SHEEP

HANDLING
INTRODUCTION

To save on time and effort, and to reduce the risk of injury to the animal or person, good
handling skills are essential. Good handling skills are required if you are handling animals on
your own, this will also increase the safety of the job being done.

Good handling will give both the animal and other people helping confidence in the task being
approached.

To learn good handling skills, it is best to watch and be guided by an experienced animal
handler. The risk of injury to people handling animals is high, so good handling skills are
needed.

BEHAVIOUR AND AROUSAL

Animals do not smell, hear, or see the same as humans.

Arousal is the word that describes the level of activity of an animal, arousal will range from
flight or fight to sleep. The level of arousal will be raised during handling; problems will occur if
the arousal is too high.

Handling needs to be done as calmly and quietly as possible to keep arousal as low as possible.
Let animals move at their own pace, don't rush them, and the job will be done much quicker. See
Fig. I.

CHARACTERISTICS

Sheep tend to stay in groups, and in contact, making them social animals. The most important
thing to them is their vision; they can see a moving dog 1000m away, but not if it is still. For
vigilance sound is also important to sheep.

Sheep are not normally aggressive towards people, although rams may butt people more so
during the breeding season. A highly aroused sheep might run or jump at a person, in an attempt
to escape and rejoin the flock. Always keep an eye on the sheep as they may hit you in the back
when you are unaware.

As sheep are reasonably small they do not usually hurt people, but when handling sheep you can
often hurt yourself by lifting sheep with your back bent.

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MOVING

If you plan your route and anticipate problems, like sheep breaking from the flock, the job can be
done much quicker and calmly.

When large flocks of sheep are being moved there is a risk of smothering, when they are being
moved through a narrow gap.

The risks of smothering can be reduced by:

1) Do not pressure the sheep - let them move at their own pace.

2) Let the sheep see the gateways, and move through at their own rate.

3) Keep control of any dog being used, don't let it hassle or bite the sheep.

4) Set up all the gates in advance - be prepared.

Once the sheep have started to move, the whole flock will follow - like sheep! So if they are
moving in the right direction, let them go at their own speed.

CATCHING

It is easiest to catch sheep in a pen where there is enough room for you to move around freely,
but not the sheep. If the pen is too big for the flock of sheep, they can be cornered for catching.

The best way to catch a sheep is to come up behind them quickly, in their blind spot. See Fig. 2.
The animal should be held under its chin, by cupping your hand. Do not grab sheep by the wool,
on any part of its body, as this will cause bruising, this will damage the carcass - which results in
the carcass being downgraded.

Horned sheep can be more difficult and dangerous to catch by holding under the chin, so it is
easier to catch by grabbing a hind leg, but you need to be extremely strong to keep hold of them
for long using this method. Often it is easier to catch and hold them by the horns.

A crook will give you a longer reach, for catching sheep. You can get neck or leg crooks, but the
neck crook is better; as a leg crook can cause damage to the leg or udder. Most shepherds will
have a neck crook. See Fig. 3.

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HOLDING A STANDING SHEEP

To keep a sheep still, it is easiest to hold it up against some rails with your knees, and your hand
under its chin. See Fig. 4.

If you are in an open area, and the sheep is not too big, stand astride the sheep's shoulders with
your hand under its chin. Stand as far back as is comfortable, making sure your back is straight.
See Fig. 5.

To hold bigger sheep, stand at the side, this will enable you to hold and move the sheep with one
hand in front of the neck, and the other on the tail area. See Fig. 6.

WALKING

Small sheep can be moved using the holding position shown in Fig. 5. To control the sheep's
movements move back or forwards from the shoulder, if need be squeeze the sheep with your
knees to make them move.

Bigger sheep can be moved by holding the sheep under the chin to control the sheep, and the
other hand to squeeze the tail to make the sheep move. See Fig. 6.

SITTING UP

The easiest method to sit a sheep up is to turn its head into its shoulder; this will put less strain
on your back.

