Smart like a sheep
Back in 2017, when I first started knitting -yes, I learned in my forties- I came across a wonderful book called Living with Sheep, by Chuck Wooster with photographs by Geoff Hansen. Obviously, I had already taken the leap from maker to grower, in my mind at least. The book was less instruction manual and more philosophical treatise although practical knowledge was also conveyed.
The thing that stuck with me most from that book is- well, two things actually. The first is his description of training sheep to follow a bucket of grain. This is not hard to do, you give your sheep a little grain at the same time and place every day and then after about a week, when you walk to the barn and pick up a bucket, the sheep follow you like magic. This is not complicated but it gets to the heart of farming, which is a kind of cross-species empathy. The successful farmer understands the reasons behind events and processes on her farm. An inexperienced farmer may chase their sheep around in a frustrating attempt at control by intimidation. The peaceful farmer develops a relationship with her sheep and understands their motivations: in this case, grain coupled with predictability.
The second big lesson is about the intelligence of sheep. People often make jokes about how stupid sheep are. Well, no doubt there is some variation in intelligence between breeds but Wooster suggests that intelligence is in the eye of the beholder. He says that we recognize predator intelligence more easily because we are predators and because our culture values aggressive competitive behaviour. Sheep have collective intelligence. They need to stay in a flock. A sheep alone is a terrified and unhappy animal. Well it turns out that humans are that way as well.
I believe that people also like to know something that we can relate to others, which is the excuse I use to explain the next batch of fallacies about sheep. That they are incompetent at birthing and nursing their lambs. As soon as I say I have sheep, people want to know if I have to ‘help’ with births and if I have bottle babies. Their version of ‘help’ seems to have a lot to do with reaching elbow deep into a ewe’s vagina and pulling lambs out. And their convictions about bottle babies are equally vulgar.
It’s okay if you have said these things or thought them. We live in a culture that sees the female body as incompetent and sees sheep as the epitome of the feminine. Soft and scared and stupid; unable to do the single thing they are bred for, raising their own young.
As a shepherd my most valuable asset is time and attention. I watch and I pay attention but I try very hard not to intervene. I do not have a large flock and I do not raise breeds that are predisposed to difficult births but I have not yet had to assist with a birth and I have only once had to supplement a lamb with formula and that was in a case that I myself could have prevented had I been more on-the-ball. The worst damage can be done by pulling a lamb that is not ready or removing a lamb from the flock-and heaven forbid- raising it inside a house.
Most births proceed perfectly on their own; all the better if the ewe has ample room and plenty of fresh water. The rest of the flock will generally exit the barn while a ewe is birthing and come in again afterward to sniff and visit ewe and lambs. I do try to give each ewe a stall of her own for 2-3 days during and after birth so that lambs can flop down and sleep in the corner without getting stepped on or bullied. I do not stay up all night watching. I look at the sheep more often in the lead-up to lambing. I watch the way they walk, the fullness of their udders and any changes in energy or breathing but then I go to bed. And when I get up in the morning, there are lambs!
This is not to say that no help is ever needed; obviously sometimes it is. And other farmers have way more experience than I do and I’m not saying they are wrong. All I’m saying is that animals and humans generally are good at natural processes and that it’s okay to watch quietly and listen; sometimes it’s the best and only thing.