Understanding the natural behaviour of sheep

The domesticated sheep (Ovis aries) has a diversity of genotypes that are adapted to a wide variety of environments ranging from the tropics to the extreme seasonality of the high latitudes and from deserts to high rainfall areas. This diversity of genotypes (with over 2000 breeds) means that the species is highly adaptable to environmental/climate extremes and to some degree this adaptability is also expressed in variation in the expression of natural behaviours. However, there are a suite of behaviours that have been comprehensively described both for domestic and wild/feral breeds that represent the key behaviours of this species.

There are several books on the behaviour and ethology of animals that include sections or chapters on domestic sheep behaviour. These reviews outline the key behaviours in detail and in some cases discuss the underlying biological controls. It is not the intention in this chapter to re-examine these behaviours in detail, but rather to capture an overall impression of the unique behavioural characteristics of the species, a knowledge of which is essential in the consideration of the welfare of individual sheep.