Ask the Shepherd ~ Why do sheep curl their upper lip?
Flehmen Response
Curling back the upper lip. Inhaling deeply-head held high.
The transfer of air carrying pheromones to an organ in the roof of the mouth, provides the animal with information about the scent.
It’s a sheep thing. It’s the way that they gather information. It is how they investigate new sites and odors. It is usually seen at breeding, allowing the ram to determine if the ewe is in estrus and is receptive to the ram. Ewes are sometimes seen curling their lips during birth as well.
This is our new Gotland ram, Graham. He is 98.82875% Gotland, which categorizes him as a purebred Gotland within our Gotland sheep association. He traveled just over 3,000 miles to get to our farm. After 6 days in a livestock trailer, he was happy to be out on pasture. Graham arrived two days ago and is getting to know our other two rams. He spent last evening investigating Evret, our oldest ram. Evret seems content with his new companion. All is calm and quiet in the ram field. I think Graham rather likes Evret and feels at home here.
Want to learn more about living with rams? Check out some of our other blog posts!
- Living with Rams
- Three Things You Need to Know About Living with Rams
- Four Things You Need to Consider When Purchasing Breeding Rams
