Why do sheep go BAA?

Don't ask me

Our sheep are generally quiet, spending most of their day peacefully munching, relaxing or ruminating. When I come out with the pink bucket, they usually silently trot over to where they expect the feeding troughs to be placed. However, there are certain times when they become quite vocal, for instance, in the morning, if they see me heading out to the car they sometimes run over to the hedge and let out what sounds like slightly irritated 'baaaaa, baaaaa'. In the afternoon, if I'm working around the polytunnel, they gather by the fence and make more of a 'meeh, meeh'.

Saturday afternoon - a meeh situation

According to a quick check on the National Sheep Association website, sheep communicate through vocalizations that range from a high-intensity "baaa" in stressful situations to a low-intensity "meeeh" when they are more relaxed. They are capable of recognizing multiple human faces, understanding facial expressions, and possess excellent learning abilities and memory. Therefore, I don't believe I'm overly anthropomorphizing them by suggesting they are getting to know us and communicating more. Hopefully, we will become more attuned to understanding what they are saying. As they begin to mother their lambs, their sounds will become even more complex. Right now, I think they might just be expressing that it's cold, wet, and they are wondering when the sun will come out.

The main event of the week was the routine foot inspection. Thankfully, we had Alf's assistance, whose shepherding expertise was invaluable—without it, we wouldn't have stood a chance, to be honest. Even with his help, it took us three hours to check all 42 sheep (minus the 2-3 that managed to escape), resulting in burning thighs and freezing toes, but we accomplished it! We didn't find any infections, which was fantastic, although we did need to do some toe trimming. Hopefully, the sheep appreciated their pedicure.

Bottoms up!

We're all familiar with the experience of setting ambitious January resolutions to improve ourselves, only for things to not go quite as planned shortly into the new year. Let's just say Lottie has had a bit of a setback with the sheep and is back on the lead around the farm. Tristram's training is ongoing, but we believe in her ability to meet the challenge. Both we and the sheep support and believe in her!