Do sheep have a hierarchy in their herd? I’d never thought about it until today’s head butting. Is it like gorillas where there’s a head male but other males are allowed to be part of the group as long as they don’t get out of line?
They do Tricia, but it’s not always a male. My ewe Zelda was the leader for many years until she died. Not I think Asher and Issachar share being the leaders. They are wethers, neutered males. That makes a difference too. We don’t have a ram and they are usually kept apart from the rest of the flock except for mating.
Do sheep have a hierarchy in their herd? I’d never thought about it until today’s head butting. Is it like gorillas where there’s a head male but other males are allowed to be part of the group as long as they don’t get out of line?
They do Tricia, but it’s not always a male. My ewe Zelda was the leader for many years until she died. Not I think Asher and Issachar share being the leaders. They are wethers, neutered males. That makes a difference too. We don’t have a ram and they are usually kept apart from the rest of the flock except for mating.