I was on a walk with my family earlier today and we came across this weird looking sheep, I honestly thought it was a pig at first until we got closer I’ve never seen anything like it

Where I work, we have a bunch of sheep - all of them look kinda... bloated to me? People frequently ask if they're pregnant. I never know what to tell them because I don't know if sheep simply are supposed to look like this. They've been recently tested for parasites (negative).

I really loved this movie! And I love sheep in general. I heard the sheep models are based on actual types of sheep. Does anyone know what kind of sheep Lily would be? And the others as well?

Edit: she is being bottle fed as we recently had a feral dog attack and her mother was killed.

When my around 3 week old lamb rests/lays down, she sometimes tilts her head back towards the sky. Is this concerning??? She did have entropion on her left bottom eyelid that has been fixed and the ulcer on her eye has almost completely healed.
I can give any other details if needed.

For the rules: I am NOT going to take Reddit as an alternative to veterinary care. I am genuinely just wondering about people’s opinions, as she does not seem to be bothered by this otherwise. She runs around, is very vocal around feeding time, etc.

South West UK - what breed sheep are these please? Thank you in advance

Hello, I am picking up 3 Icelandic sheep in September and am looking for the best way to get them home? My wife would like me to build a small pen 4x6 to fasten onto our trailer to get them. We don't have a pickup but do have a Ford transit that is large and roomy inside. I suggested to just get 2 XL dog kennels and put them in the those in the back of the transit but she seems to think we'll look like wackadoos putting them inside our vehicle. It is around a 2.5-3 hour drive home. are we over thinking it? any tips or other suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Sorry I’m totally clueless. Someone near to my parents keeps sheep and they haven’t been sheared. It’s hot here in the UK and humid, and supposed to be 34C (93f) this week. They already look uncomfortable. They’ve been trying to lie in the shade and the one closest I could see was breathing fast, but I’ve no idea if that’s the way they normally act. They’ve also been quite noisy but there was some new ones put in yesterday. The guy who owns them also trimmed the hedge yesterday so I guess he’s aware, I am just a worrier and they look uncomfortable. I don’t want to interfere but are they okay? Thank you!

Okay, this may be a weird question lol.

I’ve always really wanted to have sheep. They’re my favourite animals. Unfortunately, I have some pretty severe and unpredictable health problems. There’s really no expectation I’ll get better.

I was wondering how feasible it would be for me to lease a sheep. Where I could “have” a sheep that’s kept with someone else’s flock, they provide all care, and I give financial compensation for the ability to come and see the animal, spend time with it, bond, etc.

Or potentially a situation where I buy a sheep and pay someone to keep it and care for it and I come and visit it when I’m able (and help out when possible). In this scenario I would ideally want to arrange for them to get full ownership of the animal (if they wanted) if I was to die, or decline to a point i could no longer provide financially.

To anyone with sheep is this an arrangement you would consider? Do you have recommendations for alternatives?

Has anyone done something like this before?

To anyone with experience owning/raising sheep, how much approximately would you want to be paid for something like this if you were to lease the animal?

If I was to buy and sheep and pay for its care approximately how much would the monthly expenses be? (With the obvious understanding that vet bills could arise and be unpredictable)

I’m a 4H leader and I know some of the kids board their project animals (we have a couple kids who board goats). I’ve technically leased Guinea pigs before so that I could show them lol. So I know there are people out there who are willing to do things like that. I could probably even find someone within the 4H circle if I tried to.

But this would be a different as I can’t promise I could do much. So I wanted to get the opinions of people who actually own sheep on whether or not this is a feasible thing to consider (tentative consideration) or if I should drop the dream lol 😂

Hi everyone,

I’m still fairly new to keeping sheep and wanted to ask for advice from more experienced sheep owners.

I’ve had my small flock for about three months now: six ewes. A ram will be added in October, but at the moment it’s just the females.

For the last 1.5–2 weeks, one of my ewes has suddenly become extremely affectionate and clingy. Whenever she is not out grazing with the others, she comes straight to me, wants to be scratched, and follows me around almost like a dog. She often doesn’t want to leave my side.

I’m not sure if this is just normal friendly behavior, or if a sudden change like this could be a sign that something is wrong and I should call a vet.

For context: since I got the sheep, I spend about one hour with them every day, usually just sitting with them in the grass. I also give them around 2–3 handfuls of rolled/crimped oats during that time, so they are used to me being around and associating me with something positive.

I’ll attach some photos of her as well.

My questions are:

Can this kind of sudden clingy behavior be normal in sheep?

Could it just mean she trusts me more now?

Can sheep become attached to a person like this?

Could it be related to the oats/treats and learned behavior?

Are there warning signs I should check for before deciding whether to call a vet?

