Sheep

There are over 1 billion sheep around the world. One of the first animals to be domesticated, it is believed that the firsts flocks of sheep where gathered in 9000 a.C. in the Middle East area, from where they spread to Europe and Asia.

A group of sheep is called a flock, herd or mob. Females are called ewes and males are tups or rams. The young are referred as lamb.

Sheep are one of the most docile farm animals. Being prey, they have strong instincts to congregate for protection. However, in some regions where sheep don’t have natural predators, the instinct to congregate isn’t has strong. So, the behavior depends greatly on the breed.

When facing threats, sheep tend to flee. They also tend to follow the leader through pastures. Farmers exploit the love sheep have for food to lead them. Another option is to have a sheepdog that will do most of the work in keeping sheep in line.

Domestic sheep are small ruminants covered in wool. Some breeds may present horns on the head. Sheep are believed to be white, with the exception of one or other black sheep that may appear. However, sheep have a bigger range of colors, they can also be found in brown, or any color between white, brown and black, and they can also be spotted or piebald. Some breeds have the head of different color than the body, like the Suffolk’s breed.

Although small, compared to other ruminants, females can reach 100 kg and males 150 kg.

Sheep are herbivore animals that feed of pasture. Sheep spend most of their time grazing, from dawn to dusk. However, they take time to rest, especially in the days are too hot. Grass fields aren’t exactly the best pasture for sheep. The ideal field should have some variety of greases, legumes and forbs.

Sheep are used to produce wool. In fact sheep endure better the high summer temperatures without the wool. Meat and milk are also other products obtained through sheep.