[moony]

As a general rule lowland meaty sheep are heavier, less athletic and less inclined to escape than hill/native breeds as they are bred to be hardy and with that comes the flightiness and athletic ability. The other consideration is once sheep have got out a couple of times they are pretty much guaranteed to keep doing so. At that point we always sell the offenders if we cant move them.

[SallyintNorth]

I currently have Castlemilk Moorits, Shetland crosses and Manx Loaghtans.  The CMs have not, so far, jumped a fence or wall.  One of the Manxes does, the other doesn't.  The Shetland with some Blue-faced Leicester in doesn't jump, all the other Shetland crosses, including the lambs (2 from Manx mums, 2 from Charollais crosses) travel wherever they want; walls especially seem to be just vertical roads! 

Oh, and my 4 CM wethers never jumped a fence or wall either.  Mind, you do have to be gentle and keep the pressure low-key when gathering. 

I couldn't be without them now, though.  : I love my 'funny little sheep'.

[Old Shep]

Please don't tether your sheep - get fencing!!  If your sheep jump your fences they obviously aren't high enough - it doesn't matter what height fence sheep usually can be contained with - yours obviously are'nt high enough.  At the end of the day you are responsible for the welfare of animals in your care and tethering isn't caring for them.  Sorry but it has to be said.

[shygirl]

are your fences really 2ft6" ? that seems incredibly low. my soays used to jump but they never left my land so it wasnt a problem -  tho i did sell them for that reason as i used to worry they'd escape onto the main road. wev had a few breeds and none others jumped.

[wrekin wanderer]

My fences are really 80cms. When I was doing the fencing my dad gave me the BTCV fencing book and in there it had fencing for sheep starting at 75cms height. So, I thought 80cms would be the way to go.

Gives me a smile reading so many of the responses of your amazing jumping sheep ! You're right Mooney, once they start they have to go....

Shygirl: Get fencing. Hmmmm, easier said than done! Lots to do and fencing certainly not top of the list and as I said i prefer lower than higher.

Shep: Tethering. Always open to debate. Why is it okay to tether some animals, eg. goats and not others? Of course I would always prefer not to tether given the choice. However, for me it's a question of animal welfare that they are tethered, if they weren't tethered they would have been butchered by now! I check on them about three times a day. Each time I check they are less tangled up, as I said Soay are highly intelligent. They are also doing a fine job of eating the brambles where I have them and what with them doing work for me rather than the other way around, I am much more loving towards them!

[in the hills]

Not a goat keeper.


Is it still considered okay to tether goats?


Having had the experience of finding a Soay half strangled on a really short piece of dangling twine, I do have some worries about tethering. I would have thought it very easy if a number of individuals are tethered for them to get tangled or worse and do themselves real damage. Although intelligent (up to a point) I'm not so sure that they could learn not to get tangled.


They could get in trouble at night, which is when my wether got tangled. I was lucky to find him in time and learnt my lesson. The twine was only just long enough to wrap around his neck but he managed it.


Would it be possible to improve fencing in just a small area until your sheep are sold.

[woollyval]

No it is not ok to tether goats! Nuff said really

[Remy]

I have a Ryeland ram who has never tried to get through normal stock fencing even when in a paddock in sight of the ewes, he grazed with some wethers and has never been a problem.  Then I got a Zwartbles ram, well this ram (even though he had his own ewes) jumped - or should I say bulldozed - his way through two fields to get to a flock of Gotlands.  My stock fencing has a line of mains electric on top but this proved no match for Tas!  He is now confined to a field that is fully hedged and gated, if I didn't have this I am not sure what I would have done!  He has produced some lovely lambs .. 


Some of the lambs can also jump very high - I was moving the flock into another field yesterday and one of the lambs (yes one of Tas's progeny  ) nearly cleared the fence, but got caught in the top wire!



I took my daughter and granddaughter to a small zoo the other day where they had sheep racing.  The sheep had jumps set up and teddies strapped to their backs and ran over the jumps to get food.  I was watching one of these sheep in the paddock (it was obviously one of the hurdlers), it just hopped over the stock fencing into another field like it wasn't there!

[shygirl]

I took my daughter and granddaughter to a small zoo the other day where they had sheep racing.  The sheep had jumps set up and teddies strapped to their backs and ran over the jumps to get food.  I was watching one of these sheep in the paddock (it was obviously one of the hurdlers), it just hopped over the stock fencing into another field like it wasn't there!

iv heard of pig racing and i can imagine pigs go fast for a bucket - how do they get the sheep to run? a bucket or a dog?

[moony]

The best jumping sheep I have ever seen are 2 Castlemilk Moorits that had been wondering free around here. The "owner" bought them 3 years ago and they jumped out of his paddock straight away. Since then they have basically been left to roam free around the local fields which they are now hefted to. They even had a crop of lambs last year. I have never seen anything jump like them. They can clear a 5 bar gate from a standstill. Very similar to a deer. As of yet this year they havent been seen so I am guessing they have become the victims of some idiots with dogs, guns and crossbows that have been causing problems lamping and poaching the last few months. Hopefully that will stop after the police collared them last week after months of trying but more than likely they will just get a slap on the wrist.

[jaykay]

No, tethering isn't ok for goats either. You have to sort out fencing to keep animals safe, before you keep them.

[SteveHants]

I would also say that tethering is a welfare issue.

[wrekin wanderer]

I would also try to give animals maximum freedom possible at all times. Fortunately any possible strangling issues have been avoided as the sheep are tied by their horns...

[in the hills]

I think you will find, DEFRA Guidelines, that tethering any animal by the horns IS a welfare issue !!!!!! 

[woollyval]

I think you will find, DEFRA Guidelines, that tethering any animal by the horns IS a welfare issue !!!!!! 

Most definitely a welfare issue!!!! Horns are part of the skull sinus and can break off! For goodness sake sort some fencing.....sorry to be blunt but sometimes I am where animal welfare is concerned