Sheep Behavior
by Yahweh, Our Father, Jesus the Christ, the Son, and the Holy Spirit giving Alan Breitenstein the words to write.
October 28, 2018
The reading for this day is found in Matthew Chapter 10, verses 5-7:
These 12 disciples, Jesus sent out after instructing them:
5) “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans;
6) But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7) And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
(In the following message all my comments are in parenthesis. All else is taken from various sources.)
This message is to compare the behavior of sheep with the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel which happens to be the Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Germanic, and kindred people of the world. This message is nothing new, but it is necessary to refresh Truth.
If you are going to raise or own sheep, you should try to understand them. A good understanding of what is normal behavior will allow you to handle them effectively and to spot a problem before it gets too serious. The information contained in this document comes from a variety of sources including the University of Maryland website for ruminants as well as a variety of “how to” books for sheep.
Flocking
Sheep have a strong instinct to follow the sheep in front of them. When one sheep decides to go somewhere, the rest of the flock usually follows, even if it is not a good “decision.” The flocking and following instinct of sheep is so strong that it caused the death of 400 sheep in 2006 in eastern Turkey. The sheep plunged to their death after one of the sheep tried to cross a 15-meter deep ravine, and the rest of the flock followed.
(Another example is what happened during the Civil war. Soldiers would line up in a row and walk towards the opposing side who also was lined up in a row. When the charging side got close enough the other side they would be fired-upon. This taken from war tactics of Sons of Liberty).
After the first volley, the battlefield was obscured by smoke. Soldiers had to be trained to fire at areas rather than individual targets. With ample training a soldier could, in the stress of battle, fire three rounds per minute. Battlefield tactics had to be modified to accommodate this new weapon (the musket). Linear tactics were developed. Instead of the large squares of pikemen (men using a spear-like weapon) moving as a block, the musket men were usually lined up in three ranks, bringing the maximum number of muskets to bear on the enemy. Firing rank-by-rank, the massed musket men could fire a devastating nine volleys per minute!
Tactics of this era sought to simply blast their opponents off the battlefield with concentrated musket fire. Unfortunately for the soldiers, it became a tactical fact of life, that a regiment was rated not by how well it could deliver a volley of musket fire, but rather, how well they could stand after receiving a volley.
(The writer of this makes it seem that receiving a volley was a slap in the face. These volleys damaged sinews and organs. The point of this, is these soldiers marched right into open fire. What were they thinking, or did they let others think for them? The movie Patriot and any Civil War movie shows this tactical behavior. Is it any wonder that nearly 620,000 Americans were killed in the Civil War? This battlefield tactic was used somewhat in the Revolutionary war leaving 25000 losing their lives. In the movie Patriot, the British officers told General Cornwallis that these patriots would hide behind trees and rocks and ditches and fire at us. They do not fight like we do.
Duh! Sounds like the patriots had a Shepherd. One must wonder if at any time during the battles in the Civil War did the thought come across the minds of anyone that these are our brothers we are shooting at. We have the same patriarchal father. Why should so many die or be maimed for the decisions of a few? Answer, the lack of a good Shepherd.)
Sheep have a strong instinct to follow the sheep in front of them. When one sheep decides to go somewhere, the rest of the flock usually follows, even if it is not a good “decision.” For example, sheep will follow each other to slaughter.
(Just as the soldiers of the Civil war. If one sheep jumps over a cliff, the others are likely to follow. Even from birth, lambs are conditioned to follow the older members of the flock.)
This instinct is “hard-wired” into sheep. It’s not something they “think” about.
(Just as a child follows his or her mother and father.)
The LORD will be Israel’s Shepherd
Ezekiel Chapter 34:1-10, taken from the International Bible:
1) “The word of the LORD came to me:
2) ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
3) You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.
4) You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.
5) So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.
(King James says beasts which happens to be all the non-covenant, non-white people. For example:
1 Corinthians 15:39: “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.”
Leviticus 20:16: “And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”
Ecclesiastes 3:21: “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goesth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goesth downward to the earth?
Jonah 3:8: “But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God; yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.”)
6) My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
7) Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
8) As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, (beasts) and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,
9) Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
10) This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’”
Sacred Truth Ministries sent this as it applies to the above:
“Prince William thinks the world population needs to be reduced... and get this, he thinks they should ‘reduce its desire to consume.’
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. That’s like Obama saying we all need is to tighten our belts. He and Al Gore say we need to lower our carbon footprint, while they live in luxury, fly around the world for $10,000 plate dinners, have mansions with their lights on...Prince William says, that people need to ‘reduce their desire to consume.’
