My sheep can swim !

Robin2020 · Jan 12, 2023

So they were on a fresh field for 4 days....so plenty to eat. I stupidly thought the brook would serve as a fence. The gorgeous lawns belonging to a rather swish house were too inviting!
All 35 jumped into the brook and swam to the other side. It's 1 metre deep and 3 euro pallets wide. I am shocked they did it and even more shocked none drowned.
Had to build a bridge (out of pallets) to get them back.
On the plus side, they had a great feed and the owners enjoyed having them. They said leave the bridge and graze it in future

. They all look super clean after the swim too!
Any similar stories?

Lincs Lass · Jan 12, 2023

Old lincolnshire name for them ,,Jump Dykes ,,,looking at that the name suits them

BAF · Jan 12, 2023

That's more of a ditch than a boundary. Once one goes the rest will follow bless their little hearts! I know of a hebridean tup that swam across the river Severn 3 times before he mysteriously disappeared. Its not much of a mystery to me because I shot him but mother who's sheep he was doesn't know that! The neighbour had a lot of black lambs that summer!

carbonfibre farmer · Jan 12, 2023

Well I'll tag him before anyone else does....

@spin cycle

Robin2020 · Jan 12, 2023

BAF said:
That's more of a ditch than a boundary. Once one goes the rest will follow bless their little hearts! I know of a hebridean tup that swam across the river Severn 3 times before he mysteriously disappeared. Its not much of a mystery to me because I shot him but mother who's sheep he was doesn't know that! The neighbour had a lot of black lambs that summer!

wow...across the severn!! Amazing

spin cycle · Jan 12, 2023

carbonfibre farmer said:
Well I'll tag him before anyone else does....

@spin cycle

36 minutes before being tagged....pretty slow by past experience

tbh...that brook looks a not unreasonable 'water jump'

BAF · Jan 12, 2023

@Robin2020 where he was swimming it was a long deep channel. We used to play in the river and even in a drought year it was still over 8ft deep at the shallowest section!

David1968 · Jan 12, 2023

Robin2020 said:
On the plus side, they had a great feed and the owners enjoyed having them. They said leave the bridge and graze it in future .

That'll last till they start stepping in sheep sh!t

Robin2020 · Jan 12, 2023

David1968 said:
That'll last till they start stepping in sheep sh!t

Yes...and when they are munching all the trees and bushes when the leaves come out

. I was pushing the fertiliser aspect

Guleesh · Jan 12, 2023

Of course your sheep can swim, all sheep can swim, otherwise sheep dipping would be called sheep drowning.

Welderloon · Jan 12, 2023

They are sheep in January, they are clearly limbering up for some form of mass suicide involving the accommodating owners of the large house who they have so far managed to con, probably the nightshade or yew bushes around the edges will do for them or maybe Tiddles or Rover's turds but you'll find out soon enough..................keep the bridge unless the neighbours are OK for the knacker wagon on their drive

Robin2020 · Jan 13, 2023

Guleesh said:
Of course your sheep can swim, all sheep can swim, otherwise sheep dipping would be called sheep drowning.

Good point..Scared to death of a foot bath but happy to dive in a brook!!!

Aspiring Peasants · Jan 13, 2023

Robin2020 said:
So they were on a fresh field for 4 days....so plenty to eat. I stupidly thought the brook would serve as a fence. The gorgeous lawns belonging to a rather swish house were too inviting!
All 35 jumped into the brook and swam to the other side. It's 1 metre deep and 3 euro pallets wide. I am shocked they did it and even more shocked none drowned.
Had to build a bridge (out of pallets) to get them back.
On the plus side, they had a great feed and the owners enjoyed having them. They said leave the bridge and graze it in future . They all look super clean after the swim too!
Any similar stories?View attachment 1087886 View attachment 1087887

Sounds like a result

David1968 · Jan 13, 2023

Hang on a minute. Are these the same sheep that refused to go when you tried to move them to fresh grass last summer?

I think they're taking the pi$$

Frank-the-Wool · Jan 14, 2023

Get some Romneys from the marshes.
They are trained to respect water and wouldn't jump that.

Troward · Jan 14, 2023

Frank-the-Wool said:
Get some Romneys from the marshes.
They are trained to respect water and wouldn't jump that.

Very true re-Romneys! Bit inconvenient when every gate currently has a foot of water under it, and you can't get the buggers to leave the field you want them out of!

egbert · Jan 14, 2023

One of the best blackie tups i've had was a 'feral' found, stood 'at bay' on a boulder in the middle of a flooded raging Dart - having been pushed into the river by a walkers dogs.
I had to recover it, and knowing the likely breeder, sent him some whisky vouchers, and set the tup to work!
He could certainly swim.

yellowbelly · Jan 14, 2023

Ours are more akin to jumpers than swimmers..

BAF · Jan 14, 2023

@yellowbelly belly Christ you should start breeding horses if you can get your sheep to jump that well!

yellowbelly · Jan 14, 2023

BAF said:
@yellowbelly belly Christ you should start breeding horses if you can get your sheep to jump that well!

I wasn't encouraging 'em - you just couldn't get 'em to stay where you put 'em.

The only thing they couldn't jump out of was the deep freeze

My sheep can swim !

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