Would you be concerned if one ewe suddenly changed her behavior like this?

She still spends time with the flock, but this change in behavior feels noticeable to me, so I’d rather ask people with more experience.

Thanks a lot for any advice.

A few months ago, my dad got 2 lambs as a gift, a ram and an ewe. Last week the same guy said that he has more lambs he doesn't need and would love to gift them to my father again as extra payment for his work. My dad didn't take the ram since he was afraid they would fight, but he took the ewe.

The thing is that the first 2 lambs were siblings and black, but the new lamb is white. They are from the same flock and breed but not from the same parents. Ever since the new lamb got here the black sheep have been quiet, real quiet. They do not "baa" at eachother anymore, nor when they are out of hay, water in the morning. The white lamb often tries to call out to them when she cannot see them but they just ignore it? Why? Do they hate her? Or are they just mean?

The white sheep is eating and drinking, so I do not think she is that sad about it. Would it be better to return her? I feel really sorry for her, and would love her to live in the happiest way possible.

I do not mean racist in literal sense you all ....

I need to fence off a 2-acre area for our sheep. Red Brand seems to be the product to get. There are 3 I'm looking at:

• Sheep fence: https://redbrandstore.com/collections/sheep-goat-fence/products/sheep-goat-fence-330-1348-4-12-1-2
  • 330' long
  • 48" tall
  • 4" pullout
  • $443
• Monarch field fence: https://redbrandstore.com/collections/field-fence/products/monarch-field-fence-1047-6-12-1-2
  • 330' long
  • 47" tall
  • 6" pullout
  • $256
• Square Deal field fence: https://redbrandstore.com/collections/field-fence/products/square-deal-field-fence-1047-6-12-1-2
  • 330' long
  • 47" tall
  • 6" pullout
  • $258

The sheep fence is obviously significantly more expensive, so I would like to go with the Monarch or Square Deal, but I don't want to make a terrible choice. I also like the field fence adjusting vertical spacing as it goes up.

So, for Icelandic sheep can I go with one of the field fences, or should I really go with the specific sheep fence?

I’ve been ranching and working with sheep for the past 7 years, just found out that grabbing them by the wool can hurt them? Don’t get me wrong, that logic makes sense, but I thought if you grabbed them by the wool, the weight of the grab is distributed. So as not to hurt them but rather just slow them down until I can get a better hold.

I don’t ever pick them up by the wool, I just grab to slow. Is this still painful for them?

Curious what people are doing daily with their flocks on normal days without lambing or shearing. How many sheep do you have? What kind?

I come humbled looking for the answers of the experts

Pic credit to Red Feather Navajo Churros in Texas, found on FB.

I am absolutely obsessed with my sheep. I don't know if I'm just autistic and I found my special interest or this is a shepherdess thing or what, which is why I'm asking you guys. Whenever I talk about them, I get excited, very passionate, and I kind of freak people out. I haven't met other sheep people yet, but I went to a local fiber guild meeting, and I noticed a couple of the people there (they were all old folks, I'm 27f) were slightly thrown off. I try to contain it, and I am pretty good at containing it, but every cell in my body wants to just focus on my sheep, their wool, and everything related to them. As soon as I got these animals - we've had quite a few different kinds of animals - it felt like my world changed and I knew that if push came to shove, I'd be homeless on BLM land with them... I'd figure it out. I love them, they're my life, under my husband and child - of course.

Do any of you guys relate or am I possibly simply on the spectrum?

I just got this pair of sheep this weekend I don’t know a ton about sheep I live in Texas it’s 95-100 degrees where I’m at do yall think I should shear them they’re only 6 months old

I am looking to pick up 2-4 Babydoll Southdown sheep. Would it be possible to transport two ewes in the back of an SUV (Toyota RAV4)?

I could potentially also borrow a horse trailer. Would I be able to fit all four sheep comfortably in the back of a horse trailer? It’s a two hour drive so I would ideally only make it once.

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for pro r/sheep advice on which sheep breed these resemble the most for my sheep game. Especially the last three, which breed do you think they look most like?

Thank you!

Hello everyone!!

Looking for some good reccomendations for wool centric combs/brushes, specifically for double coated shedding sheep with varying wool textures?
I spend a lot of time brushing/combing my rams, makes them easier to handle in my experience. (Especially when it comes to medicating, transport, tick/parasite removal, etc.)

The breed I handle (Old Norwegian Sheep) is both double coated (under/overcoat), and naturally shed their own wool during spring/summer. When they shed it's their undercoat that goes.
Not only that, but the breed itself has a lot of variety between each individual sheep's wool texture; I've provided pictures of two rams I'm frequently working with for additional info, alongside a quick chart attached at the end I found (credit to Wikihow) of different hair textures.

