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Original poster

I learned something fascinating

239 replies

Soubriquet · 18/12/2020 10:32

A field nearby has lots of cauliflowers on them ready to be harvested

The other day, we spotted lots of sheep on the field

Thought that the caulis were ruined due to the weather, or the sheep had escaped.

However, we managed to speak to the farmer and no!

The sheep eat the greens around the cauliflower, but leave the actual flower alone.

What was once a green field, now actually has lots of white where the exposed cauliflower are.

I was amazed really

OP posts:
Thread gallery
19
DontWalkPastTheCastle · 18/12/2020 13:27

Please may I come and live with you @ShrikeAttack ?

I'll bring cow treats and wine for the moooo-mans Grin

Sorry. I may have got overexcited.

BewareTheBeardedFatMan · 18/12/2020 13:35

@Plonque

Actually I read a thing about sheep the other day that said if a sheep gets onto its back, it won't be able to get up again because of the weight of the wool (especially if it's wet) so you must always save a sheep if you see it stuck on its back.

Absolutely true, you must roll a sheep over and back onto its feet if you see one! You can't hurt it. When they are stuck on their backs they are "rigged" and can die.

So how does the one which lies down so that the others can walk over it get back up again? Confused
BewareTheBeardedFatMan · 18/12/2020 13:36

@giantangryrooster

Dd had lessons in how to sit a sheep up against you, it was mayhem. Girls weighing 50 kgs manhandling reluctant sheep around 90 kilos. If only they had laid on their backs 🤣. (Erh the sheep that is Blush)
For the live of god - why? In what context were these lessons given and why did the sheep need to be sat against adolescent girls (or anyone come to it?)
picklemewalnuts · 18/12/2020 13:40

Sheep eat turnips, too, greens first. They strip the field bare, then start having to root around for the underground part.

Aposterhasnoname · 18/12/2020 13:40

My BIL is a farmer and he hires sheep to let loose in his fields for this sort of thing. Must ask him which veg specifically cos I’m nearly certain he doesn’t grow caulis. If he has any hire time left when the jobs done he puts them in his garden to “mow” the lawn.

Ihatesandwiches · 18/12/2020 13:43

I saw something similar about turnips! Can remember which farm animal, but they ate the leaves and broke up the soil (and fertilised it!) and then were moved onto a different field when it was time for the turnips to be harvested. Not the most helpful post, I know, but I felt the need to share, lol.

Plonque · 18/12/2020 13:52

So how does the one which lies down so that the others can walk over it get back up again?

A sheep is rigged if it is properly on its back like these photos. They can rest and "lie down" and still be able to get up again.

I learned something fascinating
I learned something fascinating
Eckhart · 18/12/2020 13:53

@squashyhat

Aargh *@Eckhart* got there before me!
HAHA!!!
SeasonallySnowyPeasant · 18/12/2020 13:56

@Eckhart

I read a news article once where sheep were getting into the gardens in a village, despite cattle grids. Locals set up cameras to see how they were getting in during the night. They had 2 methods: 1) roll 2) One sheep lies down on the cattle grid, and everybody else runs over the top of it.

They are NOT stupid. NEVER trust a sheep.

Link or it didn't happen.

I didn't know any of these things. Useful woolly beasties.

Eckhart · 18/12/2020 13:58

@BewareTheBeardedFatMan

So how does the one which lies down so that the others can walk over it get back up again

I think she lies on her side rather than her back. I suspect that she was just innocently trying to roll across, the other sheep went 'Ooh, look! A woolly bridge!!', and set off without further ceremony.

Original poster
Soubriquet · 18/12/2020 14:03

I always thought sheep were quite dim....but I guess they aren’t

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Eckhart · 18/12/2020 14:04

@SeasonallySnowyPeasant

Well, it was probably about 20 years ago. There are articles re sheep rolling over cattle grids, but not to the one I read.

I can provide this link, though, so that you can see how clever the little beasts really are:

FairyAnn · 18/12/2020 14:05

I'm very pregnant and hence my brain is a bit addled at the moment, so when we drove past a field of rather fat sheep the other day, my brain did not shout 'sheep!'

It shouted 'fluffy pigs!' Grin

FreezerBird · 18/12/2020 14:05

Shearing I would imagine.

giantangryrooster · 18/12/2020 14:05

BewareTheBeardedFatMan
She's a vet student, most of them will probably never have to examine a sheep, but they need to prove they know how to HmmGrin.

FreezerBird · 18/12/2020 14:06

@FreezerBird

Shearing I would imagine.
Oh. Quoting didn't work. That was in answer to "why would you need to sit a sheep up?".
BewareTheBeardedFatMan · 18/12/2020 14:07

@giantangryrooster

BewareTheBeardedFatMan She's a vet student, most of them will probably never have to examine a sheep, but they need to prove they know how to HmmGrin.
Excellent - that still is a little confusing but makes some sort of sense Grin
ShrikeAttack · 18/12/2020 14:08

Of course you can @DontWalkPastTheCastle!

Anyone who brings wine is welcome ar Shrike House will open arms!

Original poster
Soubriquet · 18/12/2020 14:09

Fluffy pigs! I love it

I remember reading about someone who couldn’t remember the name to geese and called them cobra chickens

OP posts:
CandidaAlbicans2 · 18/12/2020 14:41

But how do the cauliflowers survive the conditions without their jackets on? They have leaves for a reason

The sheep incubate them like hens with chicks so they don't get cold and wet

BewareTheBeardedFatMan · 18/12/2020 14:41

This is the thread that keeps on giving. It's really enlivening our fist day off school here GrinSmileGrin

DontWalkPastTheCastle · 18/12/2020 14:45

I am properly laughing at evil bleat.

I've also just spent half an hour watching sheep videos on YouTube when I should technically be working...

CandidaAlbicans2 · 18/12/2020 14:58

I've also just spent half an hour watching sheep videos on YouTube when I should technically be working...

Same here. Once on YouTube it's way too easy to lose an hour on all sorts of random things 🙄😆

derxa · 18/12/2020 15:12

Oh. Quoting didn't work. That was in answer to "why would you need to sit a sheep up?". Well recently I had a sheep with a broken leg and I had to hold on to him sat on his bottom while the vet plastered his leg.

CatVsChristmasTree · 18/12/2020 15:13

[quote Eckhart]@BewareTheBeardedFatMan

So how does the one which lies down so that the others can walk over it get back up again

I think she lies on her side rather than her back. I suspect that she was just innocently trying to roll across, the other sheep went 'Ooh, look! A woolly bridge!!', and set off without further ceremony.[/quote]
This post made me so happy. Love the fluffy land clouds.