Why do sheep have patches of color painted on their wool?
Farmers “paint” their sheep for identification. Frequently, you’ll notice large pastures blanketed in green grass and dotted with sheep. Typically, these pastures are enclosed by stone walls or wire fences and are shared by multiple farmers. When it comes time to claim ownership of the animals roaming around hundreds of acres, a customized painted sheep is easy to identify.
Also, during the mating season, the male ram will be fitted with a bag of dye around its neck and chest. When mating, the ram mounts the ewe and a bit of dye is deposited on the ewe’s upper back. This way, the farmer knows which ewes have been impregnated and moves them on to another field away from the ram.
FACT: This webpage, “Painted Sheep” gets 500-700 visits per month. It is amazing how many people are searching for this term. Do me a favor, leave a comment and let me know if I answered your question.
Thanks, David McGuffin
WHO IS DAVID MCGUFFIN?
David McGuffin organizes, designs and leads tours to many European destinations. David’s tours are for strictly small groups ranging from 6 to 18 travelers.
Traveling with a small group means we can get off the beaten path and away from the big bus tours and experience Europe on a unique and personal level.
Eating well is also a priority, and you’ll get your fair share of fine food sourced locally by excellent chefs. David has spent decades poking around Europe’s nooks and crannies looking for unique restaurants, clean hotels with character and cozy B&Bs.
Check out all of David’s small-group tours to Europe here.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PAINTED SHEEP.
In Ireland, the top five counties in terms of sheep numbers are Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kerry, and Wicklow. Each of these counties are located in hilly-mountainous areas of the country.
Ireland sheep flocks typically have 50 ewes or fewer. Compared to international standards, this is quite small. For example, Scotland averages 200 ewes per flock and the world largest exporter, New Zealand, average 1400.
Ireland only “keeps” 30% of it sheep for human consumption. The remaining meat is exported mostly to the UK and France.
According to a recent Irish livestock census, the island had 3.7 million sheep, 6.5 million cows, and 1.5 million pigs. With all that bacon showing up on the breakfast table this fact is going to require a little more investigation!
God intended sheep to mate in the fall and give birth in the spring when the weather would be more favorable for their survival. Therefore, sheep are known as “short day” breeders. When the days become shorter (in the autumn) this activates a hormone in the ewe’s brain that triggers the reproductive system into action.
During their fertile period ewes come into heat every 17 days or until the fertility period is complete. When in heat, the ewe flirts with the ram by wagging her tail, nudging, or cuddling.
When detecting a ewe in heat, a ram’s characteristic response is to lift his head in the air and curl his upper lip. Then, I suppose he goes for it!
A mature ram can mate with 100 or more ewes during the mating season.
The gestation period is about five months, give or take a week.
Ewes usually give birth (known as lambing) to one to three lambs.
Lambs go to “market” when they are less than one year old, and their meat is known as “lamb.” Mutton is the meat from lambs that are 1 year or older.
Wool, lanolin, and sheepskins are also products of sheep.
Finally, to leave a good taste in your mouth, about 1.3% of the world’s cheeses are products of sheep’s milk. So, the next time you try a piece of Roquefort, Feta, Ricotta, or Pecorino Romano, think about all these painted sheep!
I visited the Lake District in England and was in awe of its beauty. I took a lovely photo of a painted ram and have been interested in learning more about the process. Looking forward to returning as soon as travel from US to England. This time I want a tour to learn more.
Thanks for the information. I saw a picture of painted sheep in an Irish landscape photo and was curious about the paint. Definitely answered my question and more. Thanks, Barb
Thanks for your comment on painted sheep!
Thanks, David. The explanation we received when visiting Ireland was that the paint took the place of branding ( like cattle) , thus protecting the wool from damage. I like your additional information…….much more “colorful “. It also explains why there were many different colors in the pen…. sharing the space with other sheep ranchers. I love Ireland (and Scotland)!!!
Thank you for a coherent answer. Several sites were so rambling that I got nothing from the articles. I have been watching a lot of BBC shows lately and was very curious about the sheep.
I was watching a documantery on historical farmers and wanted to know what the paint on the backs of lambs and ewes were. Thank you so much for your information. It was very informative and helped me better understand an industry that is very far away from my given culture. Thank you.
Thank you for this info, I was very curious when I went to Ireland and i saw all sheep painted. You solved my doubt, thanks!
I am reading Th. Hardy’s Return of the Native and in chapter 2 he describes a ‘reddleman’ – an individual wearing red clothes from hat to shoes and with his face and hands a red hue as well. When I looked up the definition further inquiry led me to your site. Thank you for the opportunity to share this literary information. The red dye came from red ochre and later on Hardy describes a group of men gathering furze, also known as gorse, which can substitue for tea and can be used to dye things a vivid yellow. Now we know! Cheers
Hi Deborah, Thanks for your reply! I don’t have any photos of red ochre dye, but here is a link an image of “Gorse” on my website. https://davidmcguffin.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2621.jpeg
Been biking the Wild Atlantic Way in VR on my basement stationary bike, and saw a lot of sheep on my hour long ride today. Wondered about the paint jobs on the sheep, so googled it, and here I am. Figured it was some sort of identification mark. Felt a bit like I was in a Seuss book – “One sheep, two sheep, red sheep, blue sheep.” 😀 Could serve two purposes, ID, and if they use a sturdy enough dye, once the sheep are shorn and they make sweaters out of it, they’re pre-colored! 😉
Hi Karen,
Thanks for your insight. It’s good to know that the Wild Atlantic Way has made its way to VR. I am sure the VR screen captures a lot, but you ought to try in in person when this pandemic is in the rearview mirror. All the best, David
This really helped solve a massive debate my team had in our team meeting for a very popular Saas company!
Hi Dan, Glad it provided some insight. “Paint Sheep” is one of the most popular pages on my website. Thanks for the comment!