An Update on Hercules
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (340216)
Rockingham, Australia
November 20, 2016 6:16am CST
There has been a few posts and lots of comments about pets lately. Scar and Smooch have been making an appearance and I thought it was time to introduce Herc to new friends and give him a bit of exposure. Herc is our pet sheep. He was rescued from a less than ideal situation and has now been with us for around 14 years.
He bellows at us each morning for his piece of bread and some sheep nuts. At the moment he is on his own so if we are working outside, we let him out of his own paddock and he tags along with us. He takes great interest in whatever it is we might be doing. When he gets fed up with being hunted out of the shed (he got caught in a cord once and pulled down a cut-off saw) he goes off and eats grass for a while. When we want to go inside again, he is quite happy to go back in his paddock.
In the photo he is 'helping' Vince with the high-pressure water pump. He didn't like the noise it made when it started up so I only managed to get the one photo – and from the wrong end!
32 people like this
29 responses
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
20 Nov 16
Vince had a "little lamb his fleece was white as snow and everywhere that Vince went, well you get the picture lol
3 people like this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
21 Nov 16
@JudyEv that is so cute, just like interacting with a pet dog, cat, bird etc.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
21 Nov 16
@JudyEv My father in law had a pet duck that used to follow him around, it was so cute and I think Herc is much the same in sheep's clothing!!
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
20 Nov 16
He looks a very fine figure of a sheep! I wondered at first whether Vince might be pressure-washing him but I see that, like most pets, he's just utterly fascinated by what humans do. He is clearly keeping a wether eye on things, as one might say!
I suppose that you shear him (or have him sheared). Do you use the wool yourself?
3 people like this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Nov 16
You have to wonder what they think at times like this. He does like to keep up with what we're doing. We will be taking him to a shearer soon but we won't keep the wool. Such a small quantity isn't worth anything and spinners are looking for a different type of wool.
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
20 Nov 16
Farmer down the road from us has sheep - but they are no where near the size of your guy!
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
21 Nov 16
@JudyEv I think the ones near us don't eat/get fed enough, they are skin and bones.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Nov 16
@AbbyGreenhill That's a shame. I hate seeing any animal that isn't being fed properly.
@allknowing (136541)
• India
21 Nov 16
So many topics on pets and Herc was nowhere on the scene. Where have you been hiding him not easy to hide him though
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136541)
• India
21 Nov 16
@JudyEv He is truly worth being exposed - what a great pet I say!!!
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@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Nov 16
Haha. I ummed and ahhed about putting up the photo as it didn't show his face but I wanted to put up a current one so 'mooned' is it. Sheep are sheep - singular or plural. You can have ewes (females), rams (males), wethers (castrated males), hoggets (adolescents in sheep years) and lambs. The English have a few other names too - 'tups' is one.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
20 Nov 16
herc is younger than smooch by a year.
sheep nuts seem to be like dog/cat food?
it's interesting how he behaves just like any curious pet or toddler.
do you ever let him in the house?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Nov 16
Sheep nuts are like cat or dog pellets but formulated for sheep. I don't let him in the house as he might poo and I don't want to be bothered cleaning up after him. But if he has been out of his paddock he waits at the door while I get his bread then heads off to his own paddock. And he does act just like a curious pet. Likes to know what's going on and what we're doing.
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
20 Nov 16
@JudyEv do all sheeps need sheep nuts? what else does he eat or drink? it's just as well he's used to waiting outside. with his size, he might break something.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Nov 16
@hereandthere Because he is old for a sheep, he seemed to be losing condition so I bought him the nuts just to boost his nutrition. As they get older, they start to lose their teeth or their teeth get long and they chew as well as they used to. They don't normally need supplementary feeding unless they are short of grazing. He likes the nuts and only gets a few now because he keeps baaing at us if he doesn't get them. He doesn't really needs them. Mostly he eats grass but will eat hay and different grains. Herc also eats most of our vegie peelings and they will eat some fruit if they are running in an orchard. My Mum's pet sheep loved plums and would spit out the seeds. He drinks water. Thank you for your interest. :)
2 people like this
@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
20 Nov 16
Do you shear it's wool or do you take him to a shearer?.. I wish I could have a pet sheep ;).. but we only have half an acre backyard and I don't think the council will allow sheep here...
1 person likes this
@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
22 Nov 16
@JudyEv oh i would love to see a vid of him being sheared ;) ..
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Nov 16
@epiffanie There are bound to be YouTube clips of sheep getting shorn. If you have seen one shorn you have seen them all. :) But not many will jump into a trailer on their own.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Nov 16
I guess we're used to his size and don't think about it but there would be many that are not so tall.
@kevinakash (2084)
• Sri Lanka
20 Nov 16
learnt this for the first time that sheep is a pet.
1 person likes this
@kevinakash (2084)
• Sri Lanka
21 Nov 16
@JudyEv no sheep here. but there are many goats
1 person likes this
@kevinakash (2084)
• Sri Lanka
21 Nov 16
@JudyEv sheep is not here. so i'm learning many things from your posts
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Nov 16
@kevinakash Do they have sheep at all in Sri Lanka? Do they have goats? Goats are much the same in many ways.
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
21 Nov 16
Herc is a handsome fella! How old is Herc? Our dog Sandy hates the noise that all of Keith's tools make.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Nov 16
He's about 15 or 16 so he is getting on in sheep years.
@RasmaSandra (79917)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
25 Nov 16
Found Herc. The photo isn't bad. My first reaction is big butt but for a sheep it's forgivable. Our cat Sid has never met a sheep I wonder how he would get along with one. Love your Herc.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
20 Nov 16
Do you guys do his shearing? And if so what do you do with the wool @JudyEv .
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
21 Nov 16
@JudyEv spinning wheel reminds me of the fairy tale 'sleeping beauty'
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Nov 16
We take him to a shearer and let him keep the wool. One fleece isn't worth anything and it isn't the best wool for spinning even if I did spin. I used to spin but it is very slow work and used to affect my back so I sold my spinning-wheel.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
21 Nov 16
So Herc actually follows you around? Does he liked being petted?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Nov 16
Yes, he likes to tag along. If he gets bored he goes off a little way and eats grass. I don't know that he really likes being petted but he puts up with a scratch round the head or whatever. Just occasionally you can keep stroking his face on the cheek and he will just about doze off.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340216)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Dec 16
Thanks. He likes keeping us company. I should really get him a friend but it would complicate things.
