Farmers sheep keep escaping into my land.

[vanrim]

Neighbour farms sheep and lambs in the wood next to my property. Yes you read that correctly. In the wood next to me. The problem is that his fence is rubbish and although I have very good quality post and rail they keep coming through onto my land. First time the whole flock came over but now it is just one or two but it’s every day and today one was in the garden. I have horses on lots of medication and don’t have the funds for a solicitor. I have asked the “farmer” repeatedly to do something and he always replies along the lines of he can’t work out where they are coming through and they are persistent ******* aren’t they i.e he isn’t really taking it seriously. It’s 11.30pm at night and I have just had to get up to see why horses are thundering around the field. They are chasing this ruddy sheep. He has put sheep netting up on his side but in some places there is over a foot between the ground and the netting so they are clearly coming under to get to the grass on my side. God knows what he feeds them. There is no grass or anything for them to eat in the wood but they are not thin so not a welfare case. Has anyone got any ideas?

 

[katastrophykat]

Charge him grass livery per sheep per hour?

 

[ycbm]

I have the same issue and have been forced to do the fencing/walling myself. I would string a strand of wire between the ground and your lowest rail. Staples and wire won't cost too much.

 

[Xmasha]

I had the same issue. They kept coming through, problem was they where lambs, and some of mine would chase them. Then I wanted to weed kill, and couldn't for fear of the lambs getting through. They would frequently get out on the road, passers by would get me out, thinking they where mine. Pretty sure my neighbours got fed up of seeing me in my PJ's. So one day I had enough and called the farmer and told them if they didnt do anything about it I would report them to defra.

The next day farmer moved the sheep. Sorted

 

[Keith_Beef]

A traditional method used in France is to find the flock leader, the one all the others follow, and fit it with a "tribart".

This is a triangle made of three pieces of wood around the sheep's neck, with the ends crossing over by about two to four inches, or thereabouts.

You put one piece parallel to the ground under its neck (so it can still graze with no problem), the two others forming the triangle crossing above.

The idea is to make this one sheep incapable of crossing the gap in the fence; if any of the others get through, they will at least stay near the leader, and eventually of their own will go back through to stay with it.

I still see these fitted to one sheep in a flock in the northern part of Dordogne; they might be used a bit further east in Creuse and Corrèze, too.

Aside from this as a suggestion to make to the owner, I believe that you are in your legal right under the Animals Act of 1971 to seize any animal that comes onto your property and hold it until the owner makes reparation for any loss you suffer (through grazing on your land).

I think that this is probably a tort of trespass, so the Police won't be able to do anything, except perhaps to have a quiet word with the owner to confirm that he's in the wrong and you'd be within your rights to impound any sheep that stray into your field.

 

[pippixox]

I had this, luckily the farmer seems to be quite quick at catching them, but it is a pain. I receive no money for the grass they eat! had about 40-50 in my field one day. they are moving over different fields the last few months and the fencing never seems to keep them in for long. thankfully further away now.

my horses are no longer phased by sheep so there is a positive!

I would continue to pester the farmer. I had to contact my landlord who I rent the field off to then contact them, so he was probably very firm that they needed to sort it as he hates any hassle.

you don't want to spend a bomb, but could look into running tap along the bottom of your post and rail. however, even with electric I have seen sheep push through it as I think their coats cushion the shock.

 

[Keith_Beef]

you don't want to spend a bomb, but could look into running tap along the bottom of your post and rail. however, even with electric I have seen sheep push through it as I think their coats cushion the shock.

Do sheep like the taste of peanut butter?

A trick from a friend who wanted to protect his walnut saplings from deer, is to run an electric fence around the land, and at 1/3 the way along each side attach a strip of aluminium foil smeared with peanut butter.

Power on... the deer smell the peanut butter, come along and lick it and get zapped.

Two or three shocks and the deer learn to avoid the fence and he turns off the current.

I don't think that deer are all that much smarter than sheep, so if deer can learn to associate a place with discomfort, then so can sheet. But do sheep like peanut butter? And you might need to keep your horses away from it...

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Do sheep like the taste of peanut butter?

A trick from a friend who wanted to protect his walnut saplings from deer, is to run an electric fence around the land, and at 1/3 the way along each side attach a strip of aluminium foil smeared with peanut butter.

