Why don't sheep shrink in the rain?

They do but you’re probably blinking too fast and miss the event.

Under the Orange Tree

That’s where all the missing shrinkage lies.

@wundayatta – Your thinking of brain shrinkage rather than the properties of a pullover… :)

I always assumed that they did.

(NSFW) Because their owner has velcro gloves to hold on better?

They don’t shrink.You just get bigger.;)

Hahaha, well..I live next door to 4 sheep, maybe I can measure the densitiy of their fleece and conduct an experiment.

One of my favorite past times is sitting in my hot tub overlooking their pasture and shooting them with my Aquazooka water gun. lol

@Coloma – Good game sir!

They do shrink, but the added weight of the water causes most people to not notice. It’s only the people like @blueiiznh that are able to tell.

@lucillelucillelucille – I considered that as option and then dismissed it for its absurdity :)

@crackerjacked

Why yes it is! And, make that Maam. ;-)

@Adirondackwannabe – you mean because of blueiiznh’s close proximity to the shrinkage with his velcro gloves? I was hoping this didn’t take a countryophile route into bestiality… lets keep it clean :)

They will if you toss them in the dryer.

@Coloma – Maam… I do apologise. Gender unspecific avatar, shooting sheep with water pistols… wrongly assumed male. Clearly a rookie error.

@crackerjacked Welcome to fluther. I’m not known for keeping it clean.:)

If they shrink i do not know, but what i do (think) i know is that when they are in the rain and their wool gets soaked and they fall over, they can’t get up by themselves anymore and there is the danger they’ll die.

@rebbel – I’ll be honest – i can’t recall ever seeing a sheep on it’s side… ever… hmm… perhaps they are all dead? poor little blighters…

@Adirondackwannabe – Cheers for the warm welcome… there’s clean, dirty and all the shades between… but bestiality is another level of grime

@crackerjacked

Another great sheep game I invented is called ’ strawberries from heaven’ I drink champagne and toss strawberries at the sheep, they eat them and then stare at the sky, waiting for more. They never seem to notice the directional from the hot tub. haha

Things eccentric country girls do for amusement.

@crackerjacked -C’mon! Don’t your shoes feel tight?? :)

@lucillelucillelucille – now you mention it…

@Coloma Isn’t that pronounced “Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaa’aaaaaaaaaaaaaaam” ?

Why don’t humans melt in the rain?

@erichw1504 Because we’re not green skinned witches…

@crackerjacked

Baaaaaaaaah

@Coloma too hilarious about the strawberries!...we used to feed an injured oppossum in our yard (to make him well). When we saw him come to our back yard, we’d go up on the balcony of our deck and toss food down near him. We used to call ourselves “The Food Gods”...because he’d constantly look to the heavens for more food

It’s been a huge technical obstacle for the budding wool industry in tropical countries like Brazil, where it rains almost every day. The shrinkage losses can be crippling, and have forced shepherds to implement labor-intensive counter-measures. When the afternoon rains threaten, the sheep are herded into pens where each is fitted with a protective coat. Failure to take these precautions can have tragic results.

—@SpatzieLover—

I am blessed to get off on such simple amusements.
The food gods LOL

@Adirondackwannabe & @crackerjacked The reference of velcro gloves was to the sheeps owner and not me.

disclaimer:
No animals were harmed during the posting of this or any other reply

For the serious answer: NO
Because they are flesh and blood, not made out of wool. And wool only shrinks if it is woven tightly together into fabric. Sheep also secrete a substance, called lanolin, which covers the wool and makes it waterproof.

@thorninmud: Here is Shaun the sheep and his buddies, preshrinkage.

They do.

When you see a lamb die of old age in a rainy climate, you’ll know that it’s a actually a sheep that’s spent a lot of time outdoors.

Google ” Shrek” the N.Z. Merino sheep that recently died after evading being sheared for 7 years by hiding in a cave. Bless his sheepish little heart.

As hair grows from the sheep, the scaly fibres of each strand point out in the same direction. Lanolin helps in keeping the hair slick which prevents the locking of those fibres. Most, or all, of the lanolin is removed from wool when processed. So when the sheep’s hair (wool) gets woven together, all of those strands and fibres point in different directions. When the woven wool gets wet, then dries, those opposite-pointing fibres latch onto eachother and lock closer together (pulling tighter) – as there is no lanolin to prevent the locking.

Yes I agree & why don’t chickens fricassee in the afternoon sun?

@crackerjacked

Actually it is a ‘gander’ specific avatar. That’s Marwyn, he likes to watch the sheep from the hot tub too and his wife has a serious sheep crush on one of the 4, she’s got it baaaad for that sheep. haha
And, I really DO get to count sheep to fall asleep, well, the same 4, over & over again. lol

Maybe because they are natural. :)

Thanks all – some mighty fine answers in there – especially @PluckyDog which is probably the exact answer to the question… I was hoping someone would point out that Sheep are biological and rain is rarely at 40 degrees centigrade – it’s even rarer to find rainfall with a spin cycle…

@crackerjacked Actually, cotton fabric will shrink in any water temperature. But, it does shrink more in hot water temperature. :)