Sheep Handling - Studying Sheep's Behavior Can Help You When Raising Sheep

Sheep handling includes several tasks such as
moving the sheep, catching the sheep and
restraining them. Moving the sheep may be a
daunting task. That is why several sheep
handling equipments and facilities are designed
to organize the flock. However, there are
ways to become an effective sheep handler and
the first thing on the list is to understand the
sheep's primal behaviors.The first thing that a
handler needs to know is that sheep like other
livestock need to have a personal space to move
about and the handler should respect that. 

The sheep's instinct is to flock and tag along a
leader that they recognize. The sheep's leader
may be another animal or a human being. They
have an emotional instinct beyond intelligence.
Sheep can read and feel their herder's emotional
state through facial contortions, so it is best
to keep a careful yet calm façade when
handling sheep. Also, people who are handling
sheep must keep in mind that the they can sense
their handler's anxiety and may mistake them as
threat. When they feel threatened, they will
panic and yelp loudly and endlessly which will
make handling sheep a taxing chore.

A very effective way to deal with sheep is to
entice them with food. Once the sheep has
associated its herder as its provider of
nourishment, the sheep will recognize its
handler as a leader and soon raising sheep will
be an easy task. Once this happens, it is now
the herder's duty to maintain a harmonious
relationship with the flock. The first rule to
adhere to is to never initiate panic. Sheep tend
to get fidgety with the slightest irregularity.
So it is best to avoid some sources of panic for
sheep like slippery floors and uneven shift of
lighting. Also, avoid leading sheep to mirrors
or any surface that has a reflection. It is
because when the sheep that are walking ahead
sees their followers through a reflection they
can get distracted from walking and might turn
around instead of walking ahead.

This amazing creature are also trainable. They
can recall past lessons like its herder's noise
or catcalls when moving them. The herder can
vary each noise for each purpose, like one
catcall for walking, and another for halting. As
mentioned, sheep can recognize their handler but
what is amazing is that they can remember human
faces for years and may even be trained to
distinguish their handler's name and keep it in
their memory for years.

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