# Sheep sounds



## secuono

Can anyone give me a list of sounds and calls sheep make and what they mean?
I've only heard two from my sheep. A very low burp like noise when they loose contact and a much louder 'beeh' noise that I don't know what it means. That one I've only heard 3 times.


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## Beekissed

I'm not really sure of what they mean, but I've only heard my gals make a few different sounds.

One is the low "chuckle" of ewe to lamb...I LOVE this one!  The other is the high pitched baaaaaah they call if they are missing one of their own and are calling to them.  This I've heard when the flock is separated from one another or feeling in danger.  

My sheep were on pasture and self-feeding hay setups, so I didn't have to listen to them calling for food, like I've heard elsewhere~that baaaaahing seems to be more rhythmic and insistent.


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## RustyDHart

When I need my sheep to come up to the barn or into another pasture...I just give a loud, sharp whistle with my fingers and they all come running...(not spoiled at all)......when they're jogging up to me they make a certain sound....and it's pretty much the same sound the ewes make when they are calling their lambs over to them from across the field to nurse....I think the sound they make in these two situations means:   FOOD!!!!!!!!!!    My brother does sometimes call me "Dr. Doolittle".....but I don't quite have all of the sheep vocabulary down yet......    I've studied different languages...but I'm still working on "Sheep 101"....    Very interesting topic.....


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## Beekissed

I used a sound too....I'd call, "Sookey-sookey!!!" and they'd come running and make that sound you described!  My girls now live at their original home and have done so for almost a year now, but I can still call out those words when I visit them and they will turn, run a few feet in my direction and watch me closely.


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## RustyDHart

That's too funny!.....I thought I was the only one....   I sometimes call out to them...WOOLERS!......SHEEPERS!.....   I think they come to pretty much anything if they see me and think they are going to get some treats.....   I do recognize some of them by their voices.....   I also like the little growl that they use sometimes when another sheep is too close to them when they want their space to eat.   Right now their thing is Apples....I have an orchard loaded......and they act like spoiled kids when I don't pay attention to them and throw a few over the fence to them......the sounds they make are like a babie's tantrum.......ooooooo...waaaaaaah.....!!!!   You'd think they were starving to death.....:/.   I would rather have them friendly and wanting me...than stand offish and running away from me scared to death.   Like children...I think it's the way they are raised.......    My two cents for the day......   Keep talking to those sheep....they know what you're saying!!!   Rusty


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## secuono

I call them Sheepies and they always look up. When I go down the isle of the barn, one sheep will come up behind me. I scoop up some grain and another shows up and when I turn around the last is there smiling at me for their share. 

But these aren't sounds the sheep make, you guys!


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## RustyDHart

I guess it's kinda hard to replicate the actual sounds that they make......we have the "Yay... food" sound....the "keep away from me"   growl....and the "I want more food" cry.  The "Help me...I'm caught...or something is wrong" cry... The motherly little grunts the moms make to their newborn lambs are unique.  And there are several others as well.....I guess we could record their sounds...but then how would we share them?:/     And the rams have certain sounds too.....it could be quite a list.  I do know when I hear certain sheep sounds...I pretty much know what they mean....and I think most experienced shepherds do as well....   Sometimes the sheep just talk to make noise for no reason at all......like some people I know.   I hope this does help.....(?)    Rusty            This is "Irish Acres Highland Miracle"......and when I talk to her....I can see she is listening......sometimes I'll call out to the flock and she'll yell back......."yeeeeeaaaaahhhh....I hear you"....


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## SheepGirl

As time goes on, you will hear all sorts of sheep noises, and you will learn to differentiate between them primarily because of the different tones and pitches. You can learn your sheep's voices, just like you know your dog's bark or you know your mom's voice (though of course sometimes I have a hard time because my mom is a twin and she and her twin sister sound exactly alike ). After five years of owning sheep, I know the difference between a lamb crying out for it's mother, a sheep wanting some feed, a ram "seducing" a ewe, a ewe bleating to her new lambs, lambs playing with each other, and a stressed sheep. I'm sure there are more I know, I just can't think of any right now  You can also learn the expressions on a sheep's face...curiosity, annoyance, contentness, stress, etc.

ETA: Some sheep, as you will find out, have very obnoxious baas...usually they are the baas that are very "vibrate-y" or they sound like someone puking. And usually these sheep are the mouthier ones. Sheep with nice-sounding baas tend to be the quiet, more reserved sheep in the flock.  I have Montadale/Babydoll Southdown crosses and they are very quiet...I rarely hear them say anything. It's usually the lambs that make noise, but they quiet down as they mature. I did have one ewe, though, "Lily" (she's in the BYH 2012 calendar), who had a vibrate-y baa and would bleat anytime she heard or name or saw me. I'm suprised she never lost her voice because it was pretty much constant bleating with her. Whereas, my friend's sheep (she has Suffolks and Shropshires) are a mouthy bunch of sheep. I went over to her house (she keeps all hers in a barn/garage and a couple of outdoor pens) and they were sooo loud.


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## RustyDHart

You can see on "Miracle's" face that she's happy and content.....and that I'm her protector and friend.   They learn.....and know.    And as "Sheep girl" mentioned.....there are so many different sounds...many that she'd mentioned..I'd foregotten about.....I'm picking up new sounds every year......and I've been raising sheep for 16 years.....hoping to learn some more "Sheep" words.


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## Queen Mum

RustDHart,  you are SO right!   Goats do the same thing.  And each one has a distinct voice.  We have ONE sheep.  An American Blackbelly Hair Sheep.  He has a Nursing home voice.  Baaaaaaaaaaa,  all day long.  It means,  





			
				Rambo said:
			
		

> Hey, come here,  Hey, come here, I'm hungry, feed me, NOW,  I want attention, NOW!