HOW many castles does the polluted royal family have?
HOW many servants, horses, cars, boats, and planes?
This would be laughable, but he is serious. He does not want people eating ‘the king’s deer’ ... he thinks they are all his... even though he has no right to the royal throne or the royal household; nor does Charles. As ‘immigrants’ in the United States or elsewhere, the interlopers think they own the joint and have more right than the natural citizens/heirs.”
Social
Sheep are a very social animal. In a grazing situation, they need to see other sheep. In fact, ensuring that sheep always have visual contact with other sheep will prevent excess stress when moving or handling them. According to animal behaviorists, a group of five sheep is usually necessary for sheep to display their normal flocking behavior. A sheep will become highly agitated if it is separated from the rest of the flock. (This is what happens when they lack a good Shepherd).
In addition to serving as a protection mechanism against predators, this flocking and following instinct enables humans to care for large numbers of sheep. It makes sheep easier to move or drive and enables a guardian dog to provide protection for a large flock. Domestication and thousands of generations of human contact has further strengthened this trait in sheep. (How many sheep have been domesticated by the Edomite Jew? This explains the sheep’s willingness to be a slave.)
Domestication has also favored the non-aggressive, docile nature of sheep, making it easier for people, especially women and children, to care for sheep. Sheep were one of the earliest animals to be domesticated, and they have been thoroughly domesticated. It is doubtful they could survive in the wild, if a predator risk existed.
Prey Behavior
Sheep are a prey animal. When they are faced with danger, their natural instinct is to flee not fight. Their strategy is to use avoidance and rapid flight to avoid being eaten.
After fleeing, sheep will reform their group and look at the predator. They use their natural herding instinct to band together for safety. A sheep that is by itself is vulnerable to attack.
Sheep tracks are never straight. The winding of trails allows sheep to observe their backside first with one eye, then the other. Sheep can spot dogs or other perceived forms of danger from 1,200 to 1,500 yards away. (Unfortunately, when the wolves come in sheep’s clothing they cannot perceive it as danger.)
Sheep Senses
Sight
Sheep depend heavily upon their vision. Behavior scientists speculate that the placement and structure of the sheep’s eyes are due to nature’s designation of sheep as a prey animal. Sheep have a very large pupil that is somewhat rectangular in shape. The eyeball is placed more to the side of the head, which gives sheep a much wider field of vision. With only slight head movement, sheep are able to scan their surroundings. Their field of vision ranges from 191 to 306 degrees, depending upon the amount of wool on their face.
On the other hand, sheep have poor depth perception (three-dimensional vision), especially if they are moving with their heads up. This is why they will often stop to examine something more closely. Sheep have difficulty picking out small details, such as an open space created by a partially opened gate. They tend to avoid shadows and sharp contrasts between light and dark. They are reluctant to go where they can’t see. (Unless they are led by a Judas goat. A Judas goat is the shepherd that is either an Canaanite/Edomite Jew, or a corrupt leader, or an older uninformed member).
For many years, it was believed that sheep and other livestock could not perceive color. But, it has since been proven that livestock possess the cones necessary for color vision. Research has shown that livestock can differentiate between colors, though their color perception is not equal to humans. (Unfortunately, today the sheep are told that all colors are the same).
Hearing
Sheep have excellent hearing. They can amplify and pinpoint sound with their ears. In fact, sound arrives at each ear at a different time. Sheep are frightened by sudden loud noises, such as yelling or barking. In response to loud noises and other unnatural sounds, sheep become nervous and more difficult to handle. This is due to the release of stress-related hormones. To minimize stress, the handler should speak in a quiet, calm voice. (I am going to have to try this.) Sheep should not be worked in the presence of barking dogs. (All the more reason to rid the nation of the dogs.
Matthew 7:6: 6) “Give not that which is holy to the dogs.”
Also, all the more reason not to go to a LGBTQ march due to the barking dogs at these events.)
Smell
Sheep have an excellent sense of smell. Their olfactory system is more highly developed than humans. Sheep know what predators smell like. (The predators are using the media to mask their stench. They turn that which is evil into good and that which is good into evil.)
Smell helps rams locate ewes in heat. It helps ewes locate their lambs. Sheep use the sense of smell to locate water and detect differences in feed and pasture plants. Sheep are more likely to move into the wind than with the wind, so they can use their sense of smell.
