Pheasant thinks its a SHEEPDOG and helps round up herd of 270 sheep every morning
Farmer Chris Purdham has compared the brave bird's antics to the Hollywood movie Babe
A DELUDED pheasant is convinced it's a sheepdog and helps a farmer round up his huge herd every morning.
For the past 18 months, the game bird has helped bemused Cumbrian farmer, Chris Purdham and his dog, keep his 270 sheep in order.
The unnamed bird appears several times a day at Chris's Gamblesby farm while he does the rounds on his quad-bike checking on his fell sheep.
Chris, 33, said: "He's there first thing in the morning, and last thing at night, and even when I go down at times during the day to check on the sheep.
"He just appears when he hears my quad-bike."
The bird first joined Chris at work last year during his 2015 lambing season.
Chris, said: "He first started following me around the fields and down the lonning.
"Then one day he just started to round the sheep up. I couldn't believe what I was seeing at first, but I have got used to him now.
"It's definitely the same cock pheasant.
"After I've finished checking the sheep, we both go our own way to get our breakfast."
Chris posted a video online showing his new assistant rounding up sheep from one field through a farmgate to an adjoining one.
Since posting the video Chris has become an internet sensation, getting 2,000 hits a day on Facebook.
Chris said: "He even waits for a couple of seconds to make sure all the stragglers are through,"
"He's not even afraid of my sheepdog.
"They seem to have got used to each other, and the pheasant is definitely cock of the walk. He just goes where the sheep are."
And the bird’s antics reminds the farmer of the Hollywood movie Babe – in which a cute pig thinks it’s a sheepdog.
Chris said: "I've had a few friends comparing the pheasant with Babe."
"I have come in for a bit of ribbing from friends, but mostly people cannot believe their eyes.
"One friend said he needed a good dog, but I told him the bird wouldn't come cheap. A good dog like that is worth its weight in gold."
Steven Ivinson, commented on Facebook: "Reckon it would make two grand at Skipton Sheepdog sales."
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