tp钱包安卓|sheep

首页
sheep

tp钱包安卓|sheep

作者： tp钱包安卓

2024-03-13 04:20:54

Sheep - Wikipedia

Jump to content

Main menu

move to sidebar

hide

Navigation

Main pageContentsCurrent eventsRandom articleAbout WikipediaContact usDonate

Contribute

HelpLearn to editCommunity portalRecent changesUpload file

Create account

Personal tools

Create account Log in

Pages for logged out editors learn more

ContributionsTalk

Contents

move to sidebar

hide

(Top)

1History

2Characteristics

Toggle Characteristics subsection

2.1Comparison with goats

2.2Breeds

3Diet

Toggle Diet subsection

3.1Herbivory

3.2Grazing behavior

4Behavior

Toggle Behavior subsection

4.1Flock behavior

4.1.1Herding

4.2Dominance hierarchy

4.3Intelligence and learning ability

4.4Vocalisations

4.5Senses

5Reproduction

6Health

Toggle Health subsection

6.1Predators

7Economic importance

8As food

9In science

10In culture

Toggle In culture subsection

10.1Folklore and literature

10.2Religion

11See also

12References

13Sources

14External links

Toggle the table of contents

Sheep

195 languages

AcèhAfrikaansAlemannischአማርኛअंगिकाÆngliscالعربيةAragonésԱրեւմտահայերէնArmãneashtiঅসমীয়াAtikamekwअवधीAvañe'ẽАварAymar aruAzərbaycancaBamanankanবাংলাBân-lâm-gúБашҡортсаБеларускаяБеларуская (тарашкевіца)БългарскиBoarischབོད་ཡིགBosanskiBrezhonegБуряадCatalàЧӑвашлаČeštinaChiShonaChiTumbukaCymraegDagbanliDanskالدارجةDavvisámegiellaDeitschDeutschDiné bizaadEestiΕλληνικάEmiliàn e rumagnòlЭрзяньEspañolEsperantoEuskaraEʋegbeفارسیFiji HindiFøroysktFrançaisGaeilgeGaelgGàidhligGalego贛語گیلکی客家語/Hak-kâ-ngî한국어HausaՀայերենहिन्दीHrvatskiIdoIlokanoBahasa IndonesiaInterlinguaИронIsiXhosaIsiZuluÍslenskaItalianoעבריתJawaKabɩyɛಕನ್ನಡKapampanganქართულიकॉशुर / کٲشُرKaszëbscziҚазақшаKiswahiliKongoKotavaKreyòl ayisyenKurdîКыргызчаLadinЛаккуLatinaLatviešuЛезгиLietuviųLigureLimburgsLingálaLingua Franca NovaMagyarМакедонскиMalagasyമലയാളംMaltiमराठीمصرىمازِرونیBahasa MelayuMirandésМокшеньМонголမြန်မာဘာသာNederlandsNedersaksiesनेपालीनेपाल भाषा日本語НохчийнNordfriiskNorsk bokmålNorsk nynorskNouormandOccitanଓଡ଼ିଆOʻzbekcha / ўзбекчаਪੰਜਾਬੀپنجابیПерем комиPicardPiemontèisPlattdüütschPolskiPortuguêsRipoarischRomânăRuna SimiРусскийСаха тылаSakizayaGagana SamoaSängöᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤسرائیکیScotsShqipSicilianuසිංහලSimple EnglishسنڌيSlovenčinaSlovenščinaSoomaaligaکوردیСрпски / srpskiSrpskohrvatski / српскохрватскиSundaSuomiSvenskaTagalogதமிழ்Татарча / tatarçaၽႃႇသႃႇတႆး TayalతెలుగుไทยThuɔŋjäŋТоҷикӣTsetsêhestâheseತುಳುTürkçeTyapТыва дылУдмуртУкраїнськаاردوVènetoVepsän kel’Tiếng ViệtVolapükVõroWalonWayuunaiki文言West-VlamsWinaray吴语ייִדישYorùbá粵語ZazakiŽemaitėška中文ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ ⵜⴰⵏⴰⵡⴰⵢⵜ

Edit links

ArticleTalk

English

ReadView sourceView history

Tools

move to sidebar

hide

Actions

ReadView sourceView history

General

What links hereRelated changesUpload fileSpecial pagesPermanent linkPage informationCite this pageGet shortened URLDownload QR codeWikidata item

Print/export

Download as PDFPrintable version

In other projects

Wikimedia CommonsWikispeciesWikiquote

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Domesticated ruminant bred for meat, wool, and milk

This article is about the domesticated species of sheep. For other species, see Ovis. For other uses, see Sheep (disambiguation).

Domestic sheep

Conservation status

Domesticated

Scientific classification

Domain:

Eukaryota

Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Chordata

Class:

Mammalia

Order:

Artiodactyla

Family:

Bovidae

Subfamily:

Caprinae

Tribe:

Caprini

Genus:

Ovis

Species:

O. aries

Binomial name

Ovis ariesLinnaeus, 1758

Synonyms

Ovis guineensis Linnaeus, 1758

Ovis strepsiceros Linnaeus, 1758

Sheep (pl.: sheep) or domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term sheep can apply to other species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ewe (/juː/ yoo), an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a young sheep as a lamb.

Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center.[1] One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat (lamb, hogget or mutton) and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by shearing. In Commonwealth countries, ovine meat is called lamb when from younger animals and mutton when from older ones; in the United States, meat from both older and younger animals is usually called lamb. Sheep continue to be important for wool and meat today, and are also occasionally raised for pelts, as dairy animals, or as model organisms for science.

Sheep husbandry is practised throughout the majority of the inhabited world, and has been fundamental to many civilizations. In the modern era, Australia, New Zealand, the southern and central South American nations, and the British Isles are most closely associated with sheep production.

There is a large lexicon of unique terms for sheep husbandry which vary considerably by region and dialect. Use of the word sheep began in Middle English as a derivation of the Old English word scēap. A group of sheep is called a flock. Many other specific terms for the various life stages of sheep exist, generally related to lambing, shearing, and age.

Being a key animal in the history of farming, sheep have a deeply entrenched place in human culture, and are represented in much modern language and symbolism. As livestock, sheep are most often associated with pastoral, Arcadian imagery. Sheep figure in many mythologies—such as the Golden Fleece—and major religions, especially the Abrahamic traditions. In both ancient and modern religious ritual, sheep are used as sacrificial animals.

History

Main article: History of the domestic sheep

The exact line of descent from wild ancestors to domestic sheep is unclear.[2] The most common hypothesis states that Ovis aries is descended from the Asiatic (O. gmelini) species of mouflon; the European mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) is a direct descendant of this population.[3] Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated by humankind (although the domestication of dogs probably took place 10 to 20 thousand years earlier); the domestication date is estimated to fall between 11,000 and 9000 B.C in Mesopotamia[4][5][6][7] and possibly around 7000 BC in Mehrgarh in the Indus Valley.[8][9] The rearing of sheep for secondary products, and the resulting breed development, began in either southwest Asia or western Europe.[10] Initially, sheep were kept solely for meat, milk and skins. Archaeological evidence from statuary found at sites in Iran suggests that selection for woolly sheep may have begun around 6000 BC,[3][11] and the earliest woven wool garments have been dated to two to three thousand years later.[12]

Sheep husbandry spread quickly in Europe. Excavations show that in about 6000 BC, during the Neolithic period of prehistory, the Castelnovien people, living around Châteauneuf-les-Martigues near present-day Marseille in the south of France, were among the first in Europe to keep domestic sheep.[13] Practically from its inception, ancient Greek civilization relied on sheep as primary livestock, and were even said to name individual animals.[14] Ancient Romans kept sheep on a wide scale, and were an important agent in the spread of sheep raising. Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History (Naturalis Historia), speaks at length about sheep and wool.[15] European colonists spread the practice to the New World from 1493 onwards.[16][17]

Characteristics

Domestic sheep are relatively small ruminants, usually with a crimped hair called wool and often with horns forming a lateral spiral. They differ from their wild relatives and ancestors in several respects, having become uniquely neotenic as a result of selective breeding by humans.[18][19] A few primitive breeds of sheep retain some of the characteristics of their wild cousins, such as short tails. Depending on breed, domestic sheep may have no horns at all (i.e. polled), or horns in both sexes, or in males only. Most horned breeds have a single pair, but a few breeds may have several.[16]Sheep in Turkmenistan

Another trait unique to domestic sheep as compared to wild ovines is their wide variation in color. Wild sheep are largely variations of brown hues, and variation within species is extremely limited. Colors of domestic sheep range from pure white to dark chocolate brown, and even spotted or piebald.[20][21] Sheep keepers also sometimes artificially paint "smit marks" onto their sheep in any pattern or color for identification.[22] Selection for easily dyeable white fleeces began early in sheep domestication, and as white wool is a dominant trait it spread quickly. However, colored sheep do appear in many modern breeds, and may even appear as a recessive trait in white flocks.[20][21] While white wool is desirable for large commercial markets, there is a niche market for colored fleeces, mostly for handspinning.[23] The nature of the fleece varies widely among the breeds, from dense and highly crimped, to long and hairlike. There is variation of wool type and quality even among members of the same flock, so wool classing is a step in the commercial processing of the fibre.

Suffolks are a medium wool, black-faced breed of meat sheep that make up 60% of the sheep population in the U.S.[24]

Depending on breed, sheep show a range of heights and weights. Their rate of growth and mature weight is a heritable trait that is often selected for in breeding.[24] Ewes typically weigh between 45 and 100 kilograms (100 and 220 lb), and rams between 45 and 160 kilograms (100 and 350 lb).[25] When all deciduous teeth have erupted, the sheep has 20 teeth.[26] Mature sheep have 32 teeth. As with other ruminants, the front teeth in the lower jaw bite against a hard, toothless pad in the upper jaw. These are used to pick off vegetation, then the rear teeth grind it before it is swallowed. There are eight lower front teeth in ruminants, but there is some disagreement as to whether these are eight incisors, or six incisors and two incisor-shaped canines. This means that the dental formula for sheep is either 0.0.3.34.0.3.3 or 0.0.3.33.1.3.3 [27] There is a large diastema between the incisors and the molars.

In the first few years of life one can calculate the age of sheep from their front teeth, as a pair of milk teeth is replaced by larger adult teeth each year, the full set of eight adult front teeth being complete at about four years of age. The front teeth are then gradually lost as sheep age, making it harder for them to feed and hindering the health and productivity of the animal. For this reason, domestic sheep on normal pasture begin to slowly decline from four years on, and the life expectancy of a sheep is 10 to 12 years, though some sheep may live as long as 20 years.[16][28][29] SkullSheep have good hearing, and are sensitive to noise when being handled.[30] Sheep have horizontal slit-shaped pupils, with excellent peripheral vision; with visual fields of about 270° to 320°, sheep can see behind themselves without turning their heads.[23][31] Many breeds have only short hair on the face, and some have facial wool (if any) confined to the poll and or the area of the mandibular angle; the wide angles of peripheral vision apply to these breeds. A few breeds tend to have considerable wool on the face; for some individuals of these breeds, peripheral vision may be greatly reduced by "wool blindness", unless recently shorn about the face.[32] Sheep have poor depth perception; shadows and dips in the ground may cause sheep to baulk. In general, sheep have a tendency to move out of the dark and into well-lit areas,[33] and prefer to move uphill when disturbed. Sheep also have an excellent sense of smell, and, like all species of their genus, have scent glands just in front of the eyes, and interdigitally on the feet. The purpose of these glands is uncertain,[34] but those on the face may be used in breeding behaviors.[24] The foot glands might also be related to reproduction,[24] but alternative functions, such as secretion of a waste product or a scent marker to help lost sheep find their flock, have also been proposed.[34]

Comparison with goats

Sheep and goats are closely related: both are in the subfamily Caprinae. However, they are separate species, so hybrids rarely occur and are always infertile. A hybrid of a ewe and a buck (a male goat) is called a sheep-goat hybrid, known as geep. Visual differences between sheep and goats include the beard of goats and divided upper lip of sheep. Sheep tails also hang down, even when short or docked, while the short tails of goats are held upwards. Also, sheep breeds are often naturally polled (either in both sexes or just in the female), while naturally polled goats are rare (though many are polled artificially). Males of the two species differ in that buck goats acquire a unique and strong odor during the rut, whereas rams do not.[29]

Breeds

See also: List of sheep breeds

Sheep being judged for adherence to their breed standard

The domestic sheep is a multi-purpose animal, and the more than 200 breeds now in existence were created to serve these diverse purposes.[16][35] Some sources give a count of a thousand or more breeds,[36][37] but these numbers cannot be verified, according to some sources.[23][29] However, several hundred breeds of sheep have been identified by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), with the estimated number varying somewhat from time to time: e.g. 863 breeds as of 1993,[38] 1314 breeds as of 1995[39] and 1229 breeds as of 2006.[40] (These numbers exclude extinct breeds, which are also tallied by the FAO.) For the purpose of such tallies, the FAO definition of a breed is "either a subspecific group of domestic livestock with definable and identifiable external characteristics that enable it to be separated by visual appraisal from other similarly defined groups within the same species or a group for which geographical and/or cultural separation from phenotypically similar groups has led to acceptance of its separate identity."[40] Almost all sheep are classified as being best suited to furnishing a certain product: wool, meat, milk, hides, or a combination in a dual-purpose breed. Other features used when classifying sheep include face color (generally white or black), tail length, presence or lack of horns, and the topography for which the breed has been developed. This last point is especially stressed in the UK, where breeds are described as either upland (hill or mountain) or lowland breeds.[33] A sheep may also be of a fat-tailed type, which is a dual-purpose sheep common in Africa and Asia with larger deposits of fat within and around its tail.

The Barbados Blackbelly is a hair sheep breed of Caribbean origin.

Breeds are often categorized by the type of their wool. Fine wool breeds are those that have wool of great crimp and density, which are preferred for textiles. Most of these were derived from Merino sheep, and the breed continues to dominate the world sheep industry. Downs breeds have wool between the extremes, and are typically fast-growing meat and ram breeds with dark faces.[41] Some major medium wool breeds, such as the Corriedale, are dual-purpose crosses of long and fine-wooled breeds and were created for high-production commercial flocks. Long wool breeds are the largest of sheep, with long wool and a slow rate of growth. Long wool sheep are most valued for crossbreeding to improve the attributes of other sheep types. For example: the American Columbia breed was developed by crossing Lincoln rams (a long wool breed) with fine-wooled Rambouillet ewes.

Coarse or carpet wool sheep are those with a medium to long length wool of characteristic coarseness. Breeds traditionally used for carpet wool show great variability, but the chief requirement is a wool that will not break down under heavy use (as would that of the finer breeds). As the demand for carpet-quality wool declines, some breeders of this type of sheep are attempting to use a few of these traditional breeds for alternative purposes. Others have always been primarily meat-class sheep.[42]

A flock of Australian White hair sheep in Mudgegonga, Victoria, Australia. This is a new breed of hair sheep suited for the hot and varied Australian climate.

