Definitions of Polled, Scurred & Horned
Choosing sheep based on horns or lack of them is a personal choice. Here at Greener Pastures we are working hard to retain all types. Below are definitions, with information to determine if your Soay sheep are polled, horned or scurred. In 1964 the Village Glen flock of Hirta had 46% horned ewes and 54% polled and scurred ewes.1
- Polled - Absence of horns or scurs. Many lambs and adult ewes are initially registered as polled, but grow scurs by the time they are a year or more old. Visual inspection is not adequate; the head must be felt to determine if there are tiny scurs that cannot be seen. Give a thorough inspection of the head of each of your "polled" ewes at 1 and 2 years of age to determine if she is truly polled, or has developed scurs. True polled Soay ewes are disappearing as more and more breeders utilize British rams in their breeding program.2
- Scurred - Not polled, but not true horns either. Scurs are tiny, generally less than 2 inches in length, often wobbly or slightly moveable, and sometimes so small and smooth that they are called "button scurs." Scurs are sometimes referred to as vestigial and deformed. SCURRED RAMS: A good photo of a scurred ram is shown in the recently published book about Soay Sheep.3 During one count4 of the adult rams in the Village Glen Flock of Hirta, 6% were scurred. At Greener Pastures Farm we are now seeing scurring occur in our ram flock; a total of 7% of our rams were scurred in 2004.
- Horned - True horns are longer than a few inches of length by a year old. Horns put on most of their growth in the first spring and summer of the lamb's life, and stop growing at about 4 or 5 years of age in ewes, and about 5 or 6 years of age in rams.5 If the ram is wethered, his horns will usually stop growing at the time of neutering. Poor horn growth may be attributed to parasites.6 See our importance of horns page to see examples of good horns and poor horns.
1 Island Survivors, The Ecology of the Soay Sheep of St Kilda, edited by P. A. Jewell, C. Milner and J. Morton Boyd, page 98.
2 Statistics from Flock Books of Soays of America, Inc.
3 Soay Sheep, Dynamics and Selection in an Island Population, by Tim Clutton-Brock and Josephine Pemberton, Figure 2.7b, between pages 20 and 21.
4 Island Survivors, edited by Peter Jewell, et al, page 97.
5 Island Survivors, edited by Peter Jewell, et al, page 98.
6 Soay Sheep, Dynamics and Selection in an Island Population, by Tim Clutton-Brock and Josephine Pemberton, page 162 - 163.
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