|
The Tunis is a medium sized, multipurpose sheep. Some sheep are specialized for
wool production. Others are specialized for meat production. The Tunis is good at both.
One characteristic of the Tunis sheep breed that we found most attractive was
their quiet disposition and the ease with which they become friendly and even affectionate, with people. We value affection
in sheep.
It is generally agreed among sheep owners that you prefer your tups to be a little
afraid of you for your own protection. A tup that is not afraid of you will nail you to the wall. You might think, oh, what
can a little wooly sheep do to hurt me. Well, I'm here to tell you, tups can, from a standing start, bunch up their body,
cock their head, release it all on impact, and as you get up off the ground you will wonder what hit you. Or they can back
up, rear up, get a run at you, and make you think you have been hit by a train.
Our tuppy has been a handful. Raised to have no fear of people, in his adolescence
he was often angry and rebellious. We had to keep him separated from the ewes in order to control the timing of the
lamb crop. And he hated it. He flattened me more than once and ousted Josie out of the pen with a butt to the rear. The boys
who work for us got pretty good at outrunning him to the fence.
We dealt with tuppy's anger with love and patience, taking him for walks, feeding
him grain from our hand, and including him in some of our farm activities. Then we turned him in early with the ewes, ahead
of the breeding season, to give him more time with them. And after a few months with the ewes he was a changed tup. He has
become very peaceful, affectionate, and interested in everything we do.
Tuppy is still a handful. He is friendly and affectionate. But his idea of fun is
to back up and butt me flat on the ground. He thinks its fun, like he would do with any other sheep. But he is a very unique
sheep and we love him.
We realize that most sheep owners don't have the luxury of keeping a tup for a pet.
They have work to do. They can't spend time taking the tup for walks. And certainly they can't take the chance that a rambunctious
tup will zero in on them when they aren't looking. I have heard first hand stories of people who were hurt by tups who took
them unawares. Particularly tups with horns. But we live and work closely with our sheep. We derive pleasure from their trust
in us. And we encourage their affection for people.
|