A minor class of sheep are the dairy breeds. Dual-purpose breeds that may primarily be meat or wool sheep are often used secondarily as milking animals, but there are a few breeds that are predominantly used for milking. These sheep produce a higher quantity of milk and have slightly longer lactation curves.[43] In the quality of their milk, the fat and protein content percentages of dairy sheep vary from non-dairy breeds, but lactose content does not.[44]

A last group of sheep breeds is that of fur or hair sheep, which do not grow wool at all. Hair sheep are similar to the early domesticated sheep kept before woolly breeds were developed, and are raised for meat and pelts. Some modern breeds of hair sheep, such as the Dorper, result from crosses between wool and hair breeds. For meat and hide producers, hair sheep are cheaper to keep, as they do not need shearing.[42] Hair sheep are also more resistant to parasites and hot weather.[29]

With the modern rise of corporate agribusiness and the decline of localized family farms, many breeds of sheep are in danger of extinction. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust of the UK lists 22 native breeds as having only 3,000 registered animals (each), and The Livestock Conservancy lists 14 as either "critical" or "threatened".[45][46][47] Preferences for breeds with uniform characteristics and fast growth have pushed heritage (or heirloom) breeds to the margins of the sheep industry.[42] Those that remain are maintained through the efforts of conservation organizations, breed registries, and individual farmers dedicated to their preservation.

Diet

Herbivory

Ruminant system of a sheep

Sheep are herbivorous. Most breeds prefer to graze on grass and other short roughage, avoiding the taller woody parts of plants that goats readily consume.[48] Both sheep and goats use their lips and tongues to select parts of the plant that are easier to digest or higher in nutrition.[48] Sheep, however, graze well in monoculture pastures where most goats fare poorly.[48]

Like all ruminants, sheep have a complex digestive system composed of four chambers, allowing them to break down cellulose from stems, leaves, and seed hulls into simpler carbohydrates. When sheep graze, vegetation is chewed into a mass called a bolus, which is then passed into the rumen, via the reticulum. The rumen is a 19- to 38-liter (5 to 10 gallon) organ in which feed is fermented.[49] The fermenting organisms include bacteria, fungi, and protozoa.[50] (Other important rumen organisms include some archaea, which produce methane from carbon dioxide.[51]) The bolus is periodically regurgitated back to the mouth as cud for additional chewing and salivation.[49] After fermentation in the rumen, feed passes into the reticulum and the omasum; special feeds such as grains may bypass the rumen altogether. After the first three chambers, food moves into the abomasum for final digestion before processing by the intestines. The abomasum is the only one of the four chambers analogous to the human stomach, and is sometimes called the "true stomach".[52]

Other than forage, the other staple feed for sheep is hay, often during the winter months. The ability to thrive solely on pasture (even without hay) varies with breed, but all sheep can survive on this diet.[42] Also included in some sheep's diets are minerals, either in a trace mix or in licks. Feed provided to sheep must be specially formulated, as most cattle, poultry, pig, and even some goat feeds contain levels of copper that are lethal to sheep.[23] The same danger applies to mineral supplements such as salt licks.[53]

Grazing behavior

Rotational grazing allows farmers to avoid overgrazing.

Sheep follow a diurnal pattern of activity, feeding from dawn to dusk, stopping sporadically to rest and chew their cud. Ideal pasture for sheep is not lawnlike grass, but an array of grasses, legumes and forbs.[54] Types of land where sheep are raised vary widely, from pastures that are seeded and improved intentionally to rough, native lands. Common plants toxic to sheep are present in most of the world, and include (but are not limited to) cherry, some oaks and acorns, tomato, yew, rhubarb, potato, and rhododendron.[55]

Sheep are largely grazing herbivores, unlike browsing animals such as goats and deer that prefer taller foliage. With a much narrower face, sheep crop plants very close to the ground and can overgraze a pasture much faster than cattle.[29] For this reason, many shepherds use managed intensive rotational grazing, where a flock is rotated through multiple pastures, giving plants time to recover.[29][33] Paradoxically, sheep can both cause and solve the spread of invasive plant species. By disturbing the natural state of pasture, sheep and other livestock can pave the way for invasive plants. However, sheep also prefer to eat invasives such as cheatgrass, leafy spurge, kudzu and spotted knapweed over native species such as sagebrush, making grazing sheep effective for conservation grazing.[56] Research conducted in Imperial County, California compared lamb grazing with herbicides for weed control in seedling alfalfa fields. Three trials demonstrated that grazing lambs were just as effective as herbicides in controlling winter weeds. Entomologists also compared grazing lambs to insecticides for insect control in winter alfalfa. In this trial, lambs provided insect control as effectively as insecticides.[57]

Behavior

Flock behavior

Sheep showing flocking behavior during a sheepdog trial

Shepherd herding a flock in China

Sheep are flock animals and strongly gregarious; much sheep behavior can be understood on the basis of these tendencies. The dominance hierarchy of sheep and their natural inclination to follow a leader to new pastures were the pivotal factors in sheep being one of the first domesticated livestock species.[58] Furthermore, in contrast to the red deer and gazelle (two other ungulates of primary importance to meat production in prehistoric times), sheep do not defend territories although they do form home ranges.[59] All sheep have a tendency to congregate close to other members of a flock, although this behavior varies with breed,[30] and sheep can become stressed when separated from their flock members.[24] During flocking, sheep have a strong tendency to follow, and a leader may simply be the first individual to move. Relationships in flocks tend to be closest among related sheep: in mixed-breed flocks, subgroups of the same breed tend to form, and a ewe and her direct descendants often move as a unit within large flocks.[23] Sheep can become hefted to one particular local pasture (heft) so they do not roam freely in unfenced landscapes. Lambs learn the heft from ewes and if whole flocks are culled it must be retaught to the replacement animals.[24][60]

Flock behaviour in sheep is generally only exhibited in groups of four or more sheep; fewer sheep may not react as expected when alone or with few other sheep.[23] Being a prey species, the primary defense mechanism of sheep is to flee from danger when their flight zone is entered. Cornered sheep may charge and butt, or threaten by hoof stamping and adopting an aggressive posture. This is particularly true for ewes with newborn lambs.[23]

In regions where sheep have no natural predators, none of the native breeds of sheep exhibit a strong flocking behavior.[29]

Herding

Escaped sheep being led back to pasture with the enticement of food. This method of moving sheep works best with smaller flocks.

Farmers exploit flocking behavior to keep sheep together on unfenced pastures such as hill farming, and to move them more easily. For this purpose shepherds may use herding dogs in this effort, with a highly bred herding ability. Sheep are food-oriented, and association of humans with regular feeding often results in sheep soliciting people for food.[61] Those who are moving sheep may exploit this behavior by leading sheep with buckets of feed.[62][63]

Dominance hierarchy

Sheep establish a dominance hierarchy through fighting, threats and competitiveness. Dominant animals are inclined to be more aggressive with other sheep, and usually feed first at troughs.[64] Primarily among rams, horn size is a factor in the flock hierarchy.[65] Rams with different size horns may be less inclined to fight to establish the dominance order, while rams with similarly sized horns are more so.[65] Merinos have an almost linear hierarchy whereas there is a less rigid structure in Border Leicesters when a competitive feeding situation arises.[66]

In sheep, position in a moving flock is highly correlated with social dominance, but there is no definitive study to show consistent voluntary leadership by an individual sheep.[66]

Intelligence and learning ability

Sheep are frequently thought of as unintelligent animals.[67] Their flocking behavior and quickness to flee and panic can make shepherding a difficult endeavor for the uninitiated. Despite these perceptions, a University of Illinois monograph on sheep reported their intelligence to be just below that of pigs and on par with that of cattle.[23] In a study published in Nature in 2001, Kenneth M. Kendrick and others reported; "Sheep recognize and are attracted to individual sheep and humans by their faces, as they possess similar specialized neural systems in the temporal and frontal lobes... individual sheep can remember 50 other different sheep faces for over 2 years".[68][69] In addition to long-term facial recognition of individuals, sheep can also differentiate emotional states through facial characteristics.[68][69] If worked with patiently, sheep may learn their names, and many sheep are trained to be led by halter for showing and other purposes.[23] Sheep have also responded well to clicker training.[23] Sheep have been used as pack animals; Tibetan nomads distribute baggage equally throughout a flock as it is herded between living sites.[23]

It has been reported that some sheep have apparently shown problem-solving abilities; a flock in West Yorkshire, England allegedly found a way to get over cattle grids by rolling on their backs, although documentation of this has relied on anecdotal accounts.[70]

Vocalisations

"Baa Baa" redirects here. For the nursery rhyme, see Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.

A sheep bleating

A sheep bleat

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Sounds made by domestic sheep include bleats, grunts, rumbles and snorts. Bleating ("baaing") is used mostly for contact communication, especially between dam and lambs, but also at times between other flock members.[71] The bleats of individual sheep are distinctive, enabling the ewe and her lambs to recognize each other's vocalizations.[72] Vocal communication between lambs and their dam declines to a very low level within several weeks after parturition.[71] A variety of bleats may be heard, depending on sheep age and circumstances. Apart from contact communication, bleating may signal distress, frustration or impatience; however, sheep are usually silent when in pain. Isolation commonly prompts bleating by sheep.[73] Pregnant ewes may grunt when in labor.[74] Rumbling sounds are made by the ram during courting; somewhat similar rumbling sounds may be made by the ewe,[71] especially when with her neonate lambs. A snort (explosive exhalation through the nostrils) may signal aggression or a warning,[71][75] and is often elicited from startled sheep.[76]

Senses

Welsh Mountain sheep

Lamb

In sheep breeds lacking facial wool, the visual field is wide. In 10 sheep (Cambridge, Lleyn and Welsh Mountain breeds, which lack facial wool), the visual field ranged from 298° to 325°, averaging 313.1°, with binocular overlap ranging from 44.5° to 74°, averaging 61.7°.[77] In some breeds, unshorn facial wool can limit the visual field; in some individuals, this may be enough to cause "wool blindness". In 60 Merinos, visual fields ranged from 219.1° to 303.0°, averaging 269.9°, and the binocular field ranged from 8.9° to 77.7°, averaging 47.5°; 36% of the measurements were limited by wool,[78] although photographs of the experiments indicate that only limited facial wool regrowth had occurred since shearing. In addition to facial wool (in some breeds), visual field limitations can include ears and (in some breeds) horns,[78] so the visual field can be extended by tilting the head. Sheep eyes exhibit very low hyperopia and little astigmatism. Such visual characteristics are likely to produce a well-focused retinal image of objects in both the middle and long distance.[77] Because sheep eyes have no accommodation, one might expect the image of very near objects to be blurred, but a rather clear near image could be provided by the tapetum and large retinal image of the sheep's eye, and adequate close vision may occur at muzzle length.[77] Good depth perception, inferred from the sheep's sure-footedness, was confirmed in "visual cliff" experiments;[78][79] behavioral responses indicating depth perception are seen in lambs at one day old.[80] Sheep are thought to have colour vision, and can distinguish between a variety of colours: black, red, brown, green, yellow and white.[81] Sight is a vital part of sheep communication, and when grazing, they maintain visual contact with each other.[82] Each sheep lifts its head upwards to check the position of other sheep in the flock. This constant monitoring is probably what keeps the sheep in a flock as they move along grazing. Sheep become stressed when isolated; this stress is reduced if they are provided with a mirror, indicating that the sight of other sheep reduces stress.[83]

Taste is the most important sense in sheep, establishing forage preferences, with sweet and sour plants being preferred and bitter plants being more commonly rejected. Touch and sight are also important in relation to specific plant characteristics, such as succulence and growth form.[84]

The ram uses his vomeronasal organ (sometimes called the Jacobson's organ) to sense the pheromones of ewes and detect when they are in estrus.[85] The ewe uses her vomeronasal organ for early recognition of her neonate lamb.[86]

Reproduction

Main article: Domestic sheep reproduction

The second of twins being born

Sheep follow a similar reproductive strategy to other herd animals. A group of ewes is generally mated by a single ram, who has either been chosen by a breeder or (in feral populations) has established dominance through physical contest with other rams.[42] Most sheep are seasonal breeders, although some are able to breed year-round.[42] Ewes generally reach sexual maturity at six to eight months old, and rams generally at four to six months.[42] However, there are exceptions. For example, Finnsheep ewe lambs may reach puberty as early as 3 to 4 months, and Merino ewes sometimes reach puberty at 18 to 20 months.[87] Ewes have estrus cycles about every 17 days,[88] during which they emit a scent and indicate readiness through physical displays towards rams.

In feral sheep, rams may fight during the rut to determine which individuals may mate with ewes. Rams, especially unfamiliar ones, will also fight outside the breeding period to establish dominance; rams can kill one another if allowed to mix freely.[42] During the rut, even usually friendly rams may become aggressive towards humans due to increases in their hormone levels.[24]

After mating, sheep have a gestation period of about five months,[89] and normal labor takes one to three hours.[90] Although some breeds regularly throw larger litters of lambs, most produce single or twin lambs.[24][91] During or soon after labor, ewes and lambs may be confined to small lambing jugs,[92] small pens designed to aid both careful observation of ewes and to cement the bond between them and their lambs.[33][42]

A lamb's first steps

Ovine obstetrics can be problematic. By selectively breeding ewes that produce multiple offspring with higher birth weights for generations, sheep producers have inadvertently caused some domestic sheep to have difficulty lambing; balancing ease of lambing with high productivity is one of the dilemmas of sheep breeding.[93] In the case of any such problems, those present at lambing may assist the ewe by extracting or repositioning lambs.[42] After the birth, ewes ideally break the amniotic sac (if it is not broken during labor), and begin licking clean the lamb.[42] Most lambs will begin standing within an hour of birth.[42] In normal situations, lambs nurse after standing, receiving vital colostrum milk. Lambs that either fail to nurse or are rejected by the ewe require help to survive, such as bottle-feeding or fostering by another ewe.[94]

Most lambs begin life being born outdoors. After lambs are several weeks old, lamb marking (ear tagging, docking, mulesing, and castrating) is carried out.[42] Vaccinations are usually carried out at this point as well. Ear tags with numbers are attached, or ear marks are applied, for ease of later identification of sheep. Docking and castration are commonly done after 24 hours (to avoid interference with maternal bonding and consumption of colostrum) and are often done not later than one week after birth, to minimize pain, stress, recovery time and complications.[95][96] The first course of vaccinations (commonly anti-clostridial) is commonly given at an age of about 10 to 12 weeks; i.e. when the concentration of maternal antibodies passively acquired via colostrum is expected to have fallen low enough to permit development of active immunity.[97][98][99] Ewes are often revaccinated annually about 3 weeks before lambing, to provide high antibody concentrations in colostrum during the first several hours after lambing.[100] Ram lambs that will either be slaughtered or separated from ewes before sexual maturity are not usually castrated.[33] Objections to all these procedures have been raised by animal rights groups, but farmers defend them by saying they save money, and inflict only temporary pain.[24][42]

Sheep are the only species of mammal except for humans which exhibit exclusive homosexual behavior.[101][102][103] About 10% of rams refuse to mate with ewes but readily mate with other rams,[102] and thirty percent of all rams demonstrate at least some homosexual behavior.[104][105] Additionally, a small number of females that were accompanied by a male fetus in utero (i.e. as fraternal twins) are freemartins (female animals that are behaviorally masculine and lack functioning ovaries).[106][107][108][109]

Health

A veterinarian draws blood to test for resistance to scrapie.

