Not in our experience. If
Portlands have been well handled they are as calm as
any breed we have come across. We have occasionally
brought rather 'wild' Portlands into the flock and in
almost every case they have settled down sooner or
later. There have been one or two who really could
not settle and they have proved to be rather
disruptive and had to be disposed of. Our sheep are
normally not driven, they will usually trot along
behind Hilary when called. Obviously they will not
all act in exactly the same way but if you have a few
bold sheep who will follow you hoping for a reward,
the others will always follow.
All sheep are naturally suspicious of
strangers. However, in our experience if the flock
you visit takes to its heels the moment the owner
tries to go near them and sheep have to be wrestled
into submission when caught, you are often buying a
serious problem, particularly if you have no calm
sheep to introduce them to. Do
not underestimate the 'wildness factor' particularly
if you are new to sheep.
If you have have not read this web
site first and bought some really wild sheep, try to
avoid turning them straight out into a large field.
The best option is to confine them in some way and
encourage them to accept small quantities of ewe nuts
or other sheep treats. Once you have established a
'reward culture' you have immeasureably more control.
Do not make the mistake of calculating the amount for
each sheep and putting the whole amount in the trough
because one or two bolder ones will scoff the lot!
Possibly with dire results. Keep the amounts small
until you can see all or most of them are tucking in.
It should only take a very few days to establish a
working relationship with most of the animals and
once you have done so, the natural flock instinct of
the others will make them follow the bolder animals.
