HGG Community Forums

I firmly believe sheep are crazy, that's why they need dogs to keep them out of trouble. :D

The only spotted sheep I was ever around are the ones with four horns. Most call them Jacobys here, or Jacob's sheep. They can throw really adorable babies, very colorful, but I never managed to turn one into a pet unless it was bottle-raised. lol You might be able to get them to stop running away if you start feeding them from a brightly colored bucket. They probably still won't be smart enough to come in out of the rain in a very literal way, but they might let you near them for grain. :))

With our goats we have found the line is either friendly or not. Nothing you can really do with a wild one to make them much better.

Pff I can domesticate any goat because you basically use their curisoty against them and boom. But sheep are flight animals so there much harder.

Bottle babies lol sure extra work but I refuse to chase a goat every bottle kid I've had was underfoot constantly but it helped with worming and handling milking every day they are just bigger dogs

Sheep are naturally much more flighty and cautious. If you can figure out which ewe is the "head" sheep, you can try bribing her with treats. If she calms down, many of the others may calm down as well. This sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Also, be mindful of how you move in the pasture. They will spook at a ything that remotely moves like a predator. Don't walk towards their rear or from behind them, that's usually where attacks come from. Don't be silent/sneaky, talk calmly to them. I've had a few sheep come around, but not many. Usually bottle babies or handling from a very young age is the best bet.

As for breeding, white sheep can hide tons of color. It's kind of like a sheet that covers everything, and you never really know what might come from it. Some breeds are more likely to carry colorful genetics than others. Icelandics and Jacobs are two very colorful breeds. Katahdin are fairly colorful, but white is still quite common. And of course mixed breeds can be anything the parent breeds can show. Personally, I would breed for temperament before color. Do you have any ewes that are less flighty than the others? If so, those would be the ones I used. Of course, depending on the breed and your location, you could sell extra lambs pretty easy, so breeding all might not be a bad idea. Just pick your replacement ewes from the less flighty dams.

Here is an overview of sheep color genetics. I'd be more than happy to help you figure out anything that confuses you.
http://www.icelandicsheep.com/resources/articles/color-genetics-in-icelandic-sheep/

@Haltanny
They have good temperaments as I do breed for that. The problem is I am selling them and people want pop and color and sheep that stand out. So I do actually have tame breeders but the others have babies and they are running arou d. But I agree with you.
@ColorGoodStables
I am able to separate them with my dog. They are actually in separate pens now because most of them had given birth, and some of them have to still. We have a few bum lambs that are females so they are going to be tame obviously. They are pretty their colors are so cool

It so cute. I breed dorper sheep.
They are friendly if I have food but otherwise they rib away if I don't got anything. Thanks tame ones are my breeders, but the wild ones I bought preggo so I can expand. I have allot of acerage that needs to be moved down lol