Sheep may fall victim to poisons, infectious diseases, and physical injuries. As a prey species, a sheep's system is adapted to hide the obvious signs of illness, to prevent being targeted by predators.[24] However, some signs of ill health are obvious, with sick sheep eating little, vocalizing excessively, and being generally listless.[110] Throughout history, much of the money and labor of sheep husbandry has aimed to prevent sheep ailments. Historically, shepherds often created remedies by experimentation on the farm. In some developed countries, including the United States, sheep lack the economic importance for drug companies to perform expensive clinical trials required to approve more than a relatively limited number of drugs for ovine use.[111] However, extra-label drug use in sheep production is permitted in many jurisdictions, subject to certain restrictions. In the US, for example, regulations governing extra-label drug use in animals are found in 21 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Part 530.[112] In the 20th and 21st centuries, a minority of sheep owners have turned to alternative treatments such as homeopathy, herbalism and even traditional Chinese medicine to treat sheep veterinary problems.[23][24] Despite some favorable anecdotal evidence, the effectiveness of alternative veterinary medicine has been met with skepticism in scientific journals.[23][24][113] The need for traditional anti-parasite drugs and antibiotics is widespread, and is the main impediment to certified organic farming with sheep.[42]

Many breeders take a variety of preventive measures to ward off problems. The first is to ensure all sheep are healthy when purchased. Many buyers avoid outlets known to be clearing houses for animals culled from healthy flocks as either sick or simply inferior.[24] This can also mean maintaining a closed flock, and quarantining new sheep for a month. Two fundamental preventive programs are maintaining good nutrition and reducing stress in the sheep. Restraint, isolation, loud noises, novel situations, pain, heat, extreme cold, fatigue and other stressors can lead to secretion of cortisol, a stress hormone, in amounts that may indicate welfare problems.[114][115][116][117] Excessive stress can compromise the immune system.[117] "Shipping fever" (pneumonic mannheimiosis, formerly called pasteurellosis) is a disease of particular concern, that can occur as a result of stress, notably during transport and (or) handling.[118][119] Pain, fear and several other stressors can cause secretion of epinephrine (adrenaline). Considerable epinephrine secretion in the final days before slaughter can adversely affect meat quality (by causing glycogenolysis, removing the substrate for normal post-slaughter acidification of meat) and result in meat becoming more susceptible to colonization by spoilage bacteria.[115] Because of such issues, low-stress handling is essential in sheep management. Avoiding poisoning is also important; common poisons are pesticide sprays, inorganic fertilizer, motor oil, as well as radiator coolant containing ethylene glycol.[120]

A sheep infected with orf, a disease transmittable to humans through skin contact

Common forms of preventive medication for sheep are vaccinations and treatments for parasites. Both external and internal parasites are the most prevalent malady in sheep, and are either fatal, or reduce the productivity of flocks.[24] Worms are the most common internal parasites. They are ingested during grazing, incubate within the sheep, and are expelled through the digestive system (beginning the cycle again). Oral anti-parasitic medicines, known as drenches, are given to a flock to treat worms, sometimes after worm eggs in the feces has been counted to assess infestation levels. Afterwards, sheep may be moved to a new pasture to avoid ingesting the same parasites.[33] External sheep parasites include: lice (for different parts of the body), sheep keds, nose bots, sheep itch mites, and maggots. Keds are blood-sucking parasites that cause general malnutrition and decreased productivity, but are not fatal. Maggots are those of the bot fly and the blow-fly, commonly Lucilia sericata or its relative L. cuprina. Fly maggots cause the extremely destructive condition of flystrike. Flies lay their eggs in wounds or wet, manure-soiled wool; when the maggots hatch they burrow into a sheep's flesh, eventually causing death if untreated. In addition to other treatments, crutching (shearing wool from a sheep's rump) is a common preventive method. Some countries allow mulesing, a practice that involves stripping away the skin on the rump to prevent fly-strike, normally performed when the sheep is a lamb.[121][122] Nose bots are fly larvae that inhabit a sheep's sinuses, causing breathing difficulties and discomfort. Common signs are a discharge from the nasal passage, sneezing, and frantic movement such as head shaking. External parasites may be controlled through the use of backliners, sprays or immersive sheep dips.[24]

An Uda ram, Nigeria

A wide array of bacterial and viral diseases affect sheep. Diseases of the hoof, such as foot rot and foot scald may occur, and are treated with footbaths and other remedies. Foot rot is present in over 97% of flocks in the UK.[123] These painful conditions cause lameness and hinder feeding. Ovine Johne's disease is a wasting disease that affects young sheep. Bluetongue disease is an insect-borne illness causing fever and inflammation of the mucous membranes. Ovine rinderpest (or peste des petits ruminants) is a highly contagious and often fatal viral disease affecting sheep and goats. Sheep may also be affected by primary[124] or secondary photosensitization. Tetanus can also afflict sheep through wounds from shearing, docking, castration, or vaccination. The organism also can be introduced into the reproductive tract by unsanitary humans who assist ewes during lambing.[125]

A few sheep conditions are transmissible to humans. Orf (also known as scabby mouth, contagious ecthyma or soremouth) is a skin disease leaving lesions that is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact. Cutaneous anthrax is also called woolsorter's disease, as the spores can be transmitted in unwashed wool. More seriously, the organisms that can cause spontaneous enzootic abortion in sheep are easily transmitted to pregnant women. Also of concern are the prion disease scrapie and the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), as both can devastate flocks. The latter poses a slight risk to humans. During the 2001 FMD pandemic in the UK, hundreds of sheep were culled and some rare British breeds were at risk of extinction due to this.[24]

Of the 600,300 sheep lost to the US economy in 2004, 37.3% were lost to predators, while 26.5% were lost to some form of disease. Poisoning accounted for 1.7% of non-productive deaths.[126]

Predators

Main article: Domestic sheep predation

A lamb being attacked by coyotes with a bite to the throat

Other than parasites and disease, predation is a threat to sheep and the profitability of sheep raising. Sheep have little ability to defend themselves, compared with other species kept as livestock. Even if sheep survive an attack, they may die from their injuries or simply from panic.[24] However, the impact of predation varies dramatically with region. In Africa, Australia, the Americas, and parts of Europe and Asia predators are a serious problem. In the United States, for instance, over one third of sheep deaths in 2004 were caused by predation.[126] In contrast, other nations are virtually devoid of sheep predators, particularly islands known for extensive sheep husbandry.[24] Worldwide, canids—including the domestic dog—are responsible for most sheep deaths.[127][128][129] Other animals that occasionally prey on sheep include: felines, bears, birds of prey, ravens and feral hogs.[126][130]

Sheep producers have used a wide variety of measures to combat predation. Pre-modern shepherds used their own presence, livestock guardian dogs, and protective structures such as barns and fencing. Fencing (both regular and electric), penning sheep at night and lambing indoors all continue to be widely used.[42] More modern shepherds used guns, traps, and poisons to kill predators,[131] causing significant decreases in predator populations. In the wake of the environmental and conservation movements, the use of these methods now usually falls under the purview of specially designated government agencies in most developed countries.[132]

The 1970s saw a resurgence in the use of livestock guardian dogs and the development of new methods of predator control by sheep producers, many of them non-lethal.[33] Donkeys and guard llamas have been used since the 1980s in sheep operations, using the same basic principle as livestock guardian dogs.[24] Interspecific pasturing, usually with larger livestock such as cattle or horses, may help to deter predators, even if such species do not actively guard sheep.[42] In addition to animal guardians, contemporary sheep operations may use non-lethal predator deterrents such as motion-activated lights and noisy alarms.[24]

Economic importance

Main article: Agricultural economics

Global sheep stockin 2019Number in millions1. China163.5 (13.19%)2. India74.3 (5.99%)3. Australia65.8 (5.31%)4. Nigeria46.9 (3.78%)5. Iran41.3 (3.33%)6. Sudan40.9 (3.3%)7. Chad35.9 (2.9%)8. Turkey35.2 (2.84%)9. United Kingdom33.6 (2.71%)10. Mongolia32.3 (2.61%)World total1,239.8Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Shorn sheep for sale, Kashgar market, 2011

Sheep are an important part of the global agricultural economy. However, their once vital status has been largely replaced by other livestock species, especially the pig, chicken, and cow.[33] China, Australia, India, and Iran have the largest modern flocks, and serve both local and exportation needs for wool and mutton.[133] Other countries such as New Zealand have smaller flocks but retain a large international economic impact due to their export of sheep products. Sheep also play a major role in many local economies, which may be niche markets focused on organic or sustainable agriculture and local food customers.[23][134] Especially in developing countries, such flocks may be a part of subsistence agriculture rather than a system of trade. Sheep themselves may be a medium of trade in barter economies.[23]

Wool supplied by Australian farmers to dealers (tonnes/quarter) has been in decline since 1990.

Domestic sheep provide a wide array of raw materials. Wool was one of the first textiles, although in the late 20th century wool prices began to fall dramatically as the result of the popularity and cheap prices for synthetic fabrics.[23] For many sheep owners, the cost of shearing is greater than the possible profit from the fleece, making subsisting on wool production alone practically impossible without farm subsidies.[23] Fleeces are used as material in making alternative products such as wool insulation.[135] In the 21st century, the sale of meat is the most profitable enterprise in the sheep industry, even though far less sheep meat is consumed than chicken, pork or beef.[33]

Sheepskin is likewise used for making clothes, footwear, rugs, and other products. Byproducts from the slaughter of sheep are also of value: sheep tallow can be used in candle and soap making, sheep bone and cartilage has been used to furnish carved items such as dice and buttons as well as rendered glue and gelatin.[136] Sheep intestine can be formed into sausage casings, and lamb intestine has been formed into surgical sutures, as well as strings for musical instruments and tennis rackets.[16] Sheep droppings, which are high in cellulose, have even been sterilized and mixed with traditional pulp materials to make paper.[137] Of all sheep byproducts, perhaps the most valuable is lanolin: the waterproof, fatty substance found naturally in sheep's wool and used as a base for innumerable cosmetics and other products.[16]

Some farmers who keep sheep also make a profit from live sheep. Providing lambs for youth programs such as 4-H and competition at agricultural shows is often a dependable avenue for the sale of sheep.[138] Farmers may also choose to focus on a particular breed of sheep in order to sell registered purebred animals, as well as provide a ram rental service for breeding.[139] A new option for deriving profit from live sheep is the rental of flocks for grazing; these "mowing services" are hired in order to keep unwanted vegetation down in public spaces and to lessen fire hazard.[140]

Despite the falling demand and price for sheep products in many markets, sheep have distinct economic advantages when compared with other livestock. They do not require expensive housing,[141] such as that used in the intensive farming of chickens or pigs. They are an efficient use of land; roughly six sheep can be kept on the amount that would suffice for a single cow or horse.[24][142] Sheep can also consume plants, such as noxious weeds, that most other animals will not touch, and produce more young at a faster rate.[143] Also, in contrast to most livestock species, the cost of raising sheep is not necessarily tied to the price of feed crops such as grain, soybeans and corn.[144] Combined with the lower cost of quality sheep, all these factors combine to equal a lower overhead for sheep producers, thus entailing a higher profitability potential for the small farmer.[144] Sheep are especially beneficial for independent producers, including family farms with limited resources, as the sheep industry is one of the few types of animal agriculture that has not been vertically integrated by agribusiness.[145] However, small flocks, from 10 to 50 ewes, often are not profitable because they tend to be poorly managed. The primary reason is that mechanization is not feasible, so return per hour of labor is not maximized. Small farm flocks generally are used simply to control weeds on irrigation ditches or maintained as a hobby.[146]

As food

Main articles: Lamb and mutton and Sheep milk

See also: Sheep milk cheese, List of sheep milk cheeses, Category:Sheep's-milk cheeses, and Sheep's trotters

Shoulder of lamb

Sheep have the second highest greenhouse gas emissions intensity of any agricultural commodity.

Sheep meat and milk were one of the earliest staple proteins consumed by human civilization after the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture.[24] Sheep meat prepared for food is known as either mutton or lamb, and approximately 540 million sheep are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.[147] "Mutton" is derived from the Old French moton, which was the word for sheep used by the Anglo-Norman rulers of much of the British Isles in the Middle Ages. This became the name for sheep meat in English, while the Old English word sceap was kept for the live animal.[148] Throughout modern history, "mutton" has been limited to the meat of mature sheep usually at least two years of age; "lamb" is used for that of immature sheep less than a year.[149][150][151]

In the 21st century, the nations with the highest consumption of sheep meat are the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Uruguay, the United Kingdom and Ireland.[23] These countries eat 14–40 lbs (3–18 kg) of sheep meat per capita, per annum.[23][151] Sheep meat is also popular in France, Africa (especially the Arab world), the Caribbean, the rest of the Middle East, India, and parts of China.[151] This often reflects a history of sheep production. In these countries in particular, dishes comprising alternative cuts and offal may be popular or traditional. Sheep testicles—called animelles or lamb fries—are considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. Perhaps the most unusual dish of sheep meat is the Scottish haggis, composed of various sheep innards cooked along with oatmeal and chopped onions inside its stomach.[152] In comparison, countries such as the U.S. consume only a pound or less (under 0.5 kg), with Americans eating 50 pounds (22 kg) of pork and 65 pounds (29 kg) of beef.[151] In addition, such countries rarely eat mutton, and may favor the more expensive cuts of lamb: mostly lamb chops and leg of lamb.[23]

Though sheep's milk may be drunk rarely in fresh form,[153] today it is used predominantly in cheese and yogurt making. Sheep have only two teats, and produce a far smaller volume of milk than cows.[24] However, as sheep's milk contains far more fat, solids, and minerals than cow's milk, it is ideal for the cheese-making process.[44] It also resists contamination during cooling better because of its much higher calcium content.[44] Well-known cheeses made from sheep milk include the feta of Bulgaria and Greece, Roquefort of France, Manchego from Spain, the pecorino romano (the Italian word for "sheep" is pecore) and ricotta of Italy. Yogurts, especially some forms of strained yogurt, may also be made from sheep milk.[154] Many of these products are now often made with cow's milk, especially when produced outside their country of origin.[23] Sheep milk contains 4.8% lactose, which may affect those who are intolerant.[23]

As with other domestic animals, the meat of uncastrated males is inferior in quality, especially as they grow. A "bucky" lamb is a lamb which was not castrated early enough, or which was castrated improperly (resulting in one testicle being retained). These lambs are worth less at market.[155][156][157]

In science

A cloned ewe named Dolly was a scientific landmark.

Sheep are generally too large and reproduce too slowly to make ideal research subjects, and thus are not a common model organism.[158] They have, however, played an influential role in some fields of science. In particular, the Roslin Institute of Edinburgh, Scotland used sheep for genetics research that produced groundbreaking results. In 1995, two ewes named Megan and Morag were the first mammals cloned from differentiated cells, also referred to as gynomerogony. A year later, a Finnish Dorset sheep named Dolly, dubbed "the world's most famous sheep" in Scientific American,[159] was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. Following this, Polly and Molly were the first mammals to be simultaneously cloned and transgenic.