Power on... the deer smell the peanut butter, come along and lick it and get zapped.



Sheep use their wool to insulate them from the electric fencing.



Two or three shocks and the deer learn to avoid the fence and he turns off the current.

I don't think that deer are all that much smarter than sheep, so if deer can learn to associate a place with discomfort, then so can sheet. But do sheep like peanut butter? And you might need to keep your horses away from it...

Unfortunately sheep just always seem to prefer going next door to staying at home! We had this and after a dreadful weekend which necessitated an OOH vet visit, I went to see the farmer and told him that I had had enough and expected him to keep his sheep at home. He knew I meant it and moved his sheep. He then sent someone to mend the drystone wall that they had been coming over and damaging, which was great as it was actually our wall!
If the farmer is aware and just ignoring you, report him to the Environmental Health Dept at your local council, who are responsible for animal welfare. It is *his* responsibility to keep his sheep at home, not yours.

 

[Hallo2012]

had this for years on and off until i lost my rag and told him his lambs and sheep were eating painkillers and other medications in the feeds put in the horses fields and were not fit for human consumption and i would report him.....that worked!

 

[cremedemonthe]

I have sheep in my field some of the year (we tack the land out to local farmer) we have a single strand of elecrtric fencing along to keep them out of my barn and chicken pen/house. It works fine, they touch it with their heads and get zapped and don't try second time. However, on the other side of the hedge in another field that is not ours and not protected by electric fencing they do escape up the bank through the hedge, along our drive and into our front garden. We have had 3 sheep wandering around looking to come in the back door before now as well as eating all the plants in the walled garden (down several steps) and one standing in the fountain
Getting them back out was fun.
Electric fence is your best bet, easy to install and cheap to run if you use a solar power panel to charge it up.

 

[Cecile]

Livestock owners are required to keep them in, they are also required to have a holding number which helps with biosecurity and tracing if there is a disease outbreak. I can't let my sheep graze on my neighbours land as they have no holding number. However this is escaping sheep and the owner has made some plans to keep them in but has failed with his idea's, as he is joking with you about them either he believes you don't really mind that much or he doesn't want to spend money on fencing.

If this is bothering you, which it must be to post about it, its time to up the anti and basically talk to him straight and tell him it is unacceptable and he must make sure his livestock are correctly fenced in or moved elsewhere, give him a reasonable time limit to do this, no jokes just a serious conversation

Everyone wants to get on with their neighbours but that doesn't mean they can do as they please and you just have to put up with it, you want one thing from him which is perfectly acceptable and he is legally obliged to follow

In life I always believe if something bothers me enough and I can't let it go then I must deal with it head on to resolve it, if something really isn't a big issue, I can ignore it and it won't really bother me I let it go, however I really do let it go I don't revisit the problem I just move on

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Sometimes you have to bite the bullet & get a solicitor involved or possibly first try Citizens Advice. You have tried talking to the farmer & that has made little difference sometimes a solicitors letter regarding his boundary fence & its inability to keep his sheep in couples with the threat of possibly invoicing him for grazing his animals on your land. Nothing seems to focus a farmers mind like the possibility of having to spend hard earned brass on what he normally gets for free.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Sometimes you have to bite the bullet & get a solicitor involved or possibly first try Citizens Advice. You have tried talking to the farmer & that has made little difference sometimes a solicitors letter regarding his boundary fence & its inability to keep his sheep in couples with the threat of possibly invoicing him for grazing his animals on your land. Nothing seems to focus a farmers mind like the possibility of having to spend hard earned brass on what he normally gets for free.

You really don't need to get a solicitor involved, just talk to Environmental Health, mention biosecurity and disease control. They will be round there sharpish!

 

[popsdosh]

You really don't need to get a solicitor involved, just talk to Environmental Health, mention biosecurity and disease control. They will be round there sharpish!

