Mustering Sheep

I bet you think this has to be easy, right? They are sheep after all and we all know they follow the flock mindlessly, well, like sheep.......right? If you believe this you will be in for a little surprise the first time you head out to round up your mob.

Sheep are often considered to be stupid, mindless animals that run along together because none of them has a brain big enough to come up with a better plan. This is simply not true. Sheep are actually intelligent animals, capable of planning a strategy and implementing it, if given the chance. We have seen this time and again with our sheep. They can find the only way under a fence to get to a plum tree, or can understand that the gate is the exit and squeeze between it and the strainer post. They also know what time of day they will be fed and will be waiting for you at that time. They are thinkers, planners and doers and you will see this if you take the time to watch them. However, they are prey animals and are aware that they are low on the food chain and are considered to be a tasty dinner morsel by all the predators out there. Being on everyone else’s lunch list means that it is never wise to wander off alone, because if you wander off alone, the nasty predators will see only you and not 1000 others just like you and therefore you will most certainly be the one chosen for dinner. There is safety in numbers for sheep, not because together they can mount an assault on their enemy, but because if someone is out to kill one of you, you best be standing in a crowd of 1000 rather than alone! So the first rule for mustering sheep is- don’t underestimate them. The second rule is keep them together as a single group and do not allow them to split up. If you understand that they are thinking about what is going on and not just blindly moving along, you will not become as frustrated when they outwit you. If you understand that they prefer to be in a group and are actually almost impossible to move if they split up, you will find the work of moving them so much easier.

Before you start out with your sheep mustering endeavour, here are a some tips that are well worth knowing:

·         As mentioned above, sheep are herd animals and prey animals. They will always try to return to the safety of the herd if they are separated from it. This can be helpful and unhelpful when it comes to mustering sheep. A single sheep who breaks away can be left and observed- it will always try to get back to the group, if you allow it to do so, and usually does not need you to intervene. However, if several sheep break away, the rest of the sheep now have two herds they can potentially join and this creates chaos. The sheep from both herds will try and join the other herd and sheep will soon be running all over the place. You will not be able to move them anywhere once this has occurred. If your sheep do split up into two or more groups- start again. Round them all up into one group again and try to keep them as a single unit.

·         Sheep have very good eyesight and can see almost the entire way around their body- this is handy when others are out to do you harm and all you have for defence is a cloven hoof and a hard palate. They also have very good hearing for the same reason. Sheep do not like sudden or dramatic movement or sudden loud noises. These things frighten them and frightened sheep are much more difficult to move that calm sheep. When handling sheep always remain calm, take it slowly, keep the noise levels down and don’t wave your arms about shouting “Geddup there!” You are not helping your own cause if you choose to do so! Sheep will naturally want to move away from you regardless of your performance and they need very little prompting to do so. Simply walking towards them will get them moving. You do not need to add the high dramatics often associated with an amateur night at a Shakespearean play in order to get them to move. You do, however, need to know where they will move, why they will move there and how to make them move where you want.

·         Sheep, like all animals (even us humans), have a “flight zone”. The flight zone is like an animal’s personal space- the space around the animal that the animal prefers to keep empty. If the flight zone is encroached, the animal will feel uncomfortable, alerted or threatened.  When you are outside the sheep’s flight zone, the sheep will turn and face you to see what you are going to do next. When you enter the flight zone the sheep will move away from you. It is easiest for you and the sheep if you work on the outside edge of the flight zone- the spot where the animal turns away from you and walks off without panicking. If you enter too deeply into the sheep’s flight zone it will become frightened and its behaviour changes, becoming less predictable. Frightened sheep who feel threatened can rush away stampeding young lambs, old sheep and weak sheep. They can also panic and rush towards you in an effort to get passed you. Sheep may not be big but they can knock you down and then if all the others run after the leader, you could end up with more than mud on your face! The flight zone varies between sheep. Pet sheep have no flight zone and often approach you for a pat. This can affect how the rest of the sheep behave. You really want all the sheep to move away from you in one direction- a pet sheep can upset the apple cart. We raised a large group of orphaned lambs who now all have no flight zone or very small flight zones. This has been very useful for us as these sheep come when called and follow behind us like dogs. They have trained the rest of the sheep to follow along too so we are now able to call our sheep and lead them from place to place rather that chase them from place to place. This is a very easy way of moving sheep. Whenever we handle our sheep we do it in a calm and gentle manner and so all of our sheep trust that we will not hurt them and therefore are very easy to move and handle. Sheep remember gentle handling. They also remember rough handling. How you handle your sheep will ultimately decide how easy they are to handle in the future.

         The easiest way to move sheep from one paddock to another is to train them to come when called. This is very easy to do. Call them and then feed them some lupin. Do this every day for a few weeks. Soon they will associate your call with getting a treat. You will be able to call them from quite a distance and they will run to you, moving themselves from paddock to paddock as they go. This is a stress free way to move sheep.

·         Sheep, like all livestock, have what is referred to as a “point of balance”. In sheep it is the shoulder. If you stand behind the point of balance (ie between the sheep’s shoulder and tail) the animal will move forward. If you stand in front of the point of balance (ie between the sheep’s shoulder and nose) the sheep will move back. If you are trying to move sheep forward, do not stand in front of their shoulder, remain behind it and the sheep will move forward as you wish it to.