As of 2008, the sheep genome has not been fully sequenced, although a detailed genetic map has been published,[160] and a draft version of the complete genome produced by assembling sheep DNA sequences using information given by the genomes of other mammals.[161] In 2012, a transgenic sheep named "Peng Peng" was cloned by Chinese scientists, who spliced his genes with that of a roundworm (C. elegans) in order to increase production of fats healthier for human consumption.[162]

In the study of natural selection, the population of Soay sheep that remain on the island of Hirta have been used to explore the relation of body size and coloration to reproductive success.[163] Soay sheep come in several colors, and researchers investigated why the larger, darker sheep were in decline; this occurrence contradicted the rule of thumb that larger members of a population tend to be more successful reproductively.[164] The feral Soays on Hirta are especially useful subjects because they are isolated.[165]

Domestic sheep are sometimes used in medical research, particularly for researching cardiovascular physiology, in areas such as hypertension and heart failure.[166][167] Pregnant sheep are also a useful model for human pregnancy,[168] and have been used to investigate the effects on fetal development of malnutrition and hypoxia.[169] In behavioral sciences, sheep have been used in isolated cases for the study of facial recognition, as their mental process of recognition is qualitatively similar to humans.[170]

In culture

Folklore and literature

Further information: Mammals in culture, List of fictional sheep, Bellwether, and Black sheep

Sheep have had a strong presence in many cultures, especially in areas where they form the most common type of livestock. In the English language, to call someone a sheep or ovine may allude that they are timid and easily led.[171] In contradiction to this image, male sheep are often used as symbols of virility and power; the logos of the Los Angeles Rams football team and the Dodge Ram pickup truck allude to males of the bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis.

Counting sheep is popularly said to be an aid to sleep, and some ancient systems of counting sheep persist today. Sheep also enter in colloquial sayings and idiom frequently with such phrases as "black sheep". To call an individual a black sheep implies that they are an odd or disreputable member of a group.[172] This usage derives from the recessive trait that causes an occasional black lamb to be born into an entirely white flock. These black sheep were considered undesirable by shepherds, as black wool is not as commercially viable as white wool.[172] Citizens who accept overbearing governments have been referred to by the Portmanteau neologism of sheeple. Somewhat differently, the adjective "sheepish" is also used to describe embarrassment.[173]

In British heraldry, sheep appear in the form of rams, sheep proper and lambs. These are distinguished by the ram being depicted with horns and a tail, the sheep with neither and the lamb with its tail only. A further variant of the lamb, termed the Paschal lamb, is depicted as carrying a Christian cross and with a halo over its head. Rams' heads, portrayed without a neck and facing the viewer, are also found in British armories. The fleece, depicted as an entire sheepskin carried by a ring around its midsection, originally became known through its use in the arms of the Order of the Golden Fleece and was later adopted by towns and individuals with connections to the wool industry.[174]

Sheep are key symbols in fables and nursery rhymes like The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Little Bo Peep, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, and Mary Had a Little Lamb; novels such as George Orwell's Animal Farm and Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase; songs such as Bach's Sheep may safely graze (Schafe können sicher weiden) and Pink Floyd's "Sheep", and poems like William Blake's "The Lamb".

The proverbial black sheep

Head of ram pictured in the former coat of arms of Sääminki, Finland

Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1620–1683), Sheep, black and red chalk (possibly crayon)

Religion

In antiquity, symbolism involving sheep cropped up in religions in the ancient Near East, the Mideast, and the Mediterranean area: Çatalhöyük, ancient Egyptian religion, the Cana'anite and Phoenician tradition, Judaism, Greek religion, and others. Religious symbolism and ritual involving sheep began with some of the first known faiths: Skulls of rams (along with bulls) occupied central placement in shrines at the Çatalhöyük settlement in 8,000 BCE.[175] In Ancient Egyptian religion, the ram was the symbol of several gods: Khnum, Heryshaf and Amun (in his incarnation as a god of fertility).[23] Other deities occasionally shown with ram features include the goddess Ishtar, the Phoenician god Baal-Hamon, and the Babylonian god Ea-Oannes.[23] In Madagascar, sheep were not eaten as they were believed to be incarnations of the souls of ancestors.[176]

There are many ancient Greek references to sheep: that of Chrysomallos, the golden-fleeced ram, continuing to be told through into the modern era. Astrologically, Aries, the ram, is the first sign of the classical Greek zodiac, and the sheep is the eighth of the twelve animals associated with the 12-year cycle of in the Chinese zodiac, related to the Chinese calendar.[176] It is said in Chinese traditions that Hou ji sacrificed sheep. Mongolia, shagai are an ancient form of dice made from the cuboid bones of sheep that are often used for fortunetelling purposes.

Sheep play an important role in all the Abrahamic faiths; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and King David were all shepherds. According to the Biblical story of the Binding of Isaac, a ram is sacrificed as a substitute for Isaac after an angel stays Abraham's hand (in the Islamic tradition, Abraham was about to sacrifice Ishmael). Eid al-Adha is a major annual festival in Islam in which sheep (or other animals) are sacrificed in remembrance of this act.[177][178] Sheep are occasionally sacrificed to commemorate important secular events in Islamic cultures.[179] Greeks and Romans sacrificed sheep regularly in religious practice, and Judaism once sacrificed sheep as a Korban (sacrifice), such as the Passover lamb.[176] Ovine symbols—such as the ceremonial blowing of a shofar—still find a presence in modern Judaic traditions.

Collectively, followers of Christianity are often referred to as a flock, with Christ as the Good Shepherd, and sheep are an element in the Christian iconography of the birth of Jesus. Some Christian saints are considered patrons of shepherds, and even of sheep themselves. Christ is also portrayed as the Sacrificial lamb of God (Agnus Dei) and Easter celebrations in Greece and Romania traditionally feature a meal of Paschal lamb. A church leader is often called the pastor, which is derived from the Latin word for shepherd. In many western Christian traditions bishops carry a staff, which also serves as a symbol of the episcopal office, known as a crosier, modeled on the shepherd's crook.

Ancient Greek red-figure ram-head rhyton, c. 340 BC

Jesus is depicted as "The Good Shepherd", and the Christians as sheep.

Sheep | Characteristics, Breeds, & Facts | Britannica

Search Britannica

Click here to search

Search Britannica

Click here to search

Home

Games & Quizzes

History & Society

Science & Tech

Biographies

Animals & Nature

Geography & Travel

Arts & Culture

Money

Videos

On This Day

One Good Fact

Dictionary

New Articles

History & Society

Lifestyles & Social Issues

Philosophy & Religion

Politics, Law & Government

World History

Science & Tech

Health & Medicine

Science

Technology

Biographies

Browse Biographies

Animals & Nature

Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates

Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates

Environment

Fossils & Geologic Time

Mammals

Plants

Geography & Travel

Arts & Culture

Entertainment & Pop Culture

Literature

Sports & Recreation

Visual Arts

Companions

Demystified

Image Galleries

Infographics

Lists

Podcasts

Spotlights

Summaries

The Forum

Amazing Facts about Sheep | OneKindPlanet Animal Education & Facts

ing Facts about Sheep | OneKindPlanet Animal Education & Facts

FacebookTwitterInstagramOneKind Planet HomeAboutContactOneKindOneKindPlanetAnimal facts, education & inspirationDonate to OneKindAnimals A-ZAnimal Top 10sBiggestMost EndangeredExtinctFastestHighest JumpersLongest LivingSmallestSmelliestStrongestEndangered by Climate ChangeUnusual Sleeping HabitsHibernatorsUnusual Mating HabitsSun Loving AnimalsMost Poisonous AnimalsLaziest AnimalsMisunderstood animalsAnimal BiologyDo Animals Feel Emotions?Are animals sentient?Can animals change their sex?How does climate change impact animals?Do animals show empathy?Do fireworks harm animals?AnimalKindBeauty BrandsFashion BrandsFragrance BrandsHousehold ProductsAdopting a dogBuying sustainable fishEthical EatingEco-Friendly LivingEco-Friendly ParentingEco-Friendly TravellingReducing Plastic WasteCreating Wildlife Friendly GardensAlternatives to Balloon ReleasesDangerous decorations for dogsActivitiesCampaignsBlog

OneKindPlanet | Animals | Diurnal, Domesticated, Excellent hearing, Excellent sense of smell, Herbivore, Intelligent, Social | SheepAnimal A-ZSheepSheep have very good memories. They can remember at least 50 individual sheep and humans for years.

Amazing Facts About the SheepSheep have very good memories. They can remember at least 50 individual sheep and humans for years. They do this by using a similar neural process and part of the brain that humans use to remember.Sheep have ben shown to display emotions, some of which can be studied by observing the position of their ears.Contrary to popular belief, sheep are extremely intelligent animals capable of problem solving. They are considered to have a similar IQ level to cattle and are nearly as clever as pigs.Like various other species including humans, sheep make different vocalisations to communicate different emotions. They also display and recognise emotion by facial expressions.Sheep are known to self-medicate when they have some illnesses. They will eat specific plants when ill that can cure them.Sheep are precocial (highly independent from birth) and gregarious (like to be in a group).Share Female sheep (ewes) are very caring mothers and form deep bonds with their lambs that can recognise them by their call (bleat) when they wander too far away.Wild sheep tend to be larger than domesticated species, the largest (Argali) being 1.2m tall. They also have longer horns which they use to defend themselves from predators.Egyptians believed that sheep were sacred. They even had them mummified when they died, just like humans.The ancient Sumerians (4000 – 2000 BCE), who are thought to have developed the first form of writing (Cuneiform script), immortalised sheep in the form of gods in their religion.The meat of sheep is widely eaten by people across the world. Sheep milk is also drunk and used to make other products such as cheese. Many people who consume animal products would like to choose products from animals kept in higher welfare systems. However welfare labelling on products can be confusing. Share

Find more animals like thisDiurnalDomesticatedExcellent hearingExcellent sense of smellHerbivoreIntelligentSocial

Quick FactsType: MammalDiet: HerbivoreLife span: 5-10 yearsSize: 90-140 cmWeight: 40-130 kgHabitat: Grass plains and mountainsRange: Originated from Europe and Asia, domesticated breeds now common in the Americas and AustralasiaScientific name: Ovis Aries

Share « Previous Next »© OneKind 2016. Registered charity no. SC041299.

50 Montrose Terrace

Edinburgh

EH7 5DL

Copyright © 2024 · onekind on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log inBy continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. More information AcceptThe cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. For further information visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org. You can set your browser not to accept cookies and the above websites tell you how to remove cookies from your browser. Some of our website features may not function as a result.Close

Sheep - Description, Habitat, Image, Diet, and Interesting Facts

HomeAnimal IndexComplete List of AnimalsA – GAnimals that start with AAnimals that start with BAnimals that start with CAnimals that start with DAnimals that start with EAnimals that start with FAnimals that start with GH – NAnimals that start with HAnimals that start with IAnimals that start with JAnimals that start with KAnimals that start with LAnimals that start with MAnimals that start with NO – TAnimals that start with OAnimals that start with PAnimals that start with QAnimals that start with RAnimals that start with SAnimals that start with TU – ZAnimals that start with UAnimals that start with VAnimals that start with WAnimals that start with XAnimals that start with YAnimals that start with ZDogsParks and ZoosCitationContact Us Search HomeAnimal IndexComplete List of AnimalsA – GAnimals that start with AAnimals that start with BAnimals that start with CAnimals that start with DAnimals that start with EAnimals that start with FAnimals that start with GH – NAnimals that start with HAnimals that start with IAnimals that start with JAnimals that start with KAnimals that start with LAnimals that start with MAnimals that start with NO – TAnimals that start with OAnimals that start with PAnimals that start with QAnimals that start with RAnimals that start with SAnimals that start with TU – ZAnimals that start with UAnimals that start with VAnimals that start with WAnimals that start with XAnimals that start with YAnimals that start with ZDogsParks and ZoosCitationContact Us Animals Network HomeAnimal IndexComplete List of AnimalsA – GAnimals that start with AAnimals that start with BAnimals that start with CAnimals that start with DAnimals that start with EAnimals that start with FAnimals that start with GH – NAnimals that start with HAnimals that start with IAnimals that start with JAnimals that start with KAnimals that start with LAnimals that start with MAnimals that start with NO – TAnimals that start with OAnimals that start with PAnimals that start with QAnimals that start with RAnimals that start with SAnimals that start with TU – ZAnimals that start with UAnimals that start with VAnimals that start with WAnimals that start with XAnimals that start with YAnimals that start with ZDogsParks and ZoosCitationContact Us MammaliaArtiodactylaBovidaeChordataOvisOvis ariesSheepBy Animals Network TeamA Sheep is any member of the taxonomic genus Ovis. This group includes five different species, including the Dall Sheep, bighorn Sheep, Mouflon, and more. The domestic Sheep is a separate species of Sheep from the other wild species (Ovis aries). For our purposes, we will focus on the domestic species in this article. Read on to learn about the Sheep. Description of the SheepAll breeds share a few distinct characteristics. They have hooves on their ends of their feet, and they stand on two primary “toes” rather than a single hoof like a horse. Most breeds have dense fur known as wool. Some breeds also have horns that grow from the tops of their heads. The various breeds come in a number of different sizes. They stand about 3 ft. tall at the shoulder on average, and larger individuals can weigh up to 350 lbs. or more. Males generally reach larger sizes than females.Interesting Facts About the SheepThese well-known creatures have a number of interesting traits and adaptations. Learn more about what makes them unique, below.In the Family – The other Sheep species include the Argali, Mouflon, Urial, Bighorn Sheep, Dall Sheep, and Snow Sheep. All of these species share the taxonomic genus Ovis.Sheep’s Ancestors – Though the domestic variation has its own specific species, people still bred the original descendants from a wild species. Researchers believe that modern domestic individuals descended from the mouflon.Wool Use – People have kept these creatures for a wide variety of purposes. One unique use includes the use of its wool as clothing and other material. People can shear the wool off the creature without harming it, allowing continued harvesting for years.Wool Production – In fact, domestic individuals must have their wool sheared. The wool grows continuously, and if the farmer does not shear it the wool begins to weigh heavily on the animal and gather debris and dirt.Habitat of the SheepAs a domestic animal, people generally choose the habitat in which these creatures live. However, some feral populations do exist. Compared to other livestock these creatures prefer mountainous or hilly regions. Generally, people keep Sheep in farmland, grassland, pasture, and other similar habitats with plenty of grass and plants to feed on.Distribution of the SheepYou can find many different breeds across the globe, and they live virtually everywhere humans live. Researchers believe that the original descendants of our modern domestic Sheep lived in Asia. However, you can now find these creatures on every continent except Antarctica. People raise especially large numbers in New Zealand, Australia, Britain, and South America.Diet of the SheepThese mammals have herbivorous feeding habits. They feed primarily on grasses and other similar foods. Like cows, Sheep primarily graze on grass rather than browsing on plants. People also provide commercially produced pelleted food and dried hay for them to eat. This is particularly important in areas with less grass.Sheep and Human InteractionThese domestic mammals would not exist without human interaction. People selected and bred only the most docile, friendly, personable individuals and over many generations, and this is how the domestication process occurred.People utilize these mammals for a wide variety of purposes. They use their wool for clothing and other materials, keep them as pets, use their milk and meat, breed them, show them, and more.DomesticationThis mammal was one of the very first creatures domesticated. Researchers believe that humans began the domestication process of this species between 11,000 and 9,000 B.C. The original descendants likely came from Asian mouflon, and the domestication process occurred in Mesopotamia. They quickly spread throughout the globe.Does the Sheep Make a Good PetYes, for the right person, these mammals can make good pets. With proper socialization they can have incredibly friendly demeanors. You must provide ample space and pasture for them to graze and exercise, medical care, and shelter from the elements.Sheep CareThese mammals have social behavior, and you must keep them in groups, also known as herds or flocks. You must provide plenty of grass or shrub for them to eat, and supplement that with pelleted feed or hay as necessary.Additionally, these creatures can fall prey to predators quite easily, so you must use secure fencing to keep them safe. Many people also use dogs or donkeys as livestock guardians to protect the herd from predators.Behavior of the SheepThese mammals have incredibly strong flocking behavior. Groups remain close together, and when faced with danger they move closer to one another. Flocks have a dominance hierarchy with a leader and several dominant individuals. Compared to goats, flocks remain close together while grazing, where goats scatter across the pasture.Reproduction of the SheepDifferent breeds have different breeding behavior and reproductive rates. When females, known as ewes, come into season, or heat, the males, known as rams, enter rut. The males protect a flock of females, and mate with each receptive female in the flock.After mating, the gestation period lasts about five months. The number of offspring, known as lambs, varies based on the breed. However, most give birth to one or two lambs.Beliefs, Superstitions, and Phobias About the SheepYou can see these creatures in a wide variety of different cultures, artwork, literature, and more. People have featured them in nursery rhymes, stories, mythology, and much more. Folklore exists for these mammals in many different religions and regions across the globe.TAGSArgalibighorn sheepDall Sheepdomestic SheepMouflonsheepSnow SheepUrialwoolCydni Oldham RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR ArtiodactylaRed Angus ChordataPaint Horse ActinopterygiiBlack Sole Expert Recommendations Expert RecommendationBest Cat Stain Odor Remover Dog CareBest Dog Collars Dog CareBest Dog Frisbee Dog CareBest Senior Dog Food Dog CareBest Dog Muzzle Dog CareBest Dog Brush Dog CareBest Dog Life Jacket Dog CareBest Wireless Dog Fences Dog CareBest Dog Ear Cleaner Dog CareBest Dog GiftsAnimals.NET aim to promote interest in nature and animals among children, as well as raise their awareness in conservation and environmental protection. All photos used are royalty-free, and credits are included in the Alt tag of each image.EVEN MORE NEWSRed AngusPaint HorseHouse SpiderPOPULAR CATEGORYChordata694Mammalia247Aves197Dog Breeds184Actinopterygii121Reptilia87Carnivora72Privacy PolicyContact UsAbout UsTerms and Conditions © Animals.NET 2018

