Our daughter tried to put a halter on one of our wilder sheep(Belladonna), but was only able to get it looped around her neck before the sheep escaped. She was unable to get near her again to remove the halter, so it hung around Belladonna’s neck as she wandered about the pen. As Dan fed the flock, Belladonna stayed off to the side with a younger ewe, Minky. As we watched, Minky started to nibble at the halter while Belladonna held her head low and still. Gradually she moved the rope up her neck, and then lifted it past her ears. Belladonna dropped her head and the halter fell to the ground. Both of them looked at it, then went to eat with the rest of the flock.
Who ever said sheep were dumb?
(In case anyone is worried, the halter wasn’t going to stay looped around her neck – I was going to remove it shortly. Sheep do become incredibly dumb when they feel trapped, and can kill themselves with panic, so we try not to leave anything in the pen than they can get tangled in.)