Touch
Since most of their body is covered with wool or coarse hair, only the sheep’s lips and mouth (and maybe ears) lend themselves well to feeling. Therefore, electric wires on a fence need to be placed at nose height of the sheep. The sense of touch is important in the interaction between animals. Lambs seek bodily contact with their mothers. Ewes respond to this touching behavior in many ways (e.g. milk letdown). Groups of animals that have body contact remain calmer.
Taste
Sheep have the ability to differentiate feedstuffs and taste may play a role in this behavior. There is no evidence to suggest that sheep can balance their own ration when provided with a variety of feedstuffs; however, they may be able to seek out plants that make them feel better. (Unfortunately, these plants that the sheep seek now are marijuana, heroin, cocaine, etc. Another sign of sheep without a good Shepherd.)
Pain
Sheep have an amazing tolerance for pain. They do not show pain, because if they do, they will be more vulnerable to predators who look for those who are weak or injured. (Predators being non-covenant people, such as lawyers, dirty doctors, false preachers, evil politicians, etc.)
Normal sheep behavior
Changes in normal behavior can be an early sign of illness in sheep. The most obvious example of this relates to the sheep’s most natural behavioral instinct, their flocking instinct. A sheep or lamb that is isolated from the rest of the flock is likely showing early signs of illness (unless it is lost). Even the last sheep through the gate should be suspected of not feeling well, especially if it is usually one of the first.
Continuing with Ezekiel 34:11-16:
11) “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.
12) As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
13) I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.
14) I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15) I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD.
16) I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”
Appetite
Appetite is another strong indicator of health. Healthy sheep display normal eating and cud-chewing behavior. They will chew their cuds for several hours each day. Healthy sheep are eager to eat. They are almost always hungry. They will overeat, if we let them. Sheep bleat in anticipation of being fed and will rapidly approach the feeding area. (This overeating, obesity problem in this nation could be a lack of a Shepherd. Furthermore, it should be noted that we should “eat to live and not live to eat.”) Lack of appetite is probably the most common symptom exhibited by a sick sheep. At the same time, food is an excellent motivator. Next to a good herding dog, a bucket of grain is usually the best way to gather and move sheep. Grain feeding tends to make sheep friendlier and less intimidated by people. (This must be the reason for so many restaurants).
Sleep/Waking
Sheep spend about 15% of their time sleeping but may lie down and rest at other times. Upon rising, they often defecate and stretch. A sheep that is reluctant to get up is probably in pain. A sheep that takes a long time to lay down is also probably in pain. A sheep that cannot relax is under stress. Teeth grinding is another common sign of pain in sheep. (How many of you have gone to a dentist and been asked if you “grind your teeth at night?” Stress here is also showing signs of a bad shepherd.
Psalms 35:16: “With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.”
Acts 7:54: “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.”)
Healthy Lamb Behavior
Healthy lambs nurse frequently, one to two times per hour during the first few weeks. A lamb that bleats all the time is probably hungry and not getting enough to eat. A healthy lamb usually stretches when it rises. Healthy lambs sleep 8 to 12 hours per day. At naptime, they seek out their mothers and will sleep as close to her as possible.
Healthy lambs are usually very active. Group play is very common. Lambs love to climb. They are naturally curious of their surroundings. This curiosity can lead to barnyard accidents, if there are risks present. (Case in point, is that curiosity elected Obama).
As lambs get older, they spend less time with their mothers and more with their peers. (In today’s society the peers obviously being professors and teachers and pastors who are God- haters). They spend more time foraging for food. Play wanes after about four months.
Ram Behavior
While sheep are generally a docile, non-aggressive animal, this is not usually the case with rams, especially during the breeding season. Rams can be very aggressive and have been known to cause serious injuries, even death, to people. A ram should never be trusted, even if it is friendly or was raised as a pet. It is important to always know where the ram is and to never turn your back on him. Children should be restricted access to rams during the breeding season. (This is the same definition for a politician, Jew, Catholic priest, apostate preachers, etc.)
Head butting is both a natural and learned behavior in sheep. Classic head butting among rams is highest during the rutting season which precedes the onset of heat in ewes. It is a way for rams to get into physical shape for the breeding season and to establish (or re-establish) the dominance hierarchy. (Could this be the reason so many wars are fought between brothers or kindred people?)
To discourage butting, you should avoid petting or scratching a ram on the head. Otherwise, the ram may see this as a challenge or aggressive behavior. In general, the ram sees you as part of the flock and wants to dominate you.
The only time ewes may exhibit aggressive behavior is after lambing -- to protect their young.