Make sure you are in a clear area, brace your knees and hold the sheep against them, with one
hand under the chin, the other on the rump. Turn the head to face the rear and with the other hand
force the hindquarters down against your legs. Once the sheep is no longer standing, lift the front
end, and sit the sheep on its rump, see Fig. 7. Make sure your back is straight at all time when
lifting. It is easier to hold the sheep by turning your toes in and bringing your knees together.

If there is not much room, then lift the sheep from the front end, see Fig. 8. Twisting the head to
the side will make the sheep quieter, see Fig. 7.

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LIFTING

Sometimes it is necessary to lift a sheep off the ground, to put them over a fence or into a lorry.
Only lift sheep if there is no other way of doing the job.

The 4 main rules are;

1) Always keep your back straight when lifting.

2) Bend your knees - use your legs to lift.

3) Lift smoothly and continuously.

4) Know your limits.

Figs. 8 & 9 show how to lift a sheep, and lift a sheep over a fence.

TYING UP

You may need to keep sheep still for a short time. It is necessary that the gases produced in the
rumen can escape freely by belching, or the rumen will distend with free gas, and this could
cause death from bloat. So it is vital that the sheep is placed lying on its brisket.

Fig. 10 shows the tying of the sheep, using a cheap and effective method of a loop made from
twine, although there are other devices available on the commercial market.

FOOT TRIMMING

The sheep's foot should be kept in the correct shape to lower the risk of lameness. Fig. 11 shows
the correct shape.

The wall of the hoof wears away and grows at different rates and can easily become overgrown
on soft grown, increasing the risk of infection.

So this makes it important to foot trim on a regular bases, to get rid of excess wall and loose
horn, as well as any rotten tissue, leaving enough horn for the sheep to walk on. Don't make the
sheep's feet bleed, if it can be avoided.

The trimming of feet can be easily done in the sitting up position shown in Fig. 7. But if a large
number are being done then a sheep cradle would be useful.

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DRENCHING

When drenching sheep, it is best to have them all facing the same way, so you can start at the
back and work forward, shown in Fig. 12.

The drench gun needs to have a short nozzle with a thick rounded end, with smooth edges so the
mouth is not injured.

Hold the sheep under the chin, and insert the nozzle from the side of the mouth, there is no need
to put your fingers in the mouth. The nozzle should be inserted into the middle of the mouth,
being careful not to knock any of the teeth out. Squeeze the trigger to release the drench; do not
let the trigger go until the nozzle is removed from the mouth, to avoid any liquid being sucked
back into the gun, shown in Fig. 13.

MOUTHING

This is done in a similar way to drenching, with the race full so the handler can move through
them slowly.

The easiest way to see the teeth is to pull the lips back with the thumb and forefinger; see Fig.
14. Make sure you don't block the nostrils and make it hard for them to breathe.

By doing this you can see if the sheep has an overshot or undershot jaw, loose teeth (broken
mouthed), and the age.

VACCINATING

All injections should be given in the side and front half of the neck (see Fig. 15) unless otherwise
stated by the manufactures. This is important so the meat does not get damaged - money will be
lost at slaughter if this happens.

All equipment should be sterile at the start of the job, and the skin of the sheep needs to be dry
and clean.

The injection should be given under the skin, see Fig. 16. Always ensure the needle is well
guarded to avoid self injection.

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CRUTCHING

This can be done in the sitting or standing positions, this is done to clean away excess
wool/muck from the back end, before mating and lambing to ensure clean and clear access. Also
a mucky back end will encourage fly strike.

Figs. 17 & 18 show crutching using electrical shears.

Figs. 19 & 20 show hand shears.

SORTING

This ease of this job depends on how well the sheep move through the race, and pressure from
behind to keep them moving.

A lone handler will need a well trained dog.

To deflect the sheep it is better to use the side of your legs to avoid injury to the knees. See Fig.
21.

CASTRATING

The most common method of castrating was once the use of a tight rubber ring to stop the blood
supply. It is normal to dock the tail at the same time; this must be done within a few days of
birth. The risk of tetanus has reduced the popularity of this method.

The other main method is to remove the testes quickly by a knife, an animal will need to be
sedated, and the operation needs to be done in a clean environment.

Fig. 22 shows the sitting position for castration, at a convenient height for the operation.

Fig. 23 shows a cradle to do the castration.

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