Sheep and stinging nettles

[TOCDriver]

I went past a field today, full of stinging nettles. In the middle of it were two sheep, merrily chomping away on the nettles! Anybody have any idea why they are immune to them?

 

[DaveNewcastle]

I don't know the answer to this, but it's been puzzling me too.
On the slopes where I am, there are a lot of well established nettles, which is thought to have contributed to a unique range of butterflies in the area. Some plots are grazed by sheep and goats - the goats seem particularly effective at mowing anything above ground level - including the nettles.

I understood that the nettle's evolutionary advantage was its defence against being eaten by animals. (Unless cooked or fermented, of course!). So if this is correct, we must assume that they are unpleasant when eaten raw by most creatures.
Now it could be that the sheep and goats we see are eating catnip or mint, both of which resemble nettles and both of which grow near the plots I'm describing, but I'm not persuaded that they're not really eating nettle. So there must be some other explanation.

Perhaps the neurological impact is different in degrees between animal species? Perhaps humans just have greater sensitivity to nettle toxins than sheep or goats, just as some people have more or less sensitivity to nettles than others, or have differring sensitivities at different times?

And what about the advantages of eating large quantities of those other leaves which act as remedies or antidotes, and which often grow nearby (e.g. the dock leaf)? Could the sheep and goats have immunised themselves?

 

[deltic1989]

It puzzles me too. I just brushed my hand against a stinging nettle the other day and it flared up almost immediately and was rather painful.
I have always told my children when they ask this question that when Sheep eat a nettle they eat a dock leaf straight after. This explanation seems to satisfy them, but Dave has got me thinking now about weather there may be some truth in it.
That or the aversion to them that we Humans have has evolved out of them over the years.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

On an associated matter, I note that giraffes seem to have evolved a tolerance in their thick tongues to the sharp thorn defences of acacia trees that they seem so fond of grazing in Africa.

 

[Ploughman]

If you grasp a nettle firmly it does not get the chance to sting however as most people find out just touching the underside of the leaf can bring on the sting.
Maybe sheep grasp the leaf tightly with their tongues?

 

[ralphchadkirk]

And what about the advantages of eating large quantities of those other leaves which act as remedies or antidotes, and which often grow nearby (e.g. the dock leaf)? Could the sheep and goats have immunised themselves?

I doubt it. Doc leaves only work because they neutralise the formic acid in the nettle sting.

 

[GB]

Its not unknown for humans to eat stinging nettles without issues.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

I eat nettles, just for fun Mainly to impress people lol. I discovered eating nettles after a leader of a cub group I do volunteering at ate one, and he showed us all how. The hairs only sting when brushed against, but if you grab a nettle it wont sting. The way I eat them is grab them, fold the undersides over and chew it vigorously. I have been stung a few times, and it's normal but if you get used to it it doesn't bother you too much.

As for sheep, they must have a way of chewing or have immunity to the stings.

 

[Bevan Price]

They seem to eat plenty of things when grass is in short supply. Found this about sheep feeding:

http://www.fernwood-nursery.co.uk/sheep/observs.htm

Plants eaten
The main food is grass but they will try almost anything else that can reach.

For example:
Cupressus leylandii - they are very much attracted to this and will eat it whenever they can. They will even browse the leaves and small branches from hedge trimmings
Hogweed - they readily eat leaves, stems and flowers of these plants.
Dock - large, well-grown plants are readily eaten but small leaves are often ignored.
Bramble - The leaves are eaten.
Dandelion - flowers and leaves eaten
Buttercup - they will occasionally eat these but usually tend to leave them.
Gorse - smaller softer parts eaten
Nettles - usually left uneaten but they will eat them if there is not much else available. Ewes, after weaning the lambs, and on restricted grazing readily ate nettles.
Broom - Will eat the softer parts.
Vegetables - They readily eat mangols. With carrots they are cautious at first but once they get to try them some individuals enthusiastically eat them. (Rocky, our ram gets quite excited when given carrots.)
Hazel - They readily eat hazel leaves.
Apple - When we cut down an old apple tree we put the branches in with the sheep and they immediately began devouring the leaves. They then proceeded to gnaw at the bark and tips of branches until they had stripped all parts they could reach.
Apple fruit - at first they were cautious but once they had tried it most were very keen to eat it.

