Why do sheep need so much help?

[SleepingStandingUp]

Farmers always have to be there to look after them, seemingly more so for other animals (based on watching Down on the Farm) but why? Is it how they've been bred? Do they all need the same help really but it isn't talked about? Have cows and pigs got better PR? What would the death rate be like if all the sheep were left to give birth alone?

I'm not Ewe shaming, we should all be entitled to a little help.

We live in a place where the sheep are free to roam, they are very clever at getting into our garden and eating any veg I have been trying to grow. They can also jump way higher than I would have believed. I love seeing them come up the road, or sitting on my drive, but I'm going to need a bigger fence before I get planting again!

I had an ex like that.

And I'm loving this thread, it's fascinating. I know nowt about sheep, having always lived in cities.

I bloody love goats, mind. I have a pipe dream of moving to a house with land and keeping a few goats.

There's a reason why the Devil is portrayed as having a Goat's head/horns, you know.

You either have needy and suicidal sheep or psychopathic geniuses with the desire to torment you on a daily basis.

"psychopathic geniuses with the desire to torment you on a daily basis."

I have a cat for that.

Ylvamoon · 29/06/2022 22:54

Reading this thread, I believe we humans have it all wrong when it comes to sheep.
Roaming the hills? Being kept in a field? Having a restricted diet of grass and being called dim on a regular basis?
Come on!
There has to be more to sheep. Why knocking their confidence right, left and centre?
I read a wonderful book called Three Bags Full, by Naomi Swann, about a flock of Irish sheep who turn detective to work out who murdered their farmer. It is utterly delightful.

I like the sound of that book. Going to order it now. Thank you!

My friend keeps sheep and she says 'sheep just want to die'.

They are fragile little beings.

Yes exactly!! Sheep are basically the reason why our countryside looks the way it does, the Enclosure Act and all that.
Rich landowners turning poor workers off their land so they could make boundaries, plant hedges and turn them into fields for sheep, as we started to use wool a lot more. Read the final Shardlake novel for a great insight.

Cats sleep. And they keep you company at night by purring gently as they steal your pillow and the heat from your head.

@Honeyroar

I can confirm that we are 😁

Sheep are probably supposed to die more but we insist on farming them and keeping them alive 😆

seeingadistance. I really hope you enjoy the book. I don’t know how the writer managed to make a flock of sheep into characters that are so believable. It’s one of the most different books I’ve read.

This has got to be my current favourite thread on MN 😊I've got a soft spot for sheep, especially the old British breeds like the Hebrideans and Jacobs, although the Valais Blacknose are gorgeous! The Lincoln Longwools are quite something too! 😍Please keep the sheep stories and info coming 🤗

We used to go camping on a farm and one day my Dad went with the farmer in a boat to rescue a sheep which had fallen half way down a cliff. They then rowed the sheep back to the farm.

I have a small flock of Valais Blacknose wethers. They are the sweetest little things. Come to call, literally sit on you knee if you sit down in their field. Far more responsive than my lazy dogs and easier to train than my stubborn horses. I'd recommend them to anybody wanting to start with Sheep.

This!

I don't know all that much about it, but the Icelandic breed has a strain within it called leader sheep. Some of them are just born more alert and intelligent and will lead the rest of the herd over dangerous terrain. It's quite interesting!

I always feel like this short video sums up sheep perfectly.

Of course if they were really intelligent they'd avoid the dangerous terrain and lead the flock over safe ground...maybe that's not an option in Iceland.

I'm a bit obsessed with sheep and lambs. Follow anyone on Twitter who does sheep.
Recommended Sally Unwin

I meant sally urwin, aka pintsizedfarmer.

Oh dear...shouldn't laugh but...

The video which follows is a rescue which doesn't go quite to plan though I think the sheep was ok

Haha yeah, they spend the summers free range in the highlands so they can't really avoid mountainous terrain. Apparently these leader sheep have a great sense of direction and they can keep the flock safe in storms as well. I've heard stories of Icelandic sheep who miss the autumn round up surviving the winter near hot springs, so in general they seem to be quite good at not dying.. maybe better than average!

We've noticed in the U.K. that there quite often seems to be a Lead Sheep, though whether she's a real leader or the others are just following one at random I don't know, (always is a she, of course - Rams are few and far between.)

Sometimes we walk by a few fields which contain some unusual creatures - llamas and emus (or possibly ostrich... not sure). On one occasion, one of the fields contained a dozen or so sheep and a white emu. The latter was running around, with the sheep running flat out following it. Given that afaik those big birds have brains about the size of walnuts it probably doesn't say much for the sheep...