Saved By The Bell

It was 15 years of sheep farming before I encountered a flock of sheep that wore bells. I was so enamored of the musical flock, that by the time I got home, I had decided to put bells on some of my sheep. Since I had just acquired five new ewes, all looking much like each other, it made sense to start with those ewes and put their bells on five different colored collars to help me identify the new arrivals.

The bells and collars I had ordered were delivered, and in the busyness of life, I had forgotten to tell my husband that I had put them on some of the flock. He came in that evening from a walk around the farm and said that he loved the sound of the bells. He especially liked that the bells helped him to know which pasture or woods the sheep were in. It is very helpful to find the sheep based on the sound of the bells.

Some of the bells we have in use now can be heard from many acres away; those are the larger and deeper toned bells. One would reasonably expect that the size of the bell would be correlated to the size of the animal. This isn’t necessarily true. If there is a sheep that tends to wander or strays farther away from the flock, or is the last to come in, a larger, louder bell would be a good choice for that particular animal.

I was soon able to discern what the sound of peaceful grazing is in contrast to hearing the collective frenzied sound of bells when the sheep have become startled, and start running. Adding sheep bells as a shepherd’s tool, helps monitor the flock, especially if we can’t directly see them.

The term “bellwether” came about during the Middle Ages, describing the use of a bell on the neck of a wethered (castrated) ram that worked with the shepherd to lead the flock. The sound of the bellwether’s bell helped the shepherd identify the movement of the flock, especially at night or during periods of fog.

I had not initially considered that bells on the flock would help to deter predators. In one of my old sheep books, the 1892 edition of Special Report on the History and Present Condition of the Sheep Industry in the United States, (Carmon, Heath and Minto, Washington Government Printing Office, page 867), I read the following with great interest:

“One of the best means for protecting the flock against the attacks of dogs is by using a liberal number of bells. If the flock numbers forty or fifty, at least a quarter of them should have each a small bell, and as noisy a one as possible, attached to her neck. If the flock is small, a greater proportion should possess bells. The reason why bells are a good protection is because sheep-killing dogs are naturally sneaks. They are afraid of detection, and the noise created by a flock of sheep wearing bells will cause them to desist. I have never known a flock of sheep wearing bells to be injured by dogs.”

I’ve also read that putting a small bell on the collar of a sheepdog can help the sheep to know when dogs are approaching them. Using that theory, if one had a particularly over-friendly ram, he could wear a bell as warning, so you would always know where he was and if he were getting too close for comfort.

Obtaining Bells

Some of the nicest bells I have found come from Premier (Premier1Supplies.com). Premier also sells collars (called the tackle) to fit their bells that are typical nylon dog collars. I like their Swiss Bell the best as the tone is the prettiest. The steel bells are more “clangy.”

Most bells are single cast with the hole (called the staple) on top through which you thread the collar. I have had some collars that were too wide for the staple and tried to fasten them with intermediary clasps, but those end up coming off too easily. So it’s better to have the bell staple fit the tackle directly so that the bell isn’t lost.

Premier has a note of precaution on their website that says “Watch the flock with an extra keen eye in case of entanglement.” We’ve had bells on our flock for a year now, and we’ve not had any issues with the bells or collars endangering the sheep. If a collar with bell is placed on the neck of a shorn ewe, you may need to adjust the collar tighter so it doesn’t slip over her head. After a few months of wool growth you may need to loosen the collar to accommodate the bulk of wool on her neck. The neck wool of sheep is usually a matted mess after a year’s growth, so it’s not of concern to me whether or not the wearing of a collar and bell adds to the general uselessness of neck wool.

I also ordered some wonderful bells from Andy Karras (karrasfarm.com). He has imported bells from Greece. They come fitted with very nice leather tackles and I use both styles that he has available. Andy says he keeps bells on about half of his ewe flock, but none on the rams or lambs under a year old. The way lambs like to stick their heads through fences, I too had decided not to bell the younger sheep.

A visit to a local antique mall yielded two wonderful old sheep bells; it did not take me long to begin collecting antique sheep bells. I’ve since found some amazing pieces. My favorite antique bell—one that has three clackers, and sounds absolutely beautiful, came from a 93 year old woman who inherited the bell from her cousins. She wrote me:

“…Long after they ceased raising sheep, they had this bell hanging above the pen of their lead ewe. She always felt safe in her pen and would go in there without being led. She lived to be 17 years old and was taken care of as one of the family. Her wool clothed many of the family… including a sweater I had for years. Their ranch was in Montana, near Livingston. When the patriarch came from Norway in 1905, he used the only money he had to buy 4 ewes and one ram. He homesteaded on 50 acres. They were constantly bothered by wolves…. And they would take turns guarding the sheep at night. I understand sheep do not like a loud bell, thus this was just loud enough to have the other sheep know which way they could go… and also the assurance that their lead sheep was close at hand.”

In my collection I have an antique Bergen bell with the image of a sheep cast on the bell’s side. Another one has a lovely scalloped bottom; it has such an artistic shape that it looks much like a dancer with her hands raised above her head, wearing a long flowing gown!

The most primitive and plain bells often show clearly that they were well used. These old bells make me think of that long ago shepherd who valued his sheep bells and kept them in use by replacing clappers and hooks as needed.

Random Songs Of Sheep Bells

If one of the antique bells I find is solid and strong, I will put it into use; the diversity of shapes and sizes and materials (whether steel, brass or iron) adds to the richness of my flock’s music. I find that some of the bells have a most pleasing sound, while others are more clunky or tinny sounding.

W. H. Hudson, in his book A Shepherd’s Life (1910) allows that I am not alone in my sentimentality concerning sheep bells. He wrote that the shepherds he queried spoke with great passion about their sheep bells and all said they would have more on the flock if they had enough money to purchase more bells. Hudson describes the sound of the flock’s music thus:

“…It is not exactly monotonous, owing to the bells being of various sizes and also greatly varying in thickness, so that they produce different tones, from the sharp tinkle-tinkle of the smallest to the sonorous klonk-klonk of the big, copper bell. Then, too, they are differently agitated, some quietly when the sheep are grazing with heads down, others rapidly as the animals walks or trots on; and there are little bursts or peals when a sheep shakes its head, all together producing a kind of rude harmony— a music which, like that of bagpipes or of chiming church-bells, heard from a distance, is akin to natural music and accords with rural scenes.”

I was worried that putting a bell on a ewe would cause her some distress, but of all the sheep that wear bells in my flock, I only had one ewe that did some strange dancing immediately after the bell was placed around her neck. She settled down quickly however, and the rest have taken their musical necklaces in stride. The bells didn’t bother the dams or their lambs during lambing this past spring and personally, I think the ewes wear their bells as a badge of honor. I’ve read that the lambs will recognize the sound of their dam’s bell, so if one wants to summon a particular lamb, one could ring the bell of its mother. I have not yet tried this for myself!

For all of the practical reasons for having bells on sheep, in all honesty, I love the bells because I love the music of my flock. When I find a rare moment to sit alone, amongst my sheep grazing, their bells add greatly to the joy and peace that my sheep bring to my life.

Sources
• Hall, Pauline, Editor. Sheep Bells: Notes from a Bygone Era, Sheepdog Shorts Series, York, England, 2013.
• Hudson, W. H., A Shepherd’s Life, Ch. 11: Starlings and sheep Bells, Literature Network.
• Salmon, Carmon, Heath and Minto, Special Report on the History and Present Condition of the Sheep Industry in the United States, 1892, Washington Government Printing Office, page 867.