Here are a few tips I've found that help you to get up close & cuddly with your sheep!
This is probably the most frequently asked question I’m asked, how do you get your sheep so tame?
Here are my top tips on how to meet and get to know new sheep, and how to get them comfortable with you.
1.) Get down to grass level - either pull on good waterproof trousers and sit on the grass or grab a small stool - a little old folding camping stool is ideal so that you can sit in the field in comfort and wait ready at eye level with the sheep to approach you - towering over sheep triggers their prey instinct and will never make a sheep feel comfortable.
2.) Time & patience, little and often visits. I go twice a day, sit close by so they can get used to you, if in a barn, sit in the opposite corner to the sheep giving them room and their safe circle but in their space. If outside, keep to slow quiet movements and always approach from the front and stop 2 metres away out of their “flight circle”. That’s where I camp out! I quietly chat too, they get used to my voice, my smell and in the first few days, my treats.
3.) Treats. Ok yes, I use bribery! Treats can help, BUT only for the first few days - as usually, I don’t give anything extra to the sheep outside of pregnancy - I’m very careful firstly because the sheep's rumen is so sensitive - any new food in large quantities will at best cause scouring (diarrhoea) or at worse kill them (more info read next blog on food for Babydolls) AND because Babydolls very easily put on weight and struggle to lose it. After the week the treat is only the chin scratch (not food) and that’s what you want them to get used to. So, in the first days of owning Babydolls the quick way to gain trust is to hold in your hand a couple of sheep cobs or sheep concentrate (ewe cobs, creep or tup ration depending on sheep), offer your hand stretched out and let the sheep smell the treat (be patient it can take a while) and let them take their time to approach and eat from your outstretched open hand palm flat so they can't nibble fingers. Don’t be tempted to move your hand, touch them, or rush the intro! If they approach just stay really still, let them smell you, even nibble (why long hair is tasty I’ll never know) - the first time I don't really move or try to touch them, unless they are really confident as they have been brave to approach and their reward is your trust allowing them to assess you. The next day repeats but brings your hand closer to you, gradually or maybe quickly depending on the sheep, you will probably not need the food and instead, I offer the first touch a gentle scratch UNDER the head as this is non-threatening - the chin and belly are a favourite scratch area.
I’ve found after a very short while the Babydolls will recognise you, if you stick to the same time of day they will also anticipate your visit.
Freddie here is a good example here of patience paying off. When he was little he was a very shy lamb, hiding behind mum when she received cuddles and keeping his distance, hrere this week at four months old, naturally weaning, gaining independence watching his buddies getting the good stuff every day (not food I tend not to give creep to lambs as the mums will just dominate and it becomes a scrum) he decided to strut over for his first full chin scratch. You see his hesitation and then it’s about time & trust. You give your time, lots of it and they’ll give you their precious trust. Some sheep will always be flighty, we have several that don’t always want my touch but will all hand feed, still allow me to clip their feet, wash their bags and teets before birth and help them in the lambing pen, others prefer one to one, others will mob you the minute they spot you. Like humans, sheep have moods, hormones, reactions to the weather and just good days and bad days. Generally, my boys tend to be bold, most affectionate, and the first to seek you out and so I’ve found time after time that the wethers make the best pets.
4.) The last tip - don't give up, some sheep the minute they are born or arrive they'll come over and sniff me, others like Freddie, take a while but even the most stubborn Babydoll sheep eventually comes around!
Are pet sheep worth all the time? I live with a selection of pets, (3 rescued kittens, a big old labradoodle dog, 12 rare breed lavender Orpington chickens and lots of Koi carp fish) and all that diversity brings ....so you’ll perhaps have to take my word for it that when you’ve won the trust of a pet sheep the connection is profound. When they have 4 acres to enjoy and they choose to come and stand with you, look you square in the eye wanting your cuddle - it’s really rewarding.
So, are my Babydoll sheep “tame”? Well, they wouldn’t come to call, or do tricks, but I’ll settle for following me to another field without the aid of a sheepdog and allow me the honour of being the guardian of the flock with daily chin scratches thrown in!
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