[OldGaffer]

Hello Fleecewife, they are Shetlands, they sometimes jump the rope but mainly keep to the correct side, give up running about and go in the pen. I am planing on buying some Hebridean sheep next week, so I guess I need to buy sheep dog as well, unless they will follow my obliging Shetlands!

[Fleecewife]

No no - replace your rope with lengths of sheep electric mesh, not electrified but use that to make your funnel, held taught with a guy rope at one end, and tied to the pen at the other.  The Hebs will take a few goes to learn not to get tangled in it, but your Shetlands should get it straight off.  With Hebs it's calm, calm, calm all the way for ease of handling.  Hopefully they will integrate well with the Shetlands (eventually) and should be calmed by them.

[Deere]

Lots of great advice already given, something I always do is when I have initially penned the sheep the first time is let the one that I want to treat eat up the small amount of corn/nuts with the others and then catch and treat when they have eaten up.

Catching and treating the sheep before its had at least a mouthful of corn and expecting it to come back in the pen tomorrow for more treatment can be hard work and i've learnt my lesson!

Good luck with finding a method that works for you and your sheep, perhaps a little of everyone's suggestions.

[Je]

Thank you everyone. A pen, food and patience did the trick. I have learned another lesson to pen and feed frequently.   

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Good to hear, well done

[Coximus]

And remember sometimes its worth seperating wilder sheep from the main flock for a month or two to tame them:
I recently brought a flock that contained 2 very wild, primitive type hebs, which had been drafted from a fell flock - lovely grey, longish necks and feral as hell. they Live as a pair and their safe distance from me is about 100m.....

They are seperate now until they tame up - as when they ran, EVERYTHING went with them, under fences, over gates, into hedges.... if these two run like hell they all figure something must be up.

Once a few get used to you, the rest follow.