Sheep Stuck In Fence

[Pavel314]

We have a young ewe, about 18 months old, who keeps sticking her head through the woven wire fence to get to the grass on the other side. There's plenty of grass in the pasture she's in, but she prefers the grass growing along the vineyard, it seems. When she tries to get back out, she holds her head upright so it won't fit through the fence, the wire catches on the back of her skull and holds her fast. It's a rare day that I don't have to rescue her at least once. I just bend her head so that it's in line with her neck and she slips right out. A simple solution, but she hasn't figured that out yet. Has anyone else had a similar situation?

[Pico Rico]

"Pavel314" <pin...@jhmi.edu> wrote in message
news:7d814643-70e8-442d...@googlegroups.com...

try a medical collar.


and this just goes to show you - the grass always seems greener on the other
side of the fence.

[Don Bruder]

In article <7d814643-70e8-442d...@googlegroups.com>,

Not me - but then, when we had sheep, we put them in pens made of
fencing that they couldn't put their heads through in the first place.
I'd always assumed that anyone else keeping them had the smarts to do
the same...

Don't count on the stupid thing figuring out that "bend the neck" trick
of yours anytime soon, though... If there's any livestock stupider than
sheep, I haven't had the misfortune to encounter it yet. I've maintained
for years that sheep share a total of three brain-cells amongst the
entire species - one dedicated to "eat", another to "excrete", and the
third to "bleat and flee madly - preferably until crashing into a fence
or otherwise injuring yourself - if a leaf falls off a bush."

--
If the door is baroque don't be Hayden. Come around Bach and jiggle the Handel

[Pavel314]

The fencing was originally put up for horses many years ago. When we got sheep, we had to lower a lot of the gates so the sheep couldn't sneak out underneath, a problem we didn't run into with the horses. As I replace old or damaged sections of the fence, I use a smaller weave but there's too much fence to replace all at once on my limited budget. Also, this is the first sheep out of many dozens who seems addicted to the grass on the other side.

I agree on sheep intelligence; as remarked on by Monty Python, "sheep are exceedingly dim." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkw2DdoskPY

Paul

[CRNG]

On Tue, 18 Sep 2012 05:22:15 -0700 (PDT), Pavel314 <pin...@jhmi.edu>
wrote in <af25fb31-32ab-4159...@googlegroups.com> Re
Re: Sheep Stuck In Fence:

>Also, this is the first sheep out of many dozens who seems addicted to the grass on the other side.

Next time it gets stuck, just leave it. You don't want this genius
reproducing do you?

[Pavel314]

I've been thinking of sending her off to market for just that reason.

[snow]

"Pavel314" wrote in message
news:7d814643-70e8-442d...@googlegroups.com...

i used to spray glyphosate on my fence lines,2 foot out and it stopped that
problem flat. saved a lot of wear and tear on the fences as well

[Vandy Terre]

Glyphosate??

[Don Bruder]

In article <oc32685h22h6kpbtm...@4ax.com>,

You're probably more familiar with it under the trade name "RoundUp".

[Vandy Terre]

Thank you. Organic farmer here, not up on all the chemical means to kill the
land. If the goal is just to stop grass growth near the fence line why not just
lay a layer of cardboard or newspaper to stop the growth? This paper layer
would also make a good shelter for earthworms. But just stopping growth of
grass and such near the fence line does not really stop all foolish livestock
from fence hanging. A 'hot' line at nose height was my answer for this problem.
I use a solar power fence charger.