fleece naturally, rather than having to be shorn annually, though older individuals do not moult as easily and may require additional shearing. Fleeces are grey or creamy white on the body, though darker individuals occur whose colouring is similar to the Soay sheep. Rough in quality, the wool is mostly used in the creation of tweeds or carpet yarns. A tweed is a rough-surfaced coarse cloth, typically made in Scotland. Its colour is a mix of flecked colours. The face and legs are wool-free and black and white, with the proportions varying between individuals.
  Both sexes of the Boreray display horns, formerly sometimes more than one pair, but in the modern breed always only one pair. The horns on the ewes tend to be thinner than those on the males and while they curve they do not spiral beyond 360 degrees. Mature rams can grow especially large, spiral horns which may be used for crafts such as making shepherd's crooks. The horns on the rams have been described as "striking and majestic" by one farmer of the breed.
caption: Two Boreray ewes, one with the less typical darker colouring
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