We are lucky to live near lovely open green spaces and being surrounded by fields full of crops or livestock. It is great to hear that the local community also keeps an eye out for those livestock, often reporting injuries or escapees to local farmers or notifying them on social media.
But do you know about cast sheep?
What is a cast sheep?
A cast sheep is a sheep stuck on their back, upside and unable to get back up on their feet.
This is more likely to happen if the sheep has a full, heavy fleece, is short and stocky, on flat terrain or heavily pregnant ewes.
They have often gone to lay down on their side but then rolled onto some uneven ground or dip which can put them off balance and flip them completely onto their back, leaving them unable to get back up unassisted.
Sadly these sheep, if left, can become very ill or even pass away from the gas build up in their stomach, it is crucial that if someone sees a cast sheep, that they help it as soon as possible.
How can you help?
If you happen to come across a cast sheep, if you wouldn’t mind helping them back up onto their feet, you may need to roll them over gently and hold them up for a little while, whilst they regain their balance and find their footing. If you are unable to do this, it would be great if you could let another person nearby or contact the owner of the sheep to let them know, so they can get the sheep back to safety as soon as possible, that would be absolutely amazing.
Once they are up and about, they can usually recover pretty quickly and get back to living their life, the life you may have just saved.
