Scientists use dog sh*t to protect crops from hungry sheep.

Photo: Flickr/Amanda Slater When farmers raise sheep near plant crops, it's not surprising that they would want to find ways to keep the sheep from eating everything. In this study, researchers tested chemical compounds that they thought would make good sheep repellents. Each compound was sprayed on corn, and then the corn was presented to sheep to see how much they would eat. What compounds did they test? Well, among other things, they tried artificial dog, pig, and lion sh*t smells, as well as "fetal fluids from sheep." Turns out that the dog poop was the most effective repellant, except for those sheep who had lost their sense of smell. Finally, a good use for all that dog poop on my sidewalk!Sheep food repellents: Efficacy of various products, habituation, and social facilitation. "The study of food repulsion in ungulates is of practical importance for controlling browsing damage to forest trees ...