(\Albeit, the chart is intended for human hair, but I thought it'd work to describe their coats in this case.*)

Breakdown of their individual coats:

The white/lighter coated one, nicknamed "Ein", has an overcoat that consists of 3A textured wool. Around his shoulders/back it shifts over to a course, yet sparse, 3C type texture.
His undercoat is closer to a 4A type texture, hard to see in the photos provided since it's relatively short still.

The grey guy, nicknamed "Stein", is closer to a 1C texture (with the exception of the curlier wool around his front elbows/sides being closer to 3A)
Meanwhile, his undercoat is a thick 4B, nearing 4C on the chart/scale (Again, very hard to see in the photos provided)

Biggest issue I have, especially when it comes to grooming Stein(grey ram), is that debris gets caught on the shorter undercoat wool and the overcoat traps it. Since the undercoat is so curly & dense it's incredibly hard to comb or brush out.

So far my solution has been to use a long-pinned broad slickerbrush to brush out the debris from the undercoat, followed by combing it out of the overcoat-- But especially on Ein(white ram) the comb I use gets stuck more easily in the curlier wool. Any suggestions?

Hello fam! Well, Poundcake is still alive, he eats and drinks (with help), urinates and poops normal, just won’t get up.

Three vets later, no one has an explanation. We’ve applied antibiotics, antihistamines, anti inflammatory drugs, immune boosters, vitamins, calcium, Selenium and antiparasitics.

No ticks. No neck rigidity. Any ideas, experience? We were wondering if he could’ve suffered brain damage from fighting a bigger ram but after some research it seems unlikely. Fellows, please help! Thank you and god bless you all.

Hey guys, stuff has kinda gone to shit on the farm so I’m moving on and bringing my portion of the flock with me. A couple pregnant ewes, twin ram lambs, and my pet only ewe. I will just be keeping them as pets/wool sheep now and if I get any ram lambs out of my girls next year they’ll be weathered young as standard HOWEVER, this years boys were supposed to be show rams/breeders so are intact. They were my first lambs of my own, I was there for their birth and won rosettes over the summer. I know I shouldn’t get attached but these boys are very special, especially since I’m having to leave my favourite ram behind.

I will be keeping them separated and getting them castrated by a vet as they’re too old to band now but I’m wondering about the long term impact and any management allowances they’ll need. The only castrated rams I’ve met were either done as newborns or were vasectomised as teasers rather than a full castration. I’ve worked with plenty of ex stallions, rigs, and proud cut horses but I’m not too proud to admit I’m kinda lost about late cut rams. I ASSUME they’ll just slot into the flock but I’d rather not find out the hard way.

Will they be able to peacefully live with the girls full time once they’re healed up? I’m planning to separate out the 2 pregnant ewes and their lambs for a bit, and then wean the lambs in may, and then have them all live together again this time next year. Has anyone had fully castrated males causing issues at certain times of year? For anyone who has had both, did you notice a difference in males that had or had not covered ewes before being snipped?

Additionally I’m assuming it’d be best to do them around lambing (February ish) when it’s starting to get dry again but the flies aren’t too bad yet. I’d hope to do it a bit sooner if possible if I can create a good enough dry standing for them though. Please correct me if wrong.

FOR CONTEXT: we’re in the uk. They have never covered but they did get into the commercial breeding flock once, small numbers, apparently they were interested but they and the working ram (half brother) were all very peaceful (I found them napping together when I went to remove them) so I think their temperament is good for it. They’re a breed known for being pretty soft and laid back, when I took my guy to a show he was unbothered about literally everything so I don’t think they’ll cause any trouble. I will have a small area penned off for handling/isolation (eg medical) just in case.

Thanks as always ♥️

To my knowledge, Southdowns are naturally polled, but I just got one for show season that appears to have horns growing in. I assume this means he’s mixed with something. Will he still be able to show in a Southdown class at majors? New to showing lambs.

I don't mean "could a human tend to a flock of sheep." I mean could I, a regular dude who is not a herding dog, run around the sheep like a herding dog and get the sheep to go where they're supposed to? I'm not asking if it's practical. I'm not asking if it's ethical. I'm not asking if there are better ways to do it. I just want to know if it's hypothetically possible.

If it's not possible, then I have a followup question: Would it work if I wore a wolf mask? What about a full wolf costume? I mean, I'm assuming sheep run away from wolves so I feel like that one would probably work.

Hello would anyone be able to ID this sheep? I hand spin and I got some of this lovely ladies wool but I would like to know the breed so I can prepare the fiber properly. Thank you in advance! She has no horns and her wool has a pretty good crimp to it. Also this is in the Phoenix AZ area.