With their hardy build and coarser wool, Scottish Blackface sheep are better suited to survive the harsher conditions of the Highlands. While most sheep in Scotland live on fields owned by farmers, some get to roam wild. For example, St. Kilda is an isolated part on the western coast of Scotland where no humans live and Soay sheep are free to roam.
A typical sheep’s diet consists of grass and other vegetation. Since most sheep are domesticated and live on fields, they don’t need to work hard at all to find food to eat. Additionally, sheep play a key role in maintaining Scotland’s landscape, because without them, the countryside would become overgrown with coarse vegetation.
Eating poisonous plants is one of the biggest dangers for sheep. For example, when sheep eat plants that have accumulated a toxic kind of acid, called prussic acid, they can become very sick and even die. Unfamiliar plants can also be poisonous, so farmers can protect their sheep by looking out for unrecognizable plants growing in their fields.
