Wilder grazing: Northern lights

Our oldest Manx wether (neutered boy) is a brave and noble soul, and the only boy in a whole flock of girls. He takes his job of leader very seriously. He will march to the front to check out what’s going on and - when that turns out to be a bucket of feed - he quickly gets overtaken by the girls in the rush. Although they are smaller than him, he puts up with being pushed about as they vie for the best treats.

His impressive three (and a half!) horns have patches that are polished to a high shine. This is a result of him using them to his advantage when foraging. He rubs them over the young stinging nettles in the spring before he eats them, making them less fizzy on the tongue. He also moves dead leaves and sticks out of his way using the same side-to-side technique in the autumn.

Watch him in action here

Like other upland sheep, this herd is fond of eating the kinds of plants that ‘normal’ white sheep won’t. They love bramble, thistle, ragwort and other fast-growing rough plants. This choice of food creates space for the smaller, gentler plants to flower and set seed without being bullied out.