# which is the most most docile sheep?



## CocalicoSprings

What do you think is the most gentle breed of sheep? We want some that are very easy to work with and don't mind children. Any suggestions?


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## Bearfootfarm

Overall I'd think some of the wool breeds would be more docile, but with so much variation from animal to animal, it's all a matter of luck

Handling them FROM BIRTH is what makes them more docile, no matter what the breed, and RAMS are DANGEROUS no matter what breed


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## woodsman

Ooops, I thought it was a political thread. Sorry...


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## Slev

CocalicoSprings said:


> What do you think is the most gentle breed of sheep? We want some that are very easy to work with and don't mind children. Any suggestions?


Tunis seem to be, if I recall Dorset were. Of my Border Leicesters, some are very, naturally calm & friendly, while others seem a little flighty, (but to be honest, I think that will be true of most breeds) 

The #1 breed to stay away from would of course be..... those bug eyed little devil Border Cheviots, you'll find a 13 year old ewe will kick at your face and groin just as strong as a wild yearling come shearing time. It's like, what the hell, don't they know any better by now????


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## cathleenc

I've heard really good things about tunis, too - and I love our border leicesters. Shetlands were way too flighty and wild for me.


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## derekv

i vote for texel. when we had texel rams they were the most docile i have ever seen, and the muscle mass on them was even better


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## Slev

...well, to be honest, the dead ones seem to put up the least fight out in the pasture...


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## lisarichards

I found Shetlands to be too flighty, even ones I bottle fed, when compared with my Icelandics. My sheep are the ultimate lap sheep, especially kids of my ram Sue. If I breed him to the flightiest sheep, their babies are still friendly little lap lambs from day one. They love kids, too, and will ignore treats from an adult for a cuddle from a toddler.


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## ShortSheep

The larger commercial sheep tend to be more docile than the unimproved ones. I've heard that Oxfords & Shropshires are pretty docile. 
Yes, Shetlands are flighty. They are a small, primative breed and haven't had the smarts bred out of them. I have some very tame, laid back docile Shetlands, but I don't need a whole flock of lap-sheep. I only have two hands for petting.


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## houndlover

I had to laugh about the border cheviots, they are evil creatures. They are so cute though, then you go to pet one and BOOM, they go psycho.

I shear a lot of sheep, and the shetlands I shear are generally tame, but it could be because they are handled a lot. The big commercial breeds are stupid and that makes them dangerous because of their size. They could knock a little kid senseless by accident.

You don't state if you want wool or meat sheep. Dorpers are very gentle animals, but you won't get any wool from them.


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## wendle

It depends quite a bit on how you handle them. 
My daughter showed a border cheviot ewe lamb and a couple border cheviot crosses in 4H last year. She was much less intimidated by the smaller sheep, and being small herself wasn't outweighed like she would have been with a larger sheep. I used these same sheep for a nativity scene last Christmas, which required them to be tied out to a cement block in the middle of a city on a main street. These girls had all kinds coming up to touch, hug and take pictures of them. They did awsome, and even when a rope came loose, they didn't try to run.

http://claycreekfarm.net/theme_4.html


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## Hawkfamily

We have a few Dorsets and a few Suffolk, and all of them are amazingly friendly, with myself and with our kids. I have no issue with my 2 and 4 year old out in the fields or in the barns with them. Our big Suffolk ram makes me a bit nervous now and then, but even he is exceptionally tame. I wouldn't have the kids out on their own with an adult ram, but they're fine if we're in the field too.
It also depends on your feeding practises, I think. The sheep get very friendly here in the winter months, when they're living up close to the house and getting fed by our hands a few times a day. In the summer, in the further pastures, with little dependence on us, they're not as eager to come and say hi.


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## cjean

Our Katahdins/St. Croix hair sheep are very docile and mellow. The 2-yr old ram (don't try this at home!) will go freeze-frame when you approach him, just waiting for you to scratch behind his ears. His ears will droop and his eyes get all puppy-doggie. 