No they wont and its trading standards who deal with farmed animals . It has nothing to do with them and is a civil matter . You dont need a solicitor you just impound the sheep and give him 14 days to rectify the fencing and pay for damage. If you dont get this you are entitled to sell the animals at public auction. Or indeed if he has made no effort to find them.
Just an amusing aside about 20 years ago we did this with some sheep that were on our land and when they were sent to market the owner actually bought them without realising they were his so next day you can guess where they were!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

No they wont and its trading standards who deal with farmed animals . It has nothing to do with them and is a civil matter . You dont need a solicitor you just impound the sheep and give him 14 days to rectify the fencing and pay for damage. If you dont get this you are entitled to sell the animals at public auction. Or indeed if he has made no effort to find them.
Just an amusing aside about 20 years ago we did this with some sheep that were on our land and when they were sent to market the owner actually bought them without realising they were his so next day you can guess where they were!

Well that is very strange, as a different neighbour has just had Environmental Health come out to see what is happening with his stock as a someone has complained (totally unnecessary btw).
How do you think OP is going to sell someone else's sheep without even a holding number, in this day and age?

 

[popsdosh]

Well that is very strange, as a different neighbour has just had Environmental Health come out to see what is happening with his stock as a someone has complained (totally unnecessary btw).
How do you think OP is going to sell someone else's sheep without even a holding number, in this day and age?

Maybe if they rang enviromental health they may have had TS respond ! however I can be certain TS deals with all farm animal welfare issues even RSPCA pass on to them ! Guess you may know all sheep movements are controlled by TS as well.

 

[Lammy]

I had this a few years ago, pregnant ewes from the rented field next to us kept escaping and one time wandered onto our land. Unfortunately they picked the field with my then 2 year old in who had a whale of a time chasing 40 sheep around the paddocks.

Rang the farmer and told him to expect some ewes lambing sooner than expected out of stress! They were gone by the morning. A few brave ones were knocking down the electric fencing so not sure how much that would help. I'd definitely call the farmer and warn him you'll be onto defra if he doesn't sort it.

 

[vanrim]

Thanks everyone. At least I am not the only one with this problem. I contacted Trading Standards or rather I was put through to Citizens Advice who field all calls for TS. CA said they would contact TS but advised me I would not get a call back about the outcome so I doubt this will help. Today my elderly father was too frightened to walk in the garden in case the sheep knocked him over. This was the last straw. I climbed over the fence and confronted the idiot who promptly accused me of not being a good neighbour and that I needed to uprate my spanking new post and rail fencing to make it stockproof. He added that he hadn’t been able to do anything about this one repeat offender sheep for the last 2 weeks as sheep are hard to catch. By this time I was so angry I was close enough to thump him and bloody felt like it too. He came across with his sheepdog and caught said sheep in less than 5 minutes. I know it will happen again and was rather impressed with the post about sheep eating horse feed with medication in it and reporting it to DEFRA!!

 

[popsdosh]

Thanks everyone. At least I am not the only one with this problem. I contacted Trading Standards or rather I was put through to Citizens Advice who field all calls for TS. CA said they would contact TS but advised me I would not get a call back about the outcome so I doubt this will help. Today my elderly father was too frightened to walk in the garden in case the sheep knocked him over. This was the last straw. I climbed over the fence and confronted the idiot who promptly accused me of not being a good neighbour and that I needed to uprate my spanking new post and rail fencing to make it stockproof. He added that he hadn’t been able to do anything about this one repeat offender sheep for the last 2 weeks as sheep are hard to catch. By this time I was so angry I was close enough to thump him and bloody felt like it too. He came across with his sheepdog and caught said sheep in less than 5 minutes. I know it will happen again and was rather impressed with the post about sheep eating horse feed with medication in it and reporting it to DEFRA!!

I am sorry to hear hes not helpful ,however there is a very good cure for repeat offenders and easters coming up.
Remind your neighbour its his responsibility to stop his sheep entering somebody elses land irrespective of whose fence it is .
Even if he has to double fence it .

 

[yhanni]

On a positive note, they don't half improve the land. I used to keep a small flock of Wiltshire Horn for that very purpose . . .

 

[Keith_Beef]

He added that he hadn’t been able to do anything about this one repeat offender sheep for the last 2 weeks as sheep are hard to catch. By this time I was so angry I was close enough to thump him and bloody felt like it too. He came across with his sheepdog and caught said sheep in less than 5 minutes. I know it will happen again and was rather impressed with the post about sheep eating horse feed with medication in it and reporting it to DEFRA!!

So he's admitted two things, here.

1. There is one sheep who is an identifiable "repeat offender".
2. He can, when he chooses, get the sheep back off your land in five minutes with his dog.