Smart or Dumb?
Sheep rank in intelligence just below the pig and even with cattle. They react to situations they encounter using instincts that have developed over centuries. (We are what we are, due to what we were taught and if we were taught wrong, then we will do wrong. Then we continue this cycle with our children. Beware of the traditions of men. The only way we can come out of this rut is if God removes this deluding influence we have, and even then, it takes time to accept the truth.)
Due to their strong flocking instinct and failure to act independently of one another, sheep have been universally branded “stupid.” But sheep are not stupid. Their only protection from predators is to band together and follow the sheep in front of them. If a predator is threatening the flock, this is not the time to act independently. (What if the sheep in front of you is a Judas goat or a bad shepherd?)
Hungry sheep on the Yorkshire Moors (Great Britain) taught themselves to roll 8 feet (3 meters) across hoof-proof metal cattle grids to raid villagers’ valley gardens. According to a witness, “They lie down on their side or sometimes their back and just roll over and over the grids until they are clear. I’ve seen them doing it. It is quite clever, but they are a big nuisance to the villagers.”
A study of sheep psychology has found man’s woolly friend can remember the faces of more than 50 other sheep for up to two years. They can even recognize a familiar human face. The hidden talents of sheep revealed by a study in the journal Nature suggest they may be nearly as good as people at distinguishing faces in a crowd. (Unfortunately, the sheep today cannot distinguish the nature of other sheep).
Researchers say, “Sheep form individual friendships with one another, which may last for a few weeks. It’s possible they may think about a face even when it’s not there.” The researchers also found female sheep had a definite opinion about what made a ram’s face attractive.
There is a certain strain of sheep in Iceland known as leader sheep. Leader sheep are highly intelligent animals that have the ability and instinct to lead a flock home during difficult conditions. They have an exceptional ability to sense danger. There are many stories in Iceland of leader sheep saving many lives during the fall roundups when blizzards threatened shepherds and flocks alike.
We’ve occasionally had leader ewes that were harder to “corral” for routine deworming and therefore they have not been dewormed as often as others in the flock. Yet they are healthy and hardy and seem to be more parasite and disease resistant. We value our leader sheep for all of these primitive traits and believe that the hardiness of other bloodlines can be improved with an infusion of leader genetics.
(Wouldn’t it be a blessing if there were more of these leader sheep that filled the pulpits of all the Christian churches throughout the land.)
According to researchers in Australia, sheep can learn and remember. Researchers have developed a complex maze test to measure intelligence and learning in sheep, similar to those used for rats and mice. Using the maze, researchers have concluded that sheep have excellent spatial memory and are able to learn and improve their performance. And they can retain this information for a six-week period. (There is hope.)
The maze uses the strong flocking instinct of sheep to motivate them to find their way through. The time it initially takes an animal to rejoin its flock indicates smartness, while subsequent improvement in times over consecutive days of testing measures learning and memory.
New research is suggesting that sick sheep could actually be smart enough to cure themselves. Australian researchers believe that sick sheep may actually seek out plants that make them feel better. There has been previous evidence to suggest that animals can detect what nutrients they are deficient in and can develop knowledge about which foods are beneficial or toxic. (If only God's people would be more conscious of this also.)
Continuing with Ezekiel 34:17-31:
17) “As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats.
18) Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
19) Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
20) Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21) Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away,
22) I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.
23) I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.
24) I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.
25) I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety.
26) I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.
27) The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.
28) They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid.
29) I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.
30) Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD.
31) You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.”
Recently Trump was in town and all the people interviewed were praising him for the increase in the economy.
I hear and see signs of help that is needed. Places of business cannot find help due to the fact that those who apply cannot pass a drug test. Who benefits from the strong economy? Non-covenant people. When God’s sheep are sick or starving or homeless they cry out to God for help and when God sends them the help, His sheep are more thankful for the help than they are to Him. Maybe it would have been better that Hillary won, putting the sheep into a position to repent or die in their delusion.
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father,
Your people have forsaken You. We have turned over the inheritance that you have given us to your enemies. Now we are slaves to those whom You have forbidden us to have any alliance with. You have put a deluding influence on your people due to our sin. Thank you, Yahweh, for removing the delusion from us and showing us the Truth, but Yahweh we are so few. Our brothers are being destroyed for lack of knowledge and only You can awaken them. Please Yahweh awaken them so that Your Kingdom can be here on earth as it is in Heaven. We ask you this in the name of Jesus the Christ, Your Son.
Amen.