 

[TOCDriver]

Its not unknown for humans to eat stinging nettles without issues.

Not raw though. As nettle tea, maybe
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

They seem to eat plenty of things when grass is in short supply. Found this about sheep feeding:

http://www.fernwood-nursery.co.uk/sheep/observs.htm

Thanks for that. have you ever noticed how some sheep bend down on their front legs, back legs still stood upright and bum in air, to eat grass. Very funny watching them do it.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

Not raw though. As nettle tea, maybe

That is one way to have it, but when I eat them I eat them straight from the plant. I don't stock up on it though, it's not great to to eat too much of anything. I only eat one leaf to show people like family or friends. It just tastes like a leaf, so not very nice.

I'm sure there are pubs that hold nettle eating contests which involve people scoffing raw nettles. It's in either Guiness world records or Ripley's believe it or not.

 

[Bayum]

It's nothing special, it's evolution.

Sheep, and other such animals, have evolved over the years to eat most greenery. As a result, they have thicker tongues and don't 'chew' their food as such, more they 'grind' their greenery against a hard pad that is involved with the chewing process.

 

[GB]

Not raw though. As nettle tea, maybe
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Thanks for that. have you ever noticed how some sheep bend down on their front legs, back legs still stood upright and bum in air, to eat grass. Very funny watching them do it.

I'm sure I have read somewhere that there is an annual competition for eating raw nettles.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

In the 1950's when I was quite young, our family often used to visit the old part of Heysham with its narrow road leading down to the sea, where local women of mature years used to sell jugs of nettle beer to visitors on hot days, from trestle tables outside their houses.

 

[Johnuk123]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the obvious answer that sheep probably do get stung but simply ignore it.

 

[D841 Roebuck]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the obvious answer that sheep probably do get stung but simply ignore it.

Or enjoy the pain...

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Somehow there are always "Doc" leaves near nettles - they can be eaten , slowly steamed I gather....

 

[DaveNewcastle]

I raised this question with a group the other day which included people managing the live stock (incl. sheep) and the plants on wild pastures (incl nettles).

One of the responses was very similar to this:

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the obvious answer that sheep probably do get stung but simply ignore it.

One of the actual statements was that sheep are astonishingly stupid. Another was that they don't experience the sting which is largely our perception of the puncturing of our skin by the sharp hairs (the toxins are a separate issue).

Somehow there are always "Doc" leaves near nettles - they can be eaten , slowly steamed I gather....

It's quite true that dock nearly always grows where nettles grow (despite very different root arrangements).

I have no experience of steamed dock leaf, but I have steamed nettle leaves (preferrably a little earlier in the year than now) and found them to be appreciated; they taste like steamed spinach. I've also enjoyed nettle soup - hot and cold.

 

[deltic1989]

My Grandfather had a friend that made nettle wine. We were treated to a glass after installing a burglar alarm for said friend.
I can't say that I enjoyed the taste all that much.

 

[michael769]

I grew up on a sheep farm.

It is generally the ewes that eat nettles for a period after weaning their lambs. Presumably they offer some nutrients that have been depleated by nursing. They will eat them at other times (as will rams) but only when there is a shortage of other food.

Some horses also seem to develop a taste for nettles while others will not go near them.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I rang both Howletts Wild Animal Park and Chester Zoo about this matter, but both said the the matter of British indigenous sheep breeds and their consumption of live nettles was not one they would offer a view upon, but Chester Zoo did add the fact that wild nettles cut down and left to wither for some days were something viewed as a treat by their herd of giraffes.

 

[richw]

Nettles are actually a mild laxative to humans.

Various livestock eat nettles, when eaten by chickens it improves the egg production

When animals used for milk eat them it improves quality and quantity of the milk, and also gives a shiny coat.

 

[TOCDriver]

They obviously do not get stung or else their mouth would swell up and they would suffocate