# Sheep as lawn mowers. What's the down side? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheep-as-lawn-mowers-whats-the-down-side/540770 "2010-05-26T00:33:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheep-as-lawn-mowers-whats-the-down-side/540770/61 "2010-05-28T12:42:48Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > Regarding sheep stupidity - when I was in NZ (where sheep outnumber humans) I hung out with a professional sheep-musterer and he said that sheep are really much smarter than people think. He worked with “free grazing” sheep though - they let them roam over a relatively large area and he and his dogs are dropped off backcountry via helicopter to bring them in to the mustering station. Maybe they’re a bit sharper than those kept penned up at a station all the time. Yeah, there’s loads of hill farms in the north of England and Scotland too. When out hill walking you come across thousands of sheep which are largely feral. They’re only brought in a couple of times each year [off the hills using sheep dogs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdrBX3cqF6U&feature=related) and shepherds on quad bikes (an impressive sight seeing the shepherds bringing them down). They’re not anywhere as stupid as people are making out in this thread, the idea that these sheep will walk into water and drown is absurd, though the rams can be dangerous when the ewes are in season. Also, they’re amazing climbers. They can get anywhere, even up vertical cliffs and straight over dry stone walling. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheep-as-lawn-mowers-whats-the-down-side/540770/62 "2010-05-28T13:06:39Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > Yes, but sheep go to heaven; goats go to hell. Cows are also saved, because they believe in the teachings of Mooses. Tell me I didn’t see this. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheep-as-lawn-mowers-whats-the-down-side/540770/63 "2010-05-28T13:09:32Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Also, they’re amazing climbers. They can get anywhere, even up vertical cliffs and straight over dry stone walling. They may, but not always to success. When I was staying at Loch Awe one of the ladies who was working where I was staying- her husband had heaps of those black faced sheep. One ewe, heavily pregnant had tumbled off a ridge into the Loch and drowned and it wasn’t all that unusual. Knowing the Scots reputation for being handy with money, they were not happy. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheep-as-lawn-mowers-whats-the-down-side/540770/64 "2010-05-28T13:20:37Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Yeah, there’s loads of hill farms in the north of England and Scotland too. When out hill walking you come across thousands of sheep which are largely feral. They’re only brought in a couple of times each year [off the hills using sheep dogs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdrBX3cqF6U&feature=related) and shepherds on quad bikes (an impressive sight seeing the shepherds bringing them down). They’re not anywhere as stupid as people are making out in this thread, the idea that these sheep will walk into water and drown is absurd, though the rams can be dangerous when the ewes are in season. > > Also, they’re amazing climbers. They can get anywhere, even up vertical cliffs and straight over dry stone walling. They can climb tree’s too… [Sheep In Tree’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TeiSsJ3G_0) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheep-as-lawn-mowers-whats-the-down-side/540770/65 "2010-05-28T13:25:34Z")
> [@maplekiwi](#): > > Also you have to consider lifespan - unless you are intending to have them butchered. > > This site says 8-11 years. > > [How old can a sheep get? - Answers](http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_lifespan_of_a_sheep) > > Our goat is a well loved pet (even though my husband went behind my back to get her :mad: ) We estimate her age at 17 (she was an adult when we got her 13 years ago) Are you sure you will still be living in the same place in 10 years time? & in our case with Petunia, my husband is going to have the problem of digging a deep hole & burying her when she dies - & his back isn’t the best! But people get big dogs and don’t always expect to bury them. Can’t you just do whatever someone with a really huge dog who’s not willing/unable to dig a hole/has no property would do? Like, have the sanitation department or the vet or whoever get rid of it? ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheep-as-lawn-mowers-whats-the-down-side/540770/66 "2010-05-28T15:41:21Z")
> [@toodlepip](#): > > They’re probably not as stupid as we think. The smarter ones attend UC Ovine. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheep-as-lawn-mowers-whats-the-down-side/540770/67 "2010-05-28T19:58:21Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > We once had a sheep for lawn trimming, and the day after it had completed its task and we returned it to the farmer, our house burned down. > > Make of that what you will. Did that sheep go on to star in an ad for [Carly Fiorina](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRY7wBuCcBY) by any chance? (Warning: Youtube link.) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheep-as-lawn-mowers-whats-the-down-side/540770/68 "2010-05-28T20:00:53Z")
In New Jersey, property considered as agricultural land gets taxed at a much lower rate than normal property. We had a friend whose husband got very rich in advertising, and bought a big spread. He bought some sheep and told her to take care of them. Now, she didn’t personally take care of the sheep, but they were always “those damn sheep” to her. I don’t think the benefits of just lawnmowing would have been worth it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheep-as-lawn-mowers-whats-the-down-side/540770.md?page=3)