# Tying out sheep



## gabbyraja (Feb 27, 2012)

Sorry for the many questions, but I'm really trying to come up with a plan that will work with so little land. 

Does tying out work for sheep, as long as it's done safely? ie, they are kept at a distance so as not to get tangled, supervised for predators, escapees, injuries, etc. 

I'd hoped to use them as our lawn mowers, as well as provide them with temporary pasture in addition to their permanent pasture. I'm only talking 2-3 sheep, too, btw.

TIA


----------



## Dreamgoat Annie (Nov 28, 2011)

No, really, it doesn't work. Sheep are wired to flee danger. That is, don't look, don't ask questions, RUN! When you're small, tasty, and have no means of self-defence that just makes good sense.

Tethering, even supervised tethering, does not eliminate that hard-wired trait. Sheep panics, bolts, snaps or badly injures neck. For your sheep's sakes, please don't try it.


----------



## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

Portable electronet fencing works. You can set it up in just a few min, that is what I would and do use.


----------



## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

Tying your sheep is a great idea if you&#8217;re trying to draw in predators. At least the predators won&#8217;t have to work too hard to take them down after your sheep bolt themselves into strangulation.


----------



## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

I tied my sheep (they were bottle raised) out on my lawn last year. I would only do a couple at a time and it worked really well. But I pretty much supervised them the whole time or only tied them out if I was outside working. It worked for me and for my bottle lambs but it might not work for everyone.










This was my favorite and such a pro at everything. Here she is staked out in my yard.


----------



## Maria (Apr 24, 2003)

Visualize "Jurassic Park" and the goat they tied out for the T-Rex.....


----------



## Ross (May 9, 2002)

We tried it a few times, I don't know if they did it themselves or they were trying to pick up weaving or what but a tangled mess is usually what I came back to even if only a few minutes. We just use a portable solid pen now.


----------



## lilachill (Apr 2, 2006)

To create a smaller moveable, non-permanent pen we use 2-4 cattle or hog panels. Bending a section in the middle to about 90' gives us L shaped sections that we move individually and clip together.


----------