Sheep | mammal genus | Britannica

Search Britannica

Click here to search

Search Britannica

Click here to search

Home

Games & Quizzes

History & Society

Science & Tech

Biographies

Animals & Nature

Geography & Travel

Arts & Culture

Money

Videos

On This Day

One Good Fact

Dictionary

New Articles

History & Society

Lifestyles & Social Issues

Philosophy & Religion

Politics, Law & Government

World History

Science & Tech

Health & Medicine

Science

Technology

Biographies

Browse Biographies

Animals & Nature

Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates

Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates

Environment

Fossils & Geologic Time

Mammals

Plants

Geography & Travel

Arts & Culture

Entertainment & Pop Culture

Literature

Sports & Recreation

Visual Arts

Companions

Demystified

Image Galleries

Infographics

Lists

Podcasts

Spotlights

Summaries

The Forum

Facts About Sheep | Live Science

Open menu

Close menu

Live Science

Search Live Science

RSS

How It Works MagazineWhy subscribe?The ultimate action-packed science and technology magazine bursting with exciting information about the universeSubscribe today and save an extra 5% with checkout code 'LOVE5'Engaging articles, amazing illustrations & exclusive interviewsIssues delivered straight to your door or deviceFrom$26.49View Deal

Space

Health

Planet Earth

Animals

Archaeology

Physics & Math

Human Behavior

Technology

Chemistry

Science news

About Us

Forum

Story archive

TrendingWoolly mammoth de-extinctionOldest 'dead' galaxyMinnesota helium reservoirShoebillApril 8 total solar eclipse

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Animals

Land Mammals

Facts About Sheep

References

By Alina Bradford published 11 November 2015

Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated. There are more than 10,000 breeds of domestic sheep.

(Image credit: Budimir Jevtic | Shutterstock

)

Sheep are related to antelopes, cattle, muskoxen and goats. All of these mammals are even-toed ungulates — their hooves are cloven, or split into two toes. They are also ruminants — their stomachs have multiple chambers to aid digestion. Most sheep have large, curling horns that are made of keratin — the same stuff as fingernails.Most people are familiar with sheep as wooly farm animals that say "Baa." But the domestic sheep is just one species of sheep. There are also five (or six, depending on the source) species of wild sheep. Size & descriptionAccording to Susan Schoenian, a sheep and goat specialist at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center, it is estimated that there are more than 10,000 distinct breeds of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) worldwide, so they are diverse in size. Selective breeding has produced sheep with or without horns, wool and external ears, according to the University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web (ADW). They range in length from 4 to 6 feet (120 to 180 cm) and from 2 to 4 feet (65 to 127 cm) at the shoulder. The argali (Ovis ammon) is the largest sheep, weighing up to 408 lbs. (185 kg). (Image credit: karamysh Shutterstock )Some experts, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), treat the domestic sheep's wild ancestor, the urial, as a separate species (Ovis orientalis). Others, such as the ADW and the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), classify them as two subspecies of Ovis aries.The largest species of sheep is the argali sheep (Ovis ammon), according to the ADW. This central Asian species weighs up to 408 lbs. (185 kilograms). It stands from 3 to 4.1 feet (90 to 125 centimeters) at the shoulder, and its length is from 4 to 6.2 feet (120 to 190 cm) head to tail.Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) of the Rocky Mountains are similar in size. Males are typically 5 to 6 feet (160 to 180 cm) long, head to tail; females are about 4.9 feet (150 cm), according to the ADW. Males weigh 262 to 280 lbs. (119 to 127 kg); females weigh 116 to 200 lbs. (53 to 91 kg). Bighorn rams have massive horns that weigh more than all of the bones in their bodies, about 30 lbs. (14 kg).Dall's sheep (Ovis dalli) live in Alaska and the Yukon. They are the only thin-horned mountain sheep. Males have massive flaring and curling horns, but females have slender horns. Males weigh 160 to 249 lbs. (73 to 113 kg); females 101 to 110 lbs. (46 to 50 kg). Males are from 4.2 to 5.9 feet (130 to 180 cm) in length; females are 4.3 to 5.3 feet (132 to 162 cm).The snow sheep, or Siberian bighorn sheep (Ovis nivicola), lives in eastern Russia, according to the Ultimate Ungulate website. It is 4.6 to 5.3 feet (140 to 160 cm) long and 3.1 to 3.7 feet (95 to 112 cm) at the shoulder. It weighs 132 to 164 lbs. (60 to 120 kg).The urial (Ovis aries orientalis or Ovis orientalis) is the wild ancestor of the domestic sheep. (Image credit: Muythaisong Pitakpong Shutterstock) HabitatSheep were among the first animals to be domesticated, and they are raised all over the world. Wild sheep also live throughout the world — in the Middle East, Asia, Central Europe and North America — mostly in mountainous areas. Bighorn sheep live in the Rocky Mountain region of North America. Desert bighorn sheep live in Death Valley, California, as well as Nevada, Texas and northern Mexico. They can live on desert mountains as high as 4,000 feet (1,200 m). Urials can live even higher up. They are found in Asia and the Middle East on grassy terrains with elevations of up to 19,690 feet (6,000 m), according to the ADW. HabitsSheep are social, but usually only with their own gender. Males have their own herds called bachelor herds. These herds usually contain five to 50 rams at one time. The females live in nursery herds. Nursery herds can have five to 100 members that include adult females and their young. Male sheep fight for dominance in their group. Some ram each other at speeds up to 20 mph (32 kph), according to National Geographic. Dominance is gained when one male submits. This process can take hours. DietSheep are herbivores, which means their diet does not include meat. They typically eat seeds, grass and plants. Like all ruminants, they have multi-chambered stomachs that are adapted to ferment cellulose before digestion, according to the ADW. To completely digest their food, sheep will regurgitate their food into their mouths, rechew and swallow. This regurgitated food is called cud.Some sheep don’t need much water. The desert bighorn sheep, for example, gets most of its water from eating plants, according to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. OffspringMale sheep fight for the right to mate with the females and the strongest is usually the only one allowed to mate. Mating season, called the rut, happens in the autumn. After mating, female sheep have a gestation period of around five months. They usually give birth to one or two offspring at a time in the spring. Baby sheep are called lambs. Lambs can walk just minutes after they are born, though they are often dependent on their mothers for the first four to six months of their lives. They are weaned around four to six month and become sexually mature around one and a half to five years, depending on species and gender. For example, the male argali sheep doesn’t become sexually mature until age 5, while the female becomes sexually mature at age 1 or 2, according to the ADW. A desert bighorn sheep at Lake Mead, Arizona. (Image credit: National Park Service ) Classification/taxonomy Sheep are part of the Bovidae family, which includes antelopes, cattle and goats. Sheep usually can be identified from their similar looking cousins by their horns. Goats typically have straight horns and sheep have rounded horns. Also, male goats have beards while male sheep do not.Here is the taxonomy of sheep, according to ITIS: Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Bilateria Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Superclass: Tetrapoda Class: Mammalia Subclass: Theria Infraclass: Eutheria Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Caprinae Genus: Ovis Species: Ovis ammon (argalis), with nine subspeciesOvis aries (domestic sheep, mouflon, red sheep, feral sheep), with nine subspecies, including urialsOvis canadensis (bighorn sheep), with seven subspeciesOvis dalli (Dall's sheep, Fannin's sheep, Stone's sheep), with two subspeciesOvis nivicola (snow sheep), with four subspecies Conservation statusAccording to the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species, most sheep species are listed as Least Concern with no threat of extinction. However, urials (classified here as Ovis orientalis, with eight subspecies), found in the Mediterranean and Middle East, are listed as Vulnerable. Their populations have been declining by at least 30 percent over 24 years, caused by hunting, hybridization and habitat deterioration. Argalis (Ovis ammon), which live across central Asia, are listed as Near Threatened due to significant population decline (but probably at a rate of less than 30 percent over three generations), because of poaching and competition with livestock. A herd of Dall's sheep flock on the cliffs along the Charley River in Alaska. (Image credit: National Park Service ) Other factsIf a sheep rolls over onto its back, it may not be able to get up without assistance, according to the Sheep101 website. A fallen sheep is called a "cast" sheep. They can become distressed and die within a short period of time if they are not rolled back into a normal position. When back on their feet, they may need supported for a few minutes to ensure they are steady. It happens mostly with pregnant ewes and short, stocky sheep with full fleeces. Most sheep's milk produced worldwide is made into cheese, such as feta, ricotta, pecorino, Romano and Roquefort.The most famous sheep is probably Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned. She was born in Scotland in 1996, gave birth to six lambs, and died in 2003 after developing a lung infection. She was stuffed and put on display at the Royal Museum of Scotland. (Fun fact: Dolly was named for country singer Dolly Parton.)Each winter, a sheep’s set of horns gets a growth ring. By counting the rings, scientist can tell the age of a male sheep.According to The Phrase Finder, the term "black sheep" to refer to a disreputable or disgraced member of a family may have derived from the notion that black fleeces could not be dyed and were therefore less valuable than white fleece. It may also be due to a bad translation of the Bible in 1535. Other resourcesSheep101: Basic Information About SheepOklahoma State University: Sheep BreedsA-Z Animals: Sheep

Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter nowGet the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Alina BradfordSocial Links NavigationLive Science ContributorAlina Bradford is a contributing writer for Live Science. Over the past 16 years, Alina has covered everything from Ebola to androids while writing health, science and tech articles for major publications. She has multiple health, safety and lifesaving certifications from Oklahoma State University. Alina's goal in life is to try as many experiences as possible. To date, she has been a volunteer firefighter, a dispatcher, substitute teacher, artist, janitor, children's book author, pizza maker, event coordinator and much more.

More about land mammalsPatagonian mara: The monogamous rodents that mate only a few times a year but pee on each other constantlyGenetic quirk in 25% of Labrador retrievers can lead to overeating, obesityLatestSpace photo of the week: Can you spot the hidden robot on the slopes of Mars?See more latest ►

Most PopularDo ears and noses get bigger with age?By Anna GoraDecember 27, 2023Why do lips get so chapped in winter?By Anna GoraDecember 26, 2023Can drinking alcohol really cause hiccups?By Anna GoraDecember 25, 2023Why is it safe to eat moldy cheese?By Emily CookeDecember 23, 2023What is frankincense?By Victoria AtkinsonDecember 22, 2023Why is pink eye so contagious?By Anna GoraDecember 16, 2023Can you really be allergic to the sun?By Anna GoraDecember 15, 2023What causes spotting between periods?By Anna GoraNovember 09, 2023Do redheads really need more anesthesia?By Donavyn CoffeyNovember 06, 2023How does plaque cause cavities?By Anna GoraOctober 31, 2023What does it look like when your sinuses are clogged?By Anna GoraOctober 26, 2023

MOST READMOST SHARED1Astronomers find heaviest black hole pair in the universe, and they've been trapped in an endless duel for 3 billion years2Shoebill: The human-sized African bird that eats baby crocodiles and kills its siblings3'Should not really exist in these waters': Scientists spot gray whale, thought to be extinct in the Atlantic, off Massachusetts coast41,100-year-old Viking sword pulled from UK river by magnet fisher5Mystery of enormous Saharan 'star dune' finally solved — and it wasn't what scientists were expecting1A branch of the flu family tree has died and won't be included in future US vaccines2Life-threatening 'leaks' after surgery could be flagged faster with tiny new device3Mystery of enormous Saharan 'star dune' finally solved — and it wasn't what scientists were expecting4Giant ball of Burmese pythons having sex discovered in Florida Everglades in record-breaking catch5Colossus the enormous 'oddball' whale is not the biggest animal to ever live, scientists say

Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us

Contact Future's experts

Terms and conditions

Cookies policy

Accessibility Statement

Advertise with us

Web notifications

Careers

Editorial standards

How to pitch a story to us

Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,

New York,

NY 10036.