Of course, we have had a few that were spooky, but in general they are easy. As others have stated, much depends on your own actions.


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## pasotami

I've had several wool breeds over 20 years and honestly go buy a show sheep (they are handled! They are use to being sheared and standing tied and lead). I bought my first sheep that were not shown and only handled when they needed something done to them. They were friendly with a feed bucket but when it came time to shear them, the rodeo was on! I'm little, so this was a show and a half. From then on, if I buy I go for 4H lambs... I bought 2 Border Leicester Ram lambs - they are WONDERFUL. I take them to lots of events and places where kids get to pet them. They are now 4-5 years old and still just as friendly and they are NOT dangerous animals. I have several BL ewes that are big pets... so what ever breed you really want - look up online where they are showing them and go buy one - handle the sheep at the show - see for yourself the difference between the ones that are handled and the ones that are just out on a farm! I vote for Border Leicesters myself!


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## Slev

I agree partly with what pasotami says, but it's not just about showing sheep through 4-H, or county fairs or the open shows. I "show" our sheep almost every weekend during the Spring & Fall. It's more a matter of how much you work with them, getting them used to various situations.


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## Twilite

I like the Katahdins and the market lambs (for 4-H and FFA) I have two wethers right now that I showed in FFA (I'm a senior in high school) and they are sooo friendly! They aren't the greatest with strangers but after a little while they figure it out.


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## sheepish

Individual sheep within a breed can vary widely. When we first had Corriedales, our ram was such that we could never be in an enclosure with him without carrying a big stick. Subsequent rams were nowhere near so agressive.

We now raise mostly Rideaus. For the most part they are pretty docile. However there was one ram, we named him Sparkey. He would jump fences and bash through barn doors to get somewhere her wanted to be. His offspring inherited, along with his freckled nose, an extremely skittish nature and a tendency to climb walls when approached. We bred his genes out of the flock as quickly as we could. 

Then there was Killer, our most prolific ewe, who was indistingushable from the rest of the flock for most of the year, but when she was raising lambs, she was a menace. But 3 big lambs every year...


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## Somerhill

Bluefaced Leicesters are very gentle and friendly. A lot of my ewes will stand still in the jug to let me milk them without being restrained. They are very quiet to work with on the chute. Our shearer always comments on how easy they are to shear. We just sold a couple of bred ewes to some young 4-H girls, and they were amazed at how quickly the ewes became attached to them. In general, the rams are very easygoing and non-aggressive. 

Lisa
http://www.somerhillfarm.com


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## YuccaFlatsRanch

I have Katahdins and California Reds (Cal Reds are a true breeding cross of Tunis and Barbado). Both are tame, sometimes to a fault. I am in the midst of a crossbreeding program of my own making TEXAS RED SHEEP which are a true breeding cross of the Cal Red and Katahdins. My Katahdins are red paint and white. I would like to have the Texas Reds be either all red or red paint, excellent meat sheep that shed their wool so they don't have to be sheared.

I should post the pictures of the first 4 Texas Red lambs I have on the ground. They are growing much faster than either the Katahdins or the Cal Reds.


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## Turkeyfether

When I got my first Cheviot ewelamb,I placed her in a horse stall & stayed inside with her, sat down & eventually she came over & I started petting her. I did the same when we added the ram. They LOVE to be pet & stroked under the chin (NEVER on top of their heads or they'll think it's a challenge to fight!) .They are very friendly & affectionate.Are Cheviots and Border Cheviots different? I don't have the problems described of the border cheviots.


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## Roboat

texel or southdown!!!


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## WA_sheepgal

We raise Texels and they are by far the most docile breed of the 4 we have raised over the years. That said, there are variations within the flock...some are tamer than others and I agree that they are much tamer in the winter during feeding than in the summer months when they are out on pasture and don't need us. 

Jami


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## homedad

Our Finns are so loving that I swear they'd follow us into the house and hang out on the couch. They're great with our 2 year old. Our Shetlands are flighty, like everyone else said too!


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