If the player talks to him and says that he or she has seen the 'Thing', (which is actually just two penguins but he is mortally afraid of it, thinking it's a "shapeshifter") he will start to go on about grabbing chickens and running to the hills. In the end, the player will say that it is two penguins disguised as a sheep. He will ask the player if they have been "in the sun" too much, a refence to sun madness.
Fred also plays a role in One Small Favour where he is involved in obtaining chickens for that quest.
On 15 December 2009, the same day as the update to the Sheep Shearer quest, a symbol appeared next to his name in the right-click menu. The same symbol appears in the right click menu for Black sheep.
After the quest, you can go back to Farmer Fred and claim another 1940 coins, as a reward because the black wool 'sold exceptionally well'.
Also, after the facial update, lots of NPC characters have their faces appearing through their equipment, Fred was a victim of this glitchFile:Headfred.pngLook closely at Fred's hat, his face, goes through the middle..
The "Thing" Fred sees may be a reference to the 1950's novella Who Goes There?, or its 1982 movie adaption, The Thing. The novella features a shapeshifting alien called "the Thing" that causes paranoia within an Antarctic research camp, while Fred fears a shapeshifting monster disguised as a sheep.