Sheep Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Menu Toggle

Merriam-Webster Logo

Games & Quizzes

Word of the Day

Grammar

Wordplay

Word Finder

Thesaurus

Join MWU

Shop

Books

Merch

Settings

My Words

Recents

Account

Log Out

Thesaurus

Join MWU

Shop

Books

Merch

Username

My Words

Recents

Account

Log Out

Est. 1828

Dictionary

Definition

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Phrases Containing

Entries Near

Cite this EntryCitation

Kids DefinitionKids

Just a moment...

a moment...Enable JavaScript and cookies to continue

Sheep | Encyclopedia.com

p | Encyclopedia.com Skip to main content EXPLORE EXPLORE Earth and Environment History Literature and the Arts Medicine People Philosophy and Religion Places Plants and Animals Science and Technology Social Sciences and the Law Sports and Everyday Life Additional References Articles Daily Plants and Animals Animals Agriculture: Animals sheep Sheep gale views updated May 17 2018 SHEEPSHEEP. If the dog is humankind's best friend, then sheep are its most ancient provider. Sheep may be the first domesticated ruminant, tamed by nomadic people in the Middle East and Asia 11,000 years ago, perhaps even before agriculture gave rise to civilization. Thousands of years before sheep appear in the writings of Abrahamic faiths, they were slaughtered for religious rituals. Neolithic farmers, who raised them for meat, herded them into Europe. Wool breeds appeared at least 8,000 years ago, in plenty of time to supply the looms of ancient Egypt and Babylon. Vikings carried sheep to Iceland. The Spanish brought them to the Americas. Today, sheep are found from the Arctic region to Australia and in the tropics from Africa to the Caribbean. Yet the world's billion sheep are a modest source of meat. Humans eat ten times as much pork as lamb and mutton. Sheep is not a forbidden food, though. It is eaten readily by Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and Christians. And thanks to its global acceptance, lamb can be a gourmand's delight. Its earthy flavors blend well with the spicy seasonings of Spanish asadar, Chinese red-cooked lamb, or just the smoke of an open-pit barbecue.OriginsSheep, the species Ovis aries, are descended from the mouflon, an endangered wild sheep native to Asia Minor and Cyprus. The mouflon has a reddish-brown hair coat with an undercoat that is shed seasonally. Europe also has a mouflon that prefers rocky slopes of mountains and may have escaped from flocks of primitive domesticated sheep. Wild and domestic sheep and goats belong to the sub-family Caprini, which evolved ten to twenty million years ago in the mountains of Central Asia. They are in the order of mammals Artiodactyla, which means even-toed, hoofed. That order includes ruminant livestock such as cattle. Bacteria in the rumen help these animals digest cellulose in grasses. With more than two hundred domestic breeds, sheep may have the largest number of breeds that are in active commercial production.In the United States, most sheep are eaten as lamb, animals that are less than a year old. Worldwide, much lamb, especially "spring lamb" slaughtered at three to seven months of age, is not grain fed. (In the United States, most lamb is grain fed, which gives it a milder flavor.) Lambs sold for meat usually weigh between 70 and 100 pounds, accounting for the relatively low rate of world lamb consumption as compared with other livestock. A mature market hog, for instance, is more than twice as heavy, and pigs are much more prolific. Adult female sheep, or ewes, weigh about 150 to 200 pounds while mature males, or rams, weigh about 250 to 350 pounds. Mutton, the meat of mature sheep, is more popular in Britain and Europe than in the United States.Methods of ConsumptionIn the developed world, sheep are processed and slaughtered in much the same way as cattle and hogs, in assembly-line, refrigerated packing plants. But in the tropics and deserts where they are still herded by nomadic people, they offer the advantage of being small enough to be consumed in a day, eliminating the need for refrigeration.As with other meats, lamb's fat content varies with cooking methods and the cut of lamb chosen. Lamb loin chops, which correspond to pork loin chops and New York Strip steak in beef, are slightly leaner than either the beef or pork cuts, with 9.73 grams of fat in a 100-gram cooked serving trimmed to ¼ inch fat and broiled, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional data. With 2 milligrams of iron, lamb has twice as much iron as pork, and nearly as much as the 2.47 milligrams in beef. Lamb is also a good source of phosphorus and zinc.A comparison by the American Sheep Industry Association, a trade group, shows a 3-ounce portion of lean cooked lamb leg has 7 grams of fat, equal to that in beef round, less than fresh pork ham or chicken dark meat (both with 8 grams of fat), but more than the 4 grams of fat in chicken light meat.The consumer group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., lists lamb souvlaki at Greek restaurants as a relatively healthy food that compares favorably with other forms of red meat, at 310 calories and 11 grams of fat.In a few less developed areas of the world, sheep are kept mainly for milk, or blood. A well-known vestige of sheep milking in the developed world is Roquefort cheese, made in France. Sheep's milk has almost twice as much fat as cow's milk (6.7 percent), but is denser in other nutrients as well, including calcium.The main nonnutritional product of sheep is wool. Wool is one of the few fibers that will maintain body heat when wet. Wool also makes durable, fire-resistant rugs and carpets. Other widely used sheep products include skins and pelts for coats and rugs. Sheep lanolin, the purified grease that is washed from wool, is found in many cosmetics, salves, and ointments.Nomadic Livestock with a Rich HistoryArcheologists have found evidence of sheep domestication from about 11,000 years ago, in northeastern Iran. Sheep bones nearly as old have been found in Palestine. A small statue of a woolly sheep from about 6,000 b.c.e. that was found in Iraq shows that the development of wool breeds is also ancient. By 6,000 years ago, Egyptians and Babylonians were weaving spun wool into fabric.Sheep appear in early religious and mythological writing and history. In Ancient Egypt, the ram was the symbol of several gods. In Greek mythology Jason pursued the Golden Fleece. The Abraham of the Bible and Torah sacrificed a ram instead of his son. Long before agriculture gave rise to civilization, human hunting cultures seemed to have worshiped animals. The 30,000-year-old paintings of animals at the Chauvet Cave in France include the ibex, a wild relative of goats. Perhaps because sheep were domesticated early, their slaughter became ritualized in religious ceremonies.Sheep breeds have outlasted civilizations. The Merino, which has come to dominate high-quality wool production today in Australia, the world's top wool exporter, may date to the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius in the first century c.e. Many in the sheep industry believe that the breed was developed then in what is now Spain when breeders crossed the Roman Taren-tine breed with the Laodician sheep of Asia Minor. When the Romans reached Britain, other sheep breeds were already there. The Romans built Britain's first woolen mill in Winchester in about 50 c.e. In the centuries that followed the fall of the Roman Empire, both Britain and Spain dominated wool production. In Spain, selling Merino sheep without the permission of the king was a crime punishable by death.Spanish monarchs did allow explorers to bring Merinos to the New World. The Navajo sheep in the United States and the Criollo of Latin America are their descendants. When slaves were brought to the Americas, African sheep breeds adapted to hot climates came with them. These breeds have a coat of shorter hair and do not produce wool. The West African Dwarf type of sheep gave rise to several tropical American breeds, including the Barbados Blackbelly. The Tunis breed of North Africa was two thousand years old when George Washington imported some to rebuild his own sheep flock after his presidency.Sheep have long been herded by nomads in Central Asia. The portable dwellings, or yurts, of Mongolia are made of wool felt. In the fourth century b.c.e., the Chinese called the hinterlands of central Asia "the land of felt."In contrast to tropical sheep, primitive sheep breeds from northern Europe have long outer wool coats of up to 15 inches in length as well as a soft inner coat. The Icelandic sheep, brought to Iceland by the Vikings in 874 c.e., are the purest breed of this type.Modern sheep production began in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with two important developments. One is that the Spanish monopoly ended when Napoléon invaded Spain, making Merino sheep widely accessible. The other was the development of meatier breeds of wooled sheep in Britain in the eighteenth century by Robert Bakewell, an English agriculturalist who revolutionized the breeding of sheep and cattle through selection and inbreeding. At a time when wool prices were depressed, Bakewell began to select Leicester sheep that were heavier and stockier. This helped feed Britain's Industrial Revolution. Sheep were not herded long distances in Britain as they were in Spain, so the British Isles developed many more local breeds. Other breeders followed Bakewell's example of choosing breeds that have a dual purpose. In the United States, dual purpose and wooled breeds that excel in meat production are preferred in the eastern half of the country. The finer wool breeds are preferred for the western range because they are easier to herd.Though adaptable and hardy, sheep are more difficult to raise in the humid tropics. They are scarce in Southeast Asia and the islands of the South Pacific and even northern tropical Australia.Effects of DomesticationDomestication has changed sheep so much that they are almost helpless in the wild, according to animal scientists M. E. Ensminger and R. O. Parker, who in Sheep and Goat Science note that "domesticated sheep of all breeds are universally timid and defenseless and the least intelligent and least teachable of all the domestic four-footed animal. . . . Unlike other farm animals, they are unable to return to a wild life" (p. 4).The Merino are among the most easily herded sheep. For centuries in Spain they were driven to northern pastures in the spring and back south in the fall. This resulted in selection for ease of herding. More primitive breeds remain more independent. Sheep farmers in Iceland often lose a few of their Icelandic sheep when driving them from summer mountain pastures to lowlands. One unusual type of sheep in Hawaii, the Feral Hawaiian, mostly of Merino stock, has confounded the experts by actually going wild. It was introduced in 1791 when Captain George Vancouver visited the islands.Trends in Sheep ProductionBritain and Spain once dominated sheep production and trade. In the early twenty-first century, dominance has shifted to former British colonies of the Southern Hemisphere. Australia ranks first in wool exports. Second-ranked New Zealand is a big exporter of carpet wool, mainly from its Romney breed, a native of English lowlands. Both nations are also top exporters of lamb. At the end of the twentieth century, Australia had 115.8 million head of sheep, slightly behind the world's largest flock, 131 million head in China (where they are mainly for domestic use). New Zealand was third with 45 million sheep, followed by South Africa and Turkey. China is a leading importer of wool for its mills.By contrast, the United States produced only about 7 million sheep and lambs in 2001, a sharp decline from the beginning of the twentieth century, when the United States had nearly ten times as many sheep—61 million head. U.S. wool production has fallen from 260 million pounds to 49 million in a century.American agricultural practices and the rise of industrial fibers—plastic—contributed to this decline. The industry survived in Great Britain, partly due to European Union subsidies. In the United States, government subsidies rewarded eastern U.S. crop farmers who grew corn and soybeans instead of those raising small marginal flocks. Corn and soybeans then flowed to large, mechanized complexes for hog and poultry, which convert grain to protein faster than can sheep. In the western range land, the federal government dropped wool subsidies in 1996 only to reinstate them in 2002 in an attempt to help a struggling industry. Only about 1 percent of the meat

consumed by Americans was lamb. By 2000 per capita lamb consumption in the United States was less than 1 pound per year, compared to an estimated 221 pounds per year of all red meats and poultry. Growing popularity of ethnic foods, along with immigration from Mediterranean nations that relish lamb, ensured a remaining niche market for this meat. But outside of large cities, many consumers had to hunt in grocery store meat cases for a package or two of lamb chops or perhaps a single leg of lamb.Reasons for the decline in U.S. sheep production seem to be both economic and cultural. Competition from plastic fibers, including polyester fleece, which has some of the desirable properties of wool, has hurt demand for a key product from sheep. A booming economy in the late twentieth century contributed to the already tough task of finding workers willing to take on the solitary task of herding sheep on the western range.American taste for lamb may have been hurt by bad experiences of American servicemen and women during World War II, who sometimes ate old mutton from Australia and New Zealand and mistook it for lamb. But the main factor is undoubtedly economic. With a small market for U.S. wool, and therefore lamb, the meat has become an exotic, more expensive specialty food. A similar decline has taken place in Canada.North America has also faced stiff competition from New Zealand and from the Australians, who rival the Spaniards as finicky producers of fine wool, developing several strains of Merino breeds best adapted to their climate. Both Australia and New Zealand offer longer grazing seasons than the northern United States and Canada, giving those nations another advantage. New Zealand farmers can graze their sheep from eight to twelve months of the year and are world leaders in developing microchip-controlled electric fences to allow the most efficient use of pastures. A flock is moved into a small paddock where the sheep graze all of the available forage before moving into another small field. New Zealanders can raise twenty-five sheep on a hectare of land (2.47 acres) with this method.Unlike American and European farmers, Australia's and New Zealand's sheep producers receive no large government subsidies, which keeps their farm economies lean, preventing artificial inflation of land prices that boost costs. As the twenty-first century began, both nations had an exporting advantage of lower-valued currencies compared to the American dollar.Even so, the returns in 2002 on sheep production in Australia lagged behind those enjoyed by U.S. grain farmers, and in New Zealand, where there are a dozen sheep for every person, the sheep population has declined from a peak of 70.3 million in 1982 to about 45 million, "due to declining profits compared to other types of farming," explains a wool products website, Sheep World.The biggest challenge to sheep may still be plastic. Australian researchers are looking for new ways to turn wool into a fabric without weaving—a response to a 10 percent annual growth in "nonwovens," synthetic fabrics used in car seats, home draperies, and disposable wipes. Ironically, felt, the original nonwoven material, was made from sheep's fleece before spinning and weaving were invented. If the wool industry can compete successfully with the plastics industry, the availability of lamb as a food might increase.A Case for Saving SheepFrom a gastronomic perspective alone, it would be a shame if sheep became extinct. Chefs Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly argue in The Complete Meat Cookbook that lamb's flavor "makes this animal a favorite in cuisines all over the world. . . . No meat marries better with the pungent flavors of garlic, mustard, rosemary, thyme, oregano, savory and fennel, to name just a few" (p. 427). Among the world's most notable lamb dishes are Moroccan lemon tagine ; kabobs (called souvlaki in Greece; sis kebabi in Turkey); and baked leg of lamb asadar from Spain (in Spain a whole lamb is roasted in a wood-fired brick oven).Do-it-yourself gourmands should be aware of pitfalls. To avoid lamb's hard fat, which some people find disagreeable when it becomes cold, trim as much fat as is possible from lamb before cooking and be sure to keep lamb dishes hot at the table.Other practical reasons for saving sheep include environmental ones. Although sheep were associated with some of the first human environmental degradation—soil erosion associated with overgrazing—properly managed, sheep can improve grasslands and range land. They will eat weedy plants that cattle ignore, including sagebrush, leafy spurge, and tansy ragwort. Some ranchers and wheat farmers consider them more effective at controlling plant pests than herbicides.One serious problem that could instantly make sheep an unwanted food source is bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE. Sheep may have been the indirect source of this dreaded affliction, known as mad cow disease. The incurable disease literally turns a cow's brain spongy, causing a progressive dementia that kills the animal. In Britain, rendered sheep, goat, and cattle not fit for human use were added to cattle feed to boost the protein content. Some scientists believe that a related disease in sheep, scrapie, somehow crossed the "species barrier" when the rendered sheep were fed to cattle in the 1980s. Scrapie, a rare but very old disease of sheep, has never been known to infect humans, but BSE apparently has killed Britons who ate infected beef. This family of diseases, which also includes chronic wasting disease in deer and elk, is poorly understood. The infectious agent is a prion, a type of protein that has no genetic material, like a virus or bacteria. Prions are extremely resistant to heat and antiseptics and can survive in soil for

years. Yet certain types of sheep seem to have a greater genetic disposition to scrapie than others.European and British health officials are concerned that sheep in that part of the world may also have been infected with BSE, rather than normal scrapie. If so, it would have the potential to make European lamb unsafe to eat. Even though scrapie itself is not deadly to humans, the possible confusion of BSE in sheep with scrapie has led the United States to start a scrapie eradication program in domestic sheep. New Zealand and Australia are believed to be free of the scrapie as well as BSE.Finally, the loss of sheep and lambs to competition from plastic fabrics and more industrialized meats would be a blow to the collective memory of human history and tradition. The Bible has more references to lambs and sheep than to any other animal. The blood of the lamb protected Jews during the first Passover. Muslims break the month-long fast of Ramadan with a meal of lamb and rice. And to Christians, the lamb is the symbol of Christ sacrificed on the cross.As a result of the efforts of rare breed preservationists, hobbyists, and home wool spinners, it is unlikely that sheep will ever become completely extinct, even if their long-term commercial success faces challenges.See also Australia and New Zealand ; Christianity ; Dairy Products ; Food Safety ; Greece and Crete ; Herding ; Islam ; Judaism ; Lamb Stew ; Livestock Production ; Mammals ; Meat ; Religion and Food .BIBLIOGRAPHYAidells, Bruce, and Denis Kelly. The Complete Meat Cookbook. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.Dohner, Janet Vorwald. The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2001.Ensminger, M. E., and R. O. Parker. Sheep & Goat Science. Animal Agriculture Series. 5th ed. Danville, Ill.: Interstate Printers, 1986.Gatenby, Ruth M. Sheep Production in the Tropics and Sub-Tropics. New York: Longman, 1986.Harris, Marvin. Good to Eat: Riddles of Food and Culture. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985.Sheep World Web site. Available at http://www.sheepworld.co.nz.SheepFarming.htm.Simmons, Paula. Raising Sheep the Modern Way. Pownal, Vt.: Storey, 1989.United States Department of Agriculture. Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 14. 2001. Available at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR14/reports/sr14page.htm.Dan Looker Encyclopedia of Food and Culture Looker, Dan × Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA Chicago APA Looker, Dan "Sheep

." Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Feb. 2024 . Looker, Dan "Sheep

." Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 22, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/food/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sheep Looker, Dan "Sheep

." Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. . Retrieved February 22, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/food/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sheep Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:Modern Language Associationhttp://www.mla.org/styleThe Chicago Manual of Stylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.htmlAmerican Psychological Associationhttp://apastyle.apa.org/Notes: Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Sheep gale views updated May 23 2018 SheepResourcesSheep are ruminant members of the Bovidae family. They belong to the genus Ovis, which contains three species, Ovis musimon, Ovis orientalis, and Ovis aries.Sheep evolved about 2.5 million years ago. They were the first animals to become domesticated, approximately 9,000 to 11,000 years ago. Ovis musimon, the European moufflon, is still found wild in Sardinia and Corsica and 0. orientalis, the Asiatic mouflon, also roams freely in Asia Minor and the Caucasus. There are specimens of these wild species in many zoos. The European mouflon is horned, with a massive circular rack and its wool coat hidden under the long guard hairs. The rams will weigh up to 600 lb (270 kg), as heavy as some of the smaller cattle breeds. The Asiatic mouflon is similar in appearance to the European mouflon, but weighs one-third less. Over the years, the domesticated sheep has undergone so many changes through controlled breeding that it is now its own species, Ovis aries.Sheep domestication and the harvesting of wool is an ancient practice. Wool fabrics have been found in pre-historic ruins 10,000 years old. The beginnings of sheep domestication seem to center in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey around 6,000 BC; then the practice was spread by the Phoenicians to Africa and Spain. By 4,000 BC, domesticated sheep had appeared in China and the British Isles. On an uninhabited isle near St. Kilda in the Scottish Hebrides is a flock of primitive sheep called Soay sheep, which are survivors of the BronzeAge. They exhibit characteristics halfway between the mouflon and modern breeds, including brown coloring, massive curved horns, and kempy wool. The neighboring sheep farmers pay an annual visit to this isle, where they round up the sheep, shear and cull the flock, then depart for another year, leaving the flock to fend for themselves.Spanish farmers developed the Merino breed of sheep in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the fineness of its wool is unsurpassed even today. In the seventeenth century English farmer Robert Bakewell, using his newly discovered breeding methods, developed the Southdown and the Leicester breeds and this led the way to improvements in other breeds. Because most sheep breeders in England were small farmers, they created several distinctive breeds to meet requirements of their locales and to satisfy the local wool markets. Some of the breeds were developed for the quality of their meat, some for their fine wool, some for their coarse wool (for carpets, etc.), some for their ability to produce milk, and others for their hardiness.The Merino was so outstanding that Spain refused to export the breed in an attempt to keep its monopoly. Louis XVI of France asked for and received a flock of 366 Merino sheep and used them to build his own breed fine-wool-producing sheep, the Rambouillet. Both the Merino and Rambouillet have since been the basis for upgrading the qualities of wool of other breeds.The Finnish Landrace breed is noted for its tendency to have a litter of young rather than a single lamb. The Russian Romanov also has multiple births, and breeders are now importing these into the United States, hoping to incorporate this trait into the established types. The Merino, prized for its wool, does not reproduce as successfully as other breeds, so a program to interbreed the Merino with the Landrace or Romanov could benefit both breeds.In the United States, sheep are not commonly thought of as milk producers, but there are many cultures that commonly use sheep’s milk for drinking, cheese-making, and butter. Worldwide, sheep milk production was estimated at 9.04 million tons in 1988. Sheep milk is much richer than cow’s milk. Cow’s milk contains 3–6% butterfat, and ewe’s milk contains 6–9%. A single ewe produces an average of one pint of milk per day.French Roquefort cheese is made from ewe’s milk. In the United States, a similar cheese is made from cow’s milk and is called blue cheese. The blue streaks are caused by bacterium Penicillium roqueforti. Feta, originally from Greece, is also made from sheep’s milk and is produced in several countries around the Mediterranean. Numerous local brands of white cheese made from sheep’s milk are also found in the Balkans.Sheep skins were the source of parchment from around 600 BC through the Middle Ages. The invention of printing, though, spurred the need for and manufacture of paper substitutes. Sheep parchment was one of the materials onto which the Dead Sea Scrolls were lettered, as well as most of the illuminated manuscripts of the monasteries. It is still used on occasions for degrees or meritorious citations, though true parchment is most often replaced by a paper product that resembles it.Next to meat and wool, probably the most noteworthy of sheep products is the Scottish haggis, the main course for festive meals. It is a sausage like dish made of diced sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs mixed with turnips and oatmeal, all stuffed into a sheep’s stomach and baked. When ready to serve a bagpiper precedes it into the dining hall. The sheep’s blood, gathered during the slaughter, is the main ingredient in black pudding or a beverage. Soap and tallow come from the hard white fat, and some bones became shuttle bobbins in the weaving process. The intestines are the source of catgut.Christopher Columbus brought sheep, horses, and cattle to the New World on his second, third, and fourth voyages, as did many explorers who followed him. These animals served as the basic breeding stock for the missions that Spain was setting up in the New World. A century later, sheep numbered in the hundreds of thousands in Mexico and the Southwest, and their numbers continued to increase in spite of predators, Indians, and other depredations.The Bighorn sheep is native to North America, but had no part in the development of the domesticated sheep business. In fact, the sheep which were imported from Europe carried and spread diseasesKEY TERMSClip —The fleece shorn from a single sheep or a whole flock.Grade —The fineness or coarseness of the fleece. Can also refer to flocks or individuals, a grade animal denotes lower quality.Kempy wool —Guard hairs mixed into the wool, an undesirable trait.Ram —Male sheep.that decimated their wild cousins. Predators such as coyotes, eagles, and mountain lions also take their toll on wild as well as on domestic sheep populations. Recently, it was discovered that the presence of llamas, donkeys, and cattle in the flock will help prevent predation. Certain breeds of dogs that are raised with the flock also protect the sheep by attacking predators.Most of the sheep flocks in the western United States carry Rambouillet and Merino blood, as they are often bred for their wool. It is the custom to castrate the ram lambs in these flocks and to use purebred rams from outside the flock to upgrade the wool. These males are retained for three to five years for shearing, and when the quality or quantity of their coat begins to decrease, they are sent to market and sold for meat.Ewes are kept longer than the rams, up to seven or eight years, since they also produce a lamb every year in addition to their wool. A single lamb is the norm, but, through selective breeding, the farmer can sometimes achieve a larger lamb crop. Lambs bred for meat come from smaller farm flocks in the eastern and midwestern parts of the country.Wool production in the United States has steadily declined since World War II, in spite of government subsidies, and now about 75% of the country’s wool is imported. Australia produces about 25% of the world’s wool. The development of cheaply-made synthetic fibers has greatly reduced the demand of the natural fibers such as wool.The Merino and the improved British breeds constitute the majority of the modern breeds. Nearly all have a white fleece, as brown or black wool will not dye as readily. Wool is graded depending on the quality and length of the fibers. The blood system, most commonly used, grades the fleece as Fine, 1/2, 3/8 1/4, Low, and Braid.See also Livestock.ResourcesBOOKSClark, James L. The Great Arc of the Wild Sheep. Reprint ed. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.Fournier, Nola, and Jane Fournier. In Sheep’s Clothing: A Handspinner’s Guide to Wool. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1995.Nowak, Ronald M. Walker’s Mammals of the World. 6th ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999.Shackleton, D.M., ed. Wild Sheep and Goats and Their Relatives: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Caprinae. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, 1997.Wilson, D.E., and D. Reeder. Mammal Species of the World. 3rd ed. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2005.J. Gordon Miller The Gale Encyclopedia of Science × Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA Chicago APA "Sheep

." The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Feb. 2024 . "Sheep

." The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 22, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sheep-0 "Sheep

." The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. . Retrieved February 22, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sheep-0 Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:Modern Language Associationhttp://www.mla.org/styleThe Chicago Manual of Stylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.htmlAmerican Psychological Associationhttp://apastyle.apa.org/Notes: Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Sheep gale views updated May 18 2018 SheepSheep are ruminant members of the Bovidae family. They belong to the genus Ovis, which contains three species , Ovis musimon, Ovis orientalis, and Ovis aries.Sheep evolved about 2,500,000 years ago. They were the first animals to become domesticated, approximately 9,000 to 10,000 b.c. Ovis musimon, the European moufflon, is still found wild in Sardinia and Corsica and 0. orientalis , the Asiatic moufflon, also roams freely in Asia Minor and the Caucasus. There are specimens of these wild species in many zoos. The European moufflon is horned, with a massive circular rack and its wool coat hidden under the long guard hairs. The rams will weigh up to 600 lb (270 kg), as heavy as some of the smaller cattle breeds. The Asiatic moufflon is similar in appearance to the European moufflon, but weighs one-third less. Over the years, the domesticated sheep has undergone so many changes through controlled breeding that it is now its own species, Ovis aries.Sheep domestication and the harvesting of wool is an ancient practice. Wool fabrics have been found in prehistoric ruins 10,000 years old. The beginnings of sheep domestication seem to center in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey around 6,000 b.c.; then the practice was spread by the Phoenicians to Africa and Spain. By 4,000 b.c. domesticated sheep had appeared in China and the British Isles. On an uninhabited isle near St. Kilda in the Scottish Hebrides is a flock of primitive sheep called Soay sheep, which are survivors of the Bronze age. They exhibit the characteristics halfway between the moufflon and modern breeds, including brown coloring, massive curved horns and kempy wool. The neighboring sheep farmers pay an annual visit to this isle, where they round up the sheep, shear and cull the flock, then depart for another year, leaving the flock to fend for themselves.Spanish farmers developed the Merino breed of sheep in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the fineness of its wool is unsurpassed even today. In the seventeenth century Robert Bakewell, in England, using his newly discovered breeding methods developed the Southdown and the Leicester, led the way to improvements in other breeds. Because most sheep breeders in England were small farmers, they created several distinctive breeds to meet requirements of the their locals and to satisfy the local wool markets. So some of the breeds were developed for the quality of their meat, some for their fine wool, some for their coarse wool (for carpets, etc.), some for their ability to produce milk, and others for their hardiness.The Merino was so outstanding that Spain refused to export the breed in an attempt to keep its monopoly. Louis XVI of France asked for and received a flock of 366 and used them to build his own breed of fine wools, the Rambouillet. Both the Merino and Rambouillet have since been the basis for upgrading the qualities of wool for other breeds.The Finnish Landrace breed is noted for its tendency to have a litter of young rather than a single lamb. The Russian Romanov also has multiple births, and breeders are now importing these into the United States, hoping to incorporate this trait into the established types. The Merino, prized for its wool, does not reproduce as successfully as other breeds, so a program to interbreed the Merino with the Landrace or Romanov would benefit both breeds.In the United States, sheep are not commonly thought of as milk producers, but there are many cultures that commonly use the milk for drinking, cheese making, and butter. Worldwide, sheep milk production was estimated at 9.04 million tons in 1988. Sheep milk is much richer than cow's milk, though; cow's milk contains 3-6% butterfat, and ewe's milk contains 6-9%. A single ewe produces an average of one pint of milk per day.French Roquefort cheese is made from ewe's milk. In the United States, a similar cheese is made from cow's milk and is called blue cheese. The blue streaks are caused by bacterium Penicillium roqueforti. Feta, originally from Greece, is also made from sheep's milk and is produced in several countries around the Mediterranean. The very popular Akawi comes from the area of Acre in Israel. Numerous local brands of white cheese are also found in the Balkans.Sheep skins were the source of parchment from around 600 b.c. through the Middle Ages. The invention of printing , though, spurred the need for and manufacture of paper substitutes. Sheep parchment was one of the materials onto which the Dead Sea Scrolls were lettered, as well as most of the illuminated manuscripts of the monasteries. It is still used on occasions for degrees or meritorious citations, though true parchment is most often replaced by a paper product that resembles it.Next to meat and wool, probably the most noted of sheep products is the Scottish haggis, the main course for festive times. It is a mixture of diced heart , liver, and lungs with turnips and oatmeal, all stuffed into a sheep's stomach and baked. When ready to serve a bagpiper precedes it into the dining hall. The sheep's blood , gathered during the slaughter, is the main ingredient in black pudding or a beverage. Soap and tallow come from the hard white fat , and some bones became shuttle bobbins in the weaving process. The intestines are the source of catgut.Christopher Columbus brought over sheep, horses , and cattle on his second, third, and fourth voyages to the New World, as did many explorers who followed him. These animals served as the basic breeding stock for the missions that Spain was setting up in the New World. A century after, sheep numbered in the hundreds of thousands in Mexico and the Southwest, and their numbers continued to increase in spite of predators, Indians and other setbacks.The Bighorn sheep is native to North America , but had no part in the development of the domesticated sheep business. In fact, the sheep which were imported from Europe carried and spread diseases that decimated their wild cousins. Predators such as the coyote, the eagle, and mountain lion also that take their toll on wild sheep populations. Recently, it was discovered that the presence of llamas, donkeys , and cattle in the flock will help prevent predation. Certain breeds of dogs that are raised with the flock also protect the sheep by attacking predators.Most of the sheep flocks on the western United States ranges carry Rambouillet and Merino blood, as they are often bred for their wool. It is the custom to castrate the ram lambs in these flocks and to use purebred rams from outside the flock to upgrade the wool. These males are retained for three to five years for shearing, and when the quality or quantity of their coat begins to decrease, they are sent to market and sold for meat.Ewes are kept longer than the rams, up to seven or eight years, as they also produce a lamb every year in addition to their wool. A single lamb is the norm, but through selective breeding the farmer can sometimes achieve a larger lamb crop. Lambs bred for meat come from smaller farm flocks in the eastern and midwestern areas of the country.Wool production in the United States has steadily declined since World War II, in spite of government subsidies, and now about 75% of the country's wool is imported. Australia produces about 25% of the world's wool. The development of cheaply-made synthetic fibers has greatly reduced the demand of the natural fibers such as wool.The Merino and the improved British breeds constitute the majority of the modern breeds. Nearly all have a white fleece, as brown or black wool will not dye as readily. Wool is graded depending on the quality and length of the fibers. The blood system, most commonly used, grades the fleece as Fine, 1/2, 3/8 1/4, Low, and Braid.See also Livestock.J. Gordon MillerKEY TERMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Clip—The fleece shorn from a single sheep or a whole flock.Grade—The fineness or coarseness of the fleece. Can also refer to flocks or individuals, a grade animal denotes lower quality.Kempy wool—Guard hairs mixed into the wool, an undesirable trait.Ram—Male sheep. The Gale Encyclopedia of Science × Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA Chicago APA "Sheep

