Hebridean Sheep

Conservation status	FAO (2007): not at risk[1] RBST (2017): Category 6[2]
Country of origin	Scotland
Traits
Wool colour	black, brown
Face colour	black
Horn status	horned, sometimespolycerate
Sheep Ovis aries

TheHebridean is a breed of small blacksheep fromScotland, similar to other members of theNorthern European short-tailed sheep group, having a short, triangular tail. They often have two pairs ofhorns. They were formerly known as "St Kilda" sheep, because they were exported from the St Kilda archipelago in the 19th century to serve as parkland livestock.^[3]

Modern Hebrideans have black, rather coarsewool, which fades to brown in the sun and often becomes grey with age; there is no wool on the face or legs. If not shorn the wool maymoult naturally in spring. Rams and ewes typically have one pair ofhorns, but often have two or even more pairs (polycerate), and occasionally none. They are considerably smaller than most other breeds ofsheep, fully grown ewes weighing only around 40 kg (88 lb), and rams slightly heavier, at around 50 to 60 kg (110 to 130 lb).Hebrideans are hardy and able to thrive on roughgrazing, and so are often used asconservation grazing animals to maintain naturalgrassland orheathland habitats. They are particularly effective atscrub control, having a strong preference forbrowsing.

The sheep kept throughout Britain up to theIron Age were small, short-tailed, and varied in colour. These survived into the 19th century in theHighlands and Islands as theScottish Dunface, which had various local varieties, most of which are now extinct (some do survive, such as theShetland andNorth Ronaldsay). The Dunfaces kept in the Hebrides were very small, with white faces and legs; their bodies were usually white, but often black, brown, russet or grey.^[4] The fleece was short and soft and they were typically horned in both sexes, many of them having two or even three pairs of horns.^[5] The Dunface was gradually replaced with long-tailed breeds such as theScottish Blackface andCheviot; it died out on the mainland and eventually also on the Hebridean islands.

The ancestors of Hebridean sheep were exported from St Kilda and were known as 'St Kildas' in the 19th century, being kept in the parks of wealthy and aristocratic landowners in Britain. Early owners included the Marquess of Breadalbane of Taymouth Castle in the 1840s and 1850s,^[6] Sir John Orde at Kilmory (Argyllshire) and Mark Milbank at Thorp Perrow (North Yorkshire) from the 1850s.^[7][8] They were successfully bred to black, though some 19th century St Kildas were more variegated.^[9] In 1906 John Guille Millais renamed these sheep "Hebrideans", asserting that they were "a deteriorated variety of the Hebridean sheep"; his classification thus lumped them with sheep known as Hebrideans which were kept by a very small number of owners in the late 19th century. In 1912, Lydekker claimed that St Kildas were "of uncertain and mixed origin"; scepticism and denial about their St Kilda origins has continued ever since.^[10] Four of the 19th century St Kilda flocks survive, atWeston Park (Staffordshire),Tatton Park (Cheshire),Harewood House andKirk Hammerton (North Yorkshire).

In 1973 the ornamental Hebrideans were identified by theRare Breeds Survival Trust as being in need of conservation.^[11] Since then the breed has been revived, and it is no longer regarded as rare; it is now kept in many parts of the world, including its native Hebrides.

• Icelandic sheep
• Jacob sheep
• Manx Loaghtan
• Rare breed (agriculture)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHebridean sheep.

• Hebridean Sheep Society
• Hebridean Sheep at Oklahoma State University.
• Hebridean by Susan Schoenian, Sheep & Goat Specialist at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center.

• Sheep breeds
• Hebrides
• Sheep breeds originating in Scotland

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with 'species' microformats
• Commons category link is on Wikidata