For the first point, my earlier suggestion of the "tribart" might work.

The second point, that getting his sheep back is quick and easy, might explain why he's reluctant to fix the fencing. Getting the sheep back is easier and cheaper than fixing the fencing.

I have another couple of ideas.
Get a paintball gun, these were originally developed for marking sheep on the big stations in Australia. Leave some big brightly coloured patches on the sheep whenever you find them in your field.
Leave some feed with some blue food colouring in it. Something that doesn't harm the sheep but that will turn their tongues blue...

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Maybe if they rang enviromental health they may have had TS respond ! however I can be certain TS deals with all farm animal welfare issues even RSPCA pass on to them ! Guess you may know all sheep movements are controlled by TS as well.

I have no idea who they rang, or even who rang (although I have my suspicions). I know who came out, because the farmer concerned told me.

 

[Cecile]

Thanks everyone. At least I am not the only one with this problem. I contacted Trading Standards or rather I was put through to Citizens Advice who field all calls for TS. CA said they would contact TS but advised me I would not get a call back about the outcome so I doubt this will help. Today my elderly father was too frightened to walk in the garden in case the sheep knocked him over. This was the last straw. I climbed over the fence and confronted the idiot who promptly accused me of not being a good neighbour and that I needed to uprate my spanking new post and rail fencing to make it stockproof. He added that he hadn’t been able to do anything about this one repeat offender sheep for the last 2 weeks as sheep are hard to catch. By this time I was so angry I was close enough to thump him and bloody felt like it too. He came across with his sheepdog and caught said sheep in less than 5 minutes. I know it will happen again and was rather impressed with the post about sheep eating horse feed with medication in it and reporting it to DEFRA!!

Well done for starting the ball rolling. I'm not a very good neighbour to one of mine either but I went off like a stick of dynamite after trying hard to ignore things for a while, they don't bother me any longer and no more dogs, them, chickens or their workmen climbing under or over my fences

 

[case895]

Lamb prices are rising. Tax him.

 

[sport horse]

On a positive note, they don't half improve the land. I used to keep a small flock of Wiltshire Horn for that very purpose . . .

I was about to say this - and they reduce the worm burden on your fields. I agree annoying but always remember that ALL livestock do escape from time to time and it could be your horses in the future, so best tread a little tactfully!

 

[Bob notacob]

Sheep are a blooming nightmare but there is always method to their madness. They graze in a logical (from a sheep point of view ) way ,but the trouble is that we restrict them with fences which are an outright affront to any self respecting sheep. For example they like to graze towards the sun ,in winter . Then in late afternoon they gallop back to their start point . Not stupid ,just bloody minded!!

 

[PeterNatt]

The simplest solution would be to fence your fields with Equi-fencing added to your post and rail fencing which will stop sheep (and dogs) getting on to your land.

 

[ycbm]

The simplest solution would be to fence your fields with Equi-fencing added to your post and rail fencing which will stop sheep (and dogs) getting on to your land.

That may be simple Peter, but it's not cheap, and the sheep farmer should be the one who pays for it.

 

[PeterNatt]

Actually that is not the case it is the the person that owns the land that is responsible for fencing unwanted animals out of their land, however the person that owns the animals that should ensure that they have adequate insurance cover (No less than £20,000,000 Twenty Million Pounds) in the event of their animals causing an accident. I am afraid that if you wish to keep your animals safe then you should adequately fence your land and although this is expensive it ensure that your animals will be safe.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Actually that is not the case it is the the person that owns the land that is responsible for fencing unwanted animals out of their land, however the person that owns the animals that should ensure that they have adequate insurance cover (No less than £20,000,000 Twenty Million Pounds) in the event of their animals causing an accident. I am afraid that if you wish to keep your animals safe then you should adequately fence your land and although this is expensive it ensure that your animals will be safe.

I'm sorry that is incorrect! It used to be true and there were many homeowners in a village near to me, which borders the moorland, who were constantly complaining about the damage that sheep were doing to their gardens. However, at least since the last f&m outbreak, it has become the stock keepers responsibility to keep their animals at home. You have to have a holding number to keep sheep and they are meant to stay on the holding and their movements must be traceable.

There are now endless miles of moorland which have been fenced in and there are far fewer sheep wandering onto the roads which cross the moorland.