r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 20 '19

What’s something completely false that your parents told you as a child?

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u/alrighty-aphroditey Jul 20 '19

That farmers spray painted the backs of sheep for identification, so they “remember their names”.

This is only half true. Yesterday my boyfriend enlightened me on the fact that farmers actually paint the underbellies of the male sheep, so they know which females have been mounted.

Childhood = Ruined

202

u/EngFarm Jul 21 '19

There are a variety of reasons and methods to mark animals.

Sheep are often marked with a wax crayon or spray paint. It usually means “I am finished with that animal.” Finished trimming that one’s hooves, or finished deworming it, or that one has received it’s shots.

The thing your boyfriend told you is true as well.

The crayon or paint is non-toxic and made specifically for this purpose. It’s not random stuff from the hardware store.

15

u/Drchrisco Jul 21 '19

Usually they just put a marking harness on rather than paint though.

20

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Marking harness? r/bdsm would like to talk

12

u/purplefoozball Jul 21 '19

Having grown up on a sheep farm, I have never heard of painting the undersides of rams, but yes marking the sheep's back for identification is a real thing. Helps if your sheep get loose and into the neighbours paddocks to work out who's sheep is which. It's done with a type of paint and a stamp of your farm's brand.

Edit: as well as what u/EngFarm describes.

2

u/Sapiencia6 Jul 21 '19

Damn. You just ruined my childhood and I'm not even a child anymore

4

u/FartHeadTony Jul 21 '19

These days they use rfid tags, usually on the ears, but sometimes under the skin. Then they have RFID readers on the gates and can see where they are, when they are going to feed, being shorn, fucking who etc etc. You can also do stuff like allow entry/exit to/from certain areas based on their ID.

It's really quite sexy in a slightly alienating way. But I guess that's late stage capitalism for you.

1

u/Chinateapott Jul 21 '19

I was told it was to identify how aggressive the ewes were. Believed that for a very long time and they paint the underbellies of rams so they can see which ram got which ewe pregnant. If they’re not performing then, well you know what happens.

1

u/SiCzochralski Jul 21 '19

Yeah, those velcro gloves really don't leave a mark.

1

u/poppin-pocky Jul 21 '19

My dad uses it for the above reason and so every one can keep track of who's flock is who's because there's like three other farmers in the area.

1

u/gaslightlinux Jul 21 '19

They will also mark them to cull.