# Newbie question re grooming St. Croix sheep



## bluemaranfan (Jul 20, 2019)

I've only had sheep a couple of weeks and can't find this info on hair sheep. Do they need to be bathed when they get dirty? We have no rain, so no mud this time of year. They are grazing in a field with a lot of prickly lettuce which stains their faces, and they are getting pretty dusty, too. Should they be brushed and if so, how often?


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## Baymule (Jul 20, 2019)

Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here. I have hair sheep. I have Dorper/Katahdin cross ewes and a registered Katahdin ram. I don't bathe my sheep. Some like to be scratched and brushed, some don't.


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## Mike CHS (Jul 20, 2019)

Most of ours like to be scratched and brushed.  A couple will come up and eat out a bucket that I'm holding but if I put a hand on them they are off like a rocket.  I don't bath them unless they have bowel issues and I may hose them off.  If ours start to look dirty I put them in a paddock that doesn't have shelter and the rain takes care of the dirt.


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## AmberLops (Jul 21, 2019)

I had St. Croix sheep and I never bathed them...some of the ewes enjoyed being brushed out but the ram wouldn't have it


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## bluemaranfan (Aug 9, 2019)

Thanks, guess they can keep their messy faces. They're doing a great job with our fuel load.


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