Count sheep in a flock from a photo

Counting a flock of sheep after gathering or before loading

Shepherds count after gathering a hill, after moving a flock between fields and before a load leaves, and each time the figure has to match the movement record. A gathered flock in a pen turns into a packed carpet of woolly backs; from a raised point such as a trailer, a hurdle stand or a drone, each back reads as a separate oval. On open grazing, wait until the flock has spread out to feed instead of shooting while they run together.

Lambing time brings the hardest scene, because lambs tuck under or behind ewes and disappear. Mark one ewe and one lamb as separate examples, and the Found per example list shows how the result divides between them. Freshly shorn sheep look very different from those still in full fleece, so a mixed group may also need one example of each. Heavy mud, or fleece the same shade as the ground, can blend sheep into the background.

Review the dots along gates and walls, where sheep crowd tightest, and correct the total in the tally before writing it on a record. Anything that matters for insurance or subsidy paperwork still needs a physical check. Goats are handled on the goat counter, and cattle on the same holding on the cattle page.

Before you photograph the flock

• Raised viewpoint over the pen, or a drone above open grazing
• Flock settled and spread, not streaming through a gateway
• One ewe and one lamb marked as examples at lambing time
• Sheep packed against walls and gates reviewed dot by dot