# sheeps and creeks



## jencarnl (May 3, 2012)

Hi everyone.....I'm a newb both to this forum & to shepherding a small flock of 30 sheep. I'm wanting to expand my grazing area down to a small creek approx. thigh deep & 8' across with fairly steep banks. Wondering if the sheep will cross the creek or if they'll avoid it.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Expect the unexpected but sheep generally avoid water bodies like creeks. If your neighbour has 12,000 dollars of soybeans planted on the other side they will cross I can assure you of that! If its your lambing barn..... not a freakin chance.


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## bruce2288 (Jul 10, 2009)

My experience is that if they can jump across they will if they have to wade they will not. If it is 8' wide as you say, you should be safe.


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## PNP Katahdins (Oct 28, 2008)

Ours including day-old lambs will cross a small spring-fed creek that starts in one of the pastures. It's pretty shallow though.

Peg


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I can't even get mine to cross a puddle to get to the water trough.


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## jencarnl (May 3, 2012)

thanks everyone! I guess I'm gonna try it & see how many times I have to rescue them.


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## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

Mine have crossed my ankle deep creek exactly once in 10 years. I loaded everyone up onto the makeshift trailer and drove them to the other side of the creek, where grass was deep and plentiful, unlike the pasture they were in. They made it almost 18 hours before they waded back to the grazed off pasture. :grump:

Kathie


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

jencarnl said:


> thanks everyone! I guess I'm gonna try it & see how many times I have to rescue them.


Do you own the land on the other side?

Is it ALL fenced in?

Your sheep may or may not cross it, but PREDATORS will.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Jen, I could probably write you a book on sheep and water!

Generally speaking, sheep do not like water and will avoid it like the plague but if it is shallow enough and the grass looks greener on the other side, then they will cross it. When pushed, they are actually very good swimmers.

I live on a farm that has a river running the whole length of it. They don't cross it. Many of the paddocks have drains in them that are reasonably shallow and the lambs will stand in them up to their shoulders so they can access the watercress. We can flood several times a year and the sheep will swim through the flood water to high ground and yet I can't get the same sheep to walk through a muddy gateway!

Your situation is similar to our river and it's doubtful that they will cross it. If they end up in it, it will be by accident rather than design. If they are a wool breed try to keep them in the creek paddocks when they have short wool - full fleece drags them down no matter how well they can swim.

Kathie, interestingly enough, sheep can be homeing creatures and prefer to be in a paddock they are used to irrespective of how much or little grass there might be in it. Also they prefer shorter grass so what you saw as good tucker for them may be not quite as they saw it.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## Plowpoint (May 2, 2012)

On my farm, I have driven sheep across some streams before, but generally try to limit the practice. That is because I am a Supervisor on my county's Soil and Water Conservation District and it would be in poor ethics to do so repeatedly. 

The one thing that no one mentioned was the amount of mud and manure that gets into the stream from these sheep. That is the reason why I avoid water crossings, or in the case of my farm, created a laneway to drive my sheep across, while allowing the water to cross safely underneath in this one location that required a water crossing to get to a distant pasture.

This is where I get into trouble because I know many Homesteaders are leery about government entities, but as a Supervisor of a Soil and Water Conservation District, it would be wrong of me not to inform people that Federal Money is available to prevent sheep, and other livestock too, from crossing streams. Because water quality is of such high priority to the NRCS, money is available to put in laneways, culverts, bridges, and watering facilities to keep the sheep out of the water. You do not need to be a commercial sheep farm to qualify either.


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## Sunmill (Apr 26, 2011)

If someone tells you that sheep won't go into a swamp or cross a creek, they're wrong.
They will.
And they will get stuck.
Sheep sink quickly, especially if they haven't been shorn yet.
We've learned quickly that it's best to fence off hazards, unless we want to be hauling out a 200+lb ewe (it's amazing how much wet wool weighs!).


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