His voice is deep and resonant and beautiful.


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## secuono

For Guinea Pigs, you can find websites that have sound recordings and you can read the sound, meaning and then click to hear a real piggie making the noise. 

If I had anything other than dialup, I would start a page w/sounds. 
My sheep are Babydoll Southdowns, never hear them. Except the 3 recent loud calls to me or idk what and the low, soft calls when one is separate from the others. And you have to be within a few feet to hear that one. 

Chickens also have a huge vocabulary. Not just to their fellow chicken, chicks or w/e, but also a totally separate section for their people! Some you really won't hear unless you spend time with them, are near them and you can pick up the soft sounds.  
Though, my ducks and Guinea fowl don't seem to have nearly the extensive vocabulary as the chickens do. I will tell you that Guinea hens are FAR more peaceful without a male! Wow the difference.


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## RustyDHart

Queen mum.....I hear you.   I know the sound you're talking about...it's kinda like....."HEY.....I'm talking to you"....."turn  around and pay attention to me"!!!!   They have to make that sound to get our attention....they sure can't swing their arms over their heads and wave to us......   I could just imagine some of the hand gestures some of "MY" sheep would be displaying....especially when it's worming or shearing time:/.


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## RustyDHart

secuono....I've been breeding and exhibiting poultry since 1967........now I CAN speak chicken........lots more years of interpretation than with my sheep.I raised Muscovy ducks for years and do understand quite a bit of Muscovy.....plus they are originally from Brazil....I lived in Brazil for a couple of years....I think that helped.


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## SheepGirl

RustyDHart said:
			
		

> I could just imagine some of the hand gestures some of "MY" sheep would be displaying....especially when it's worming or shearing time:/.




I could just imagine, too!


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## Beekissed

RustyDHart said:
			
		

> You can see on "Miracle's" face that she's happy and content.....and that I'm her protector and friend.   They learn.....and know.    And as "Sheep girl" mentioned.....there are so many different sounds...many that she'd mentioned..I'd foregotten about.....I'm picking up new sounds every year......and I've been raising sheep for 16 years.....hoping to learn some more "Sheep" words.


Rusty, that is one beautiful sheep!!!  I always love to see the breed you raise, they are so incredibly beautiful with their long hair and the mottled faces.


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## Ms. Research

I think I would love to hear the sound of a Mother Ewe talking to her lamb.  Must be such a soft loving sound.  

To all those who want to learn the sounds of your animals, I truly commend you and hats off.  Now that's someone who really KNOWS their livestock or pets.  Knowing the sounds of your animals has to be the most important part of raising any animal.   Communication is the key.


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## RustyDHart

Thanks "Beekissed"..........I'll always have Scottish Blackface.    Ms. Research......I think the most important part of communicating with any animal is "listening"....and love.   Spending time and observing your animal friends is a big part too.       Here is a photo for you Beekissed......this is "Irish Acres Highland Peace" walking over the small land bridge in one of the pastures.   She likes striking poses.......


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## Beekissed

She is a beauty and your pastures are a testament to your farming practices....lush, deep and green!


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## bonbean01

Ms Research...yes...listening to the Mama "talking" to her newborn lamb is awesome!  Actually, one ewe started talking to her lamb a little before it was born.  

As for sounds sheep make, each one of ours makes its very own sound and I can hear who it is before I get to them.  At lambing time we do lots of checks, and at night have our bedroom window partially open (yes...with the heater on the house going...not energy smart, but we can hear the sheep that way and we sleep with one eye open during lambing anyway)...a ewe beginning labour "calls" us...LOUDLY...one in particular, Dolly...has had three lambs now, and each time she has called us and did not settle into hard labour until we were there with her.

As for how we call our sheep to come back and forth from their grazing pasture to their shelter/smaller pasture for night is to call..."come babies"...that they know very well.  Each sheep we've gotten was bought when they were babies....so, that's my excuse...guess it sounds funny to other people to hear us call them babies


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## RustyDHart

bonbeam.....nice story,   I guess they're all our " babies" if you come to think of it.....(?)   They learn who their friends are....Thanks for sharing.


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## Queen Mum

I notice each one of the goats has a voice of their own.  It is just like having 80 kids.  All of them sound different.   The dogs and cats, also.  And every one of them have different sounds for distress, discomfort, happiness, anger, frustration, disappointment, satisfaction, pain, etcetera. 

I swear they even laugh at me.  One of the bucks here makes a whawh, whawh, whawh sound when he's laughing that sounds just like a cartoon laugh.  His face screws up all funny and he looks like he's smiling.  

Mama rarely talks, but when she does, she really speaks volumes with just a few words. (She's my herd queen.)  She speaks more with her eyes.    She has a face of disdain.  (Here's a pic.)  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





I was asking her to get up.  She had a sore foot and was due to have babies soon.  She gave me such a look!  

Her mother sounds are so different from the other goats and so gentle, protective and loving.  She's the best mother in the herd.  But she has her discipline mother sounds which are firm and no nonsense.  They are different from her herd discipline sounds.  

She even has different sounds for breeding.  
"Oh, I'm so giddy right now.  Where are the boys when you need them?"
"Sara, can't you drive faster, I can smell the boys?"
"Come on already Bucky boy, I'm here, let's get this done."  She's very no nonsense about breeding.  
"I'm finished, quit fooling around. I want a martini and a cigarette,  go find another girl to bother."


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## RustyDHart

Queen mum......Interesting and funny store about your matriarch doe.....she's beautiful.....and she knows it.


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