·         Sheep are easiest to move if you can get them up against a fence and walk them along the fence line. If you walk, ride or drive behind and on the outside of the mob with the sheep between you and the fence the sheep will really only see one way to go- straight ahead along the fence. If any of the sheep try to run away from the fence drive them back in and then get back behind and on the outside. It is easier to move sheep if there are at least two people involved- one to stay behind the sheep, just outside the last sheep's flight zone and one further forward on the outside, well out of all the sheep's flight zones, to drive in potential bolters. Always keep noise levels low, remain calm and move the sheep at a leisurely pace. If you get them excited or nervous they are more likely to try and break away from you and run. It is much easier to move sheep along a fence to a gate in the corner of the paddock. This gives the sheep no option but to go through the gate. If the gate is in the middle of the fence in the middle of the paddock, the sheep may bypass it and keep going straight. By limiting their options, you move them much easier. Whenever you do any fencing, always put your gates in the corner of the paddock.

·         Do not stand in front of the sheep. Sheep prefer to have a clear way ahead, an exit as they see it, free from obstructions or danger. If someone stands in front of them as they approach they will balk and may bolt.

·         Open gates in the direction the sheep are moving so the path flows smoothly with no objects jutting out to cause concern to the sheep

·         Keep the sheep tightly grouped so that all sheep can see a sheep in front of them or alongside them. They will instinctively follow the others as long as they do not take fright.

·         Keep the sheep moving forward at all times. If the sheep have a chance to turn around and look back at the other sheep they may turn around and head back to them, effectively turning the whole mob around.

·         Avoid heading sheep towards a dead end. Sheep will be most reluctant to enter an area that appears to have no exit. Make sure the sheep can always see a clear way out of any enclosure you are moving them towards.

·         Sheep do not like moving into dark areas, or heavily shaded areas. They much prefer to move from a dark area to a light area. If they can’t see or are unsure what is coming up ahead they may refuse to move forward, turn around and bolt.

·         Sheep prefer to move uphill to downhill.

·         To move an individual sheep, hold the sheep under the jaw without squeezing its windpipe and push its dock forward (area on its back, around its tail)

Catching sheep

You are going to have to catch one or more of your sheep sooner or later. There are easy ways to do this and hard ways to do this.

The hard way is to herd your sheep into a corner or up against a fence getting them into a tight group, eyeball the one you want and race into the mob with a steely determination to grab it. It does work. It can also fail to work, and once it fails the sheep are all agitated, stressed and far less likely to bunch up calmly for your next attempt.

The easy way is to round all your sheep up into a small enclosure where they will be unable to bolt and you can walk amongst them and quickly grab the required sheep. Sheep are easier to catch if they are in a corner. Approach the sheep you need and if he is tightly bunched you will be able to reach under his jaw, tilt it back firmly so the sheep is looking upwards. The sheep will stand still. Grab the bony part of the jaw, not the throat.  If you are unable to get close enough to the sheep to grab its jaw, grab it by the rear leg, preferably above the hock. The sheep will try to pull its leg away and may kick wildly so be prepared to hang on tightly. It requires a degree of strength to do so. Grab the sheep jaw as soon as possible and raise it upwards firmly. Do not grab a sheep by its wool. The wool can be pulled out as well as skin along with it. It is no different from you being grabbed by your hair. A frightened sheep will try to escape and not let skin and wool tearing slow it down. As the pulled wool hurts the sheep, so it will become panicked and make the catch even harder. Once you have caught the sheep you will need to restrain it. You can do this by pressing it against a fence, straddling it and holding its jaw up or tipping it.

Having your sheep crowded into a small area will make it very easy to catch them. When using this method, all sheep should be about the same size and weight so that small sheep do not get crushed by bigger sheep.

Tipping a sheep 

Tipping a sheep means sitting it on its rear end. Sheep are very easy to control and manage when they are in this position. It is the ideal position for inspecting bellies and trimming hooves etc.

The ideal position after you tip your sheep is to have the sheep off centre- resting slightly on one hip rather than on its dock.

Getting ready to tip the sheep (assuming the position)

1.    Stand on the left side of the sheep.

2.    Place your left hand under the sheep’s jaw to hold its head. Do not put pressure on the sheep’s throat.

3.    Have your left knee near or just behind the sheep's left shoulder.

4.    Place your right leg near the sheep’s left hip.

5.    Place your right hand in the centre of the sheep's back over the hips.

   You are now ready to tip the sheep:

In one move, push the sheep's nose away from you towards its shoulder. You should feel the weight of the sheep lean against your legs. As you do this, put firm pressure downwards on the sheep’s hips with your right hand to prevent the sheep picking its back feet off the ground.

Take a step back with your right leg and the back leg of the sheep should start to go down. Continue to bring the head around until the sheep is sitting down with its back leaning against your legs. You can pull it further onto its back at this point.

How your sheep will look once he is tipped

You will need to practice this manoeuvre. Once you have gotten the hang of it it is very simple to do and will flow very easily and quickly. Even a small person can tip a big sheep using this method. 

Small sheep or lambs can be tipped by holding them under their front legs, lifting them up and off the ground slightly, and using your knee to push their rumps out and away from you until their backsides are on the ground.

Whenever handling sheep do so in a gentle and calm manner. Do not shout, get frustrated and handle them in a rough or painful manner. Remember- Sheep have good memories and every time you handle them you are training them in how to respond to you. Treat them roughly, frighten or hurt them and they learn that you are something to fear and avoid. Frightened sheep are hard to manage, move and control. Sheep who are hard to manage, move and control can be dangerous. It is in everyone's best interest, especially your own, to have sheep who do not fear you and who are easy to manage.

Sheep who trust that you will not hurt them are easy to catch, move and manage and very safe to work with. Make your own life easy- be kind and gentle with your sheep and you will get much more pleasure from working with them.