." The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Feb. 2024 . "Sheep

." The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 22, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sheep "Sheep

." Dictionary of American History. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Feb. 2024 . Dunbar, Robert G. "Sheep

." Dictionary of American History. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 22, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sheep Dunbar, Robert G. "Sheep

." Dictionary of American History. . Retrieved February 22, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sheep Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:Modern Language Associationhttp://www.mla.org/styleThe Chicago Manual of Stylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.htmlAmerican Psychological Associationhttp://apastyle.apa.org/Notes: Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Sheep gale views updated May 17 2018 SHEEPIn the Bible the term ẓon indicates both sheep and *goats (Lev. 1:10; 3:6; et al.); only once does it refer to sheep alone, as distinct from izzim ("goats"; i Sam. 25:2). In the Mishnah both are referred to as behemah dakkah ("small cattle"). The most common strain of sheep in Israel is the broad-tailed sheep Ovis vignei platyura, derived from the desert sheep Ovis vignei (orientalis), domesticated during the Middle Stone Age. The bodily construction and way of life of this strain is adapted to the conditions of existence in dry regions such as Ereẓ Israel and its vicinity. The wool, particularly of the lambs, is usually white (Ps. 147:16; Isa. 1:18). The body of most of the sheep native to Ereẓ Israel is white; only the head and feet are brown. Some of the sheep, however, also have brown spots on other parts of the body. These can be born also to parents with white fleeces, and Jacob, when tending Laban's sheep, asked to receive as wages "all the dark ones among the sheep" born from white parents; a modest-seeming request to which Laban agreed (Gen. 30:32–37; see *Biology). In the local breed some are raised for meat and others for wool (cf. ii Kings 3:4). The ewe has no horns, while the ram has curved ones (cf. Gen. 22:13). This shape of horn also appears on ancient drawings. From it was fashioned the *shofar of "rounded ram's horns" (rh 3:4). As stated above, the Israel sheep is distinguished by its broad and heavy tail (in the male it can reach a weight of 20 pounds, and is mentioned several times in the Bible (Ex. 29:22; Lev. 3:9; et al.)). The tail fat serves as stock when there is a shortage of pasture, particularly in summer.The sheep was a main source of meat, hence the expression "sheep for slaughter" often found in the Bible (Isa. 53:7; et al.). Its milk was also of importance (Deut. 32:14), while the wool was a basic necessity of life (Hos. 2:7). Its skin was valuable, being used for shoes, clothing, and hangings (Ex. 25:5). The fertility of the sheep is mentioned as a blessing (Ps. 144:13). The ewes normally gave birth to one lamb, but under favorable conditions they had twins – the "paired" of Song of Songs 6:6. The season of conception depends upon the state of the pasture. With the early ones, the primiparous, it begins in Adar; others conceive later. The early ones are the mekusharot ("stronger") of Scripture and the later ones the atufim ("feebler," cf. Gen. 30:41–42). The period of gestation of five months is mentioned in the Talmud (rh 8a). The weak and innocent sheep, the potential victims of beasts of prey, symbolize in prophetic parable and allegory the Israelite nation and its fate (Jer. 23:2–3; Ezek. 34:6–22; et al.).Many terms for sheep occur in the Bible. A male in its first year is called keves (Lev. 12:6), the female, kavsah (Lev. 14:10), kivsah (ii Sam. 12:3), or kisbah (Lev. 5:6). The adult male is ayil, in Aramaic dekhar ("male"; Ezra 6:9). Ayil meshullash is one three years old (Gen. 15:9). The mature female is raḥel (Isa. 53:7; et al.). Taleh is used for the young of both sheep and goats (Isa. 40:11); the fully grown sheep is the seh (Gen. 30:32; Ex. 12:5). A prime species of sheep for meat was called karim. These came chiefly from the unpopulated border regions: Bashan (Deut. 32:14), Kedar (Ezek. 27:21), Moab (ii Kings 3:4), Edom (Isa. 34:6), and Amalek (i Sam. 15:9). With the growth of the Jewish population of Israel from the beginning of the period of the kings, the pasture areas gradually diminished, being crowded out by agriculture. During the time of the Mishnah, when agriculture in Israel reached its peak of development, a regulation was enacted that small cattle were not to be reared in the populated part of the country, but only in desert areas and in Syria (bk 7:7), as well as in its forests (bk 81a). During that era the shepherd who was suspected of penetrating into agricultural areas to pasture his flock was treated with contempt (Sanh. 26b). At the close of the talmudic period, after the destruction of Israel's agriculture, the land was once more converted into extensive grazing areas.bibliography:G. Dalman, Arbeit, 6 (1939, repr. 1964), 170ff.; S. Bodenheimer, Ha-Ḥai be-Arẓot ha-Mikra, 2 vols. (1949–56), index, s.v.Keves; J. Feliks, Animal World of the Bible (1962), 17; idem, Ha-Ḥakla'ut be-Ereẓ Yisrael bi-Tekufat ha-Mishnah ve-ha-Talmud (1963), 112–5; idem, in: Teva va-Areẓ, 7 (1964/65), 330–7. add. bibliography: Feliks, Ha-Ẓome'aḥ, 296.[Jehuda Feliks] Encyclopaedia Judaica Feliks, Jehuda × Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA Chicago APA Feliks, Jehuda "Sheep

." Encyclopaedia Judaica. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Feb. 2024 . Feliks, Jehuda "Sheep

." Encyclopaedia Judaica. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 22, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sheep Feliks, Jehuda "Sheep

." Encyclopaedia Judaica. . Retrieved February 22, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sheep Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:Modern Language Associationhttp://www.mla.org/styleThe Chicago Manual of Stylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.htmlAmerican Psychological Associationhttp://apastyle.apa.org/Notes: Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. sheep oxford views updated May 17 2018 sheep / shēp/ •

n. (pl. same) 1. a domesticated ruminant (Ovis aries) of the cattle family with a thick woolly coat and (typically only in the male) curving horns. It is kept in flocks for its wool or meat, and is proverbial for its tendency to follow others in the flock. ∎ a wild mammal related to this, such as the argali and bighorn. 2. a person too easily influenced or led. PHRASES: count sheep count imaginary sheep jumping over a fence one by one in an attempt to send oneself to sleep. The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English × Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA Chicago APA "sheep

." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Feb. 2024 . "sheep

." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 22, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sheep-1 "sheep

." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. . Retrieved February 22, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sheep-1 Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:Modern Language Associationhttp://www.mla.org/styleThe Chicago Manual of Stylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.htmlAmerican Psychological Associationhttp://apastyle.apa.org/Notes: Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. sheep oxford views updated May 14 2018 sheep the sheep is proverbial for its tendency to follow others in the flock, and for its timidity and inoffensiveness.In biblical allusions, the people of Israel are likened to sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:6); in Acts 8:32, the words ‘He was led as a sheep to the slaughter’ describe the death of Jesus.count sheep count imaginary sheep jumping over a fence one by one in an attempt to send oneself to sleep.separate the sheep from the goats divide the good from the bad, with biblical allusion to the parable of the Last Judgement in Matthew 25:32–3.See also better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep, black sheep, may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, wolf in sheep's clothing. The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES × Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA Chicago APA ELIZABETH KNOWLES "sheep

." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Feb. 2024 . ELIZABETH KNOWLES "sheep

." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 22, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sheep ELIZABETH KNOWLES "sheep

." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. . Retrieved February 22, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sheep Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:Modern Language Associationhttp://www.mla.org/styleThe Chicago Manual of Stylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.htmlAmerican Psychological Associationhttp://apastyle.apa.org/Notes: Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. sheep oxford views updated May 23 2018 sheep Ruminants of the genus Ovis, and those of the less numerous genera Pseudois and Ammotragus. Domestic sheep, O. aries, are now bred for wool, fur (karakul), and meat. Wild species are found in the mountains of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. All are of the Family Bovidae. World Encyclopedia × Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA Chicago APA "sheep

." World Encyclopedia. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Feb. 2024 . "sheep

." World Encyclopedia. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 22, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sheep "sheep

." World Encyclopedia. . Retrieved February 22, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sheep Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:Modern Language Associationhttp://www.mla.org/styleThe Chicago Manual of Stylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.htmlAmerican Psychological Associationhttp://apastyle.apa.org/Notes: Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. sheep oxford views updated May 23 2018 sheep OE. (Angl.) sċēp, (WS.) sċǣp, sċēap = OS. skāp (Du. schaap), OHG. scāf (G. schaf) :- WGmc. *skǣpa, of which no cogns. are known. Hence sheepish (-ISH1) XII. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD × Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA Chicago APA T. F. HOAD "sheep

." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Feb. 2024 . T. F. HOAD "sheep

." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 22, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sheep-2 T. F. HOAD "sheep

." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. . Retrieved February 22, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sheep-2 Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:Modern Language Associationhttp://www.mla.org/styleThe Chicago Manual of Stylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.htmlAmerican Psychological Associationhttp://apastyle.apa.org/Notes: Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. sheep oxford views updated Jun 27 2018 sheep (Ovis) See BOVIDAE. A Dictionary of Zoology MICHAEL ALLABY × Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA Chicago APA MICHAEL ALLABY "sheep

." A Dictionary of Zoology. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Feb. 2024 . MICHAEL ALLABY "sheep

." A Dictionary of Zoology. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 22, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sheep MICHAEL ALLABY "sheep

." A Dictionary of Zoology. . Retrieved February 22, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sheep Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:Modern Language Associationhttp://www.mla.org/styleThe Chicago Manual of Stylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.htmlAmerican Psychological Associationhttp://apastyle.apa.org/Notes: Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. More From encyclopedia.com Swine , swine, name for any of the cloven-hoofed mammals of the family Suidae, native to the Old World. A swine has a rather long, mobile snout, a heavy, rel… Domestication , The domestication of plants and animals marked the beginnings of effective food production by man, a stage in human sociocultural development that ha… Yak , Yak

The yaks are members of the family Bovidae (oxen), order Artiodactyla, which also includes the domestic cattle and existing wild cattle species s… Neolithic Period , NEOLITHIC PERIOD A general term used by archaeologists, "Neolithic" (or New Stone Age) identifies cultural adaptations that involve the transition fr… Alpaca , Alpaca

The alpaca is a domesticated member of the camel family and native to the high Andes Mountains of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and northwestern Argen… Butter , Butter

BUTTER. Butter is made by churning milk fat. It has a solid, waxy texture and varies in color from almost white to deep yellow. It is mostly m… About this articlesheepAll Sources - Updated Aug 18 2018 About encyclopedia.com content Print Topic × 1/1 Related TopicswoolCharles LambYou Might Also Like Mammals and Humans: Domestication and Commensals Livestock of the Early Farmers Livestock The Domestication of Wheat and Other Crops Livestock Crops of the Early Farmers Ungulate Domestication Camels, Guanacos, Llamas, Alpacas, and Vicuñas (Camelidae) NEARBY TERMS sheeny Sheena Sheen, Michael 1969- Sheen, Martin Sheen, Gillian (1928–) Sheen, Fulton J. Sheen, Charlie 1965- (Charles Sheen) Sheen, Barbara 1949- Sheen, Barbara Sheen Charterhouse Sheeler, Jim 1969- Sheeler, Jackie 1957- Sheehy-Skeffington, Hanna (1877–1946) Sheehy, Kathy (1970–) Sheehy, Helen 1948– Sheehy, Helen Sheehy, Gail Sheehan, Susan Sheehan, Sean 1951- Sheehan, Sean Sheehan, Patty (1956—) Sheehan, Patty (1956–) Sheehan, Neil Sheehan, Michael J. Sheehan, Margaret Flavin (d. 1969) sheep Sheep and Goats Sheep Herders Sheep in Hispanic New Mexico sheep laurel Sheep may safely graze Sheep On Drugs sheep run Sheep Sorrel sheep walk Sheep Wars Sheep-Goat Hypothesis sheep-walk sheepdip sheepdog sheepfold sheepish sheeplike sheepshank Sheepshanks, Mary (1872–1958) sheepshead Sheepshead Bay sheepskin sheer hulk Sheer Madness Sheer Thursday Footer menu Home About Us Help Site Feedback Privacy & Cookie Policy Terms and Conditions Daily © 2019 Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved.

Sheep | Livestock Systems | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

FAO.org

العربية中文englishfrançaisРусскийEspañol

Livestock SystemsGlobal distributionsProduction systemsResources

BuffaloesCattleChickensDucksHorsesGoatsPigsSheep

SheepThe domestic sheep (Ovis aries) is a very widespread small ruminant species raised primarily for its wool, meat, milk and hides. The species has been developed into a multitude of breeds, adapted to serve different purposes in diverse environments. These range from the cold, wet highland areas of northern Europe to the arid areas of Africa, Asia and Australasia. Sheep are primarily grazing animals, cropping pasture close to the ground. They are raised in a wide range of production systems around the world, reflecting the prevailing environmental conditions and socio-economic context. Number of sheep per square kilometre in 2015

Dataset

Global distribution of sheep

2010 | 2015Related documentsGlobal livestock distribution data for cattle, buffaloes, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and ducks in 2010 (GLW 3)Using random forest to improve the downscaling of global livestock census dataMapping the global distribution of livestockThe Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Gridded Livestock of the WorldGridded livestock of the world, 2007

Contact us Terms and ConditionsData protection and privacy Scam Alert Report Misconduct Jobs Procurement Governing Bodies Office of the Inspector General Evaluation Legal OfficeEthics Office FAO organizational chartRegional Office for AfricaRegional Office for Asia and the PacificRegional Office for Europe and Central AsiaRegional Office for Latin America and the CaribbeanRegional Office for the Near East and North AfricaCountry Offices

tp钱包安卓|sheep

tp钱包安卓|sheep

Sheep - Wikipedia

Sheep | Characteristics, Breeds, & Facts | Britannica

Amazing Facts about Sheep | OneKindPlanet Animal Education & Facts

Sheep - Description, Habitat, Image, Diet, and Interesting Facts

Sheep | mammal genus | Britannica

Facts About Sheep | Live Science

Sheep Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Just a moment...

Sheep | Encyclopedia.com

Sheep | Livestock Systems | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

菜单

支持

Follow

tp钱包安卓|sheep

tp钱包安卓|sheep

Sheep - Wikipedia

Sheep | Characteristics, Breeds, & Facts | Britannica

Amazing Facts about Sheep | OneKindPlanet Animal Education & Facts

Sheep - Description, Habitat, Image, Diet, and Interesting Facts

Sheep | mammal genus | Britannica

Facts About Sheep | Live Science

Sheep Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Just a moment...

Sheep | Encyclopedia.com

Sheep | Livestock Systems | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

最近的新闻

您可能喜欢的文章

imtoken官网|st

tokenpockettokenpockettokenpocket官网|beard

比特派助记词忘了怎么办

安卓手机怎么下载比特派app

比特派下载后怎么使用手机

比特派无法登录怎么办啊

比特派怎么看是否被授权