Sound View Farm: Sheep
/Let’s learn about out fluffy friends, the sheep. At camp we have 2 sheep that are both mixes of the St. Croix and Jacobs breeds.
Where do sheep come from?
Moufloun sheep Photo: Wikipedia
Sheep have a similar domestication story to goats. They were both domesticated over 10 thousand years ago starting in Western Asia. Just like goats, sheep belong to the family Bovidae which also includes cows, bison, antelope and more. There are about 5 species of sheep around the world including the domestic sheep. Scientists are not certain which wild species domestic sheep came from but the leading though is that they descended from a species of Mouflon sheep from Western Asia. Today there are thought to be over a thousand different breeds of sheep all over the world. There are over 60 breeds in the United States.
Why were sheep domesticated?
Shrek the Merino Sheep Learn about him here: https://www.sun-gazing.com/6-years-ago-sheep-escaped-grew-60lbs-wool-stunned-wait-til-ssdee-nods1w/
Sheep were domesticated for many of the same reasons goats were. They were and continue to be used for meat, wool, skin, and milk. Today most sheep are bred for their wool production. Some breeds don’t shed their wool, they have to get haircuts to get it removed. Sheep are also still commonly used for meat. Sheep milk is used in making feta, pecorino, and manchego cheeses. Overall, animals like goats and sheep were able to be domesticated because they are easy to feed, relatively docile (calm and not aggressive), they can survive in a variety of climates, and they reproduce quickly.
Goat Vs Sheep
I mentioned before that goats and sheep are very similar. They both have cloven-hooves and a 4 chambered stomach. They are both herbivores, eating only plants and no meat. They also often live in similar environments even in the wild. They even both have rectangular pupils in their eyes. So what is the difference between goats and sheep? A quick way to tell the difference is that goats have tails that generally stand up where sheep tails will hang down. Often when sheep are young, their tails are shortened for health and hygiene reasons. Though both animals are intelligent, goats typically are more curious and prone to escaping fences where sheep will stick with their flock. If you watch both animals when they butt-heads, sheep back up before charging but goats will more likely use their front legs to hop up and then butt-heads on the way back down. In general, sheep grow more wool than goats, if the goat grows any at all. Lastly, when they have horns, (some are bred to not have horns and some horns are removed) sheep horns tend to be thicker and curl more than goat horns.
Other sheep facts
Photo: sksheep.com
A male sheep is called a ram. A female sheep is called a ewe and a baby is called a lamb. The first mammal to be successfully cloned was a sheep named Dolly. Many US presidents raised sheep including Woodrow Wilson who had sheep at the white house to lower lawn maintenance costs. Sheep that fall over and end up on their back may not be able to get back up. This can be very dangerous for the sheep. Sheep have a very good field of vision, they can see almost 300 degrees without turning their head.
Learn about the White House sheep here: https://www.whitehousehistory.org/questions/why-did-president-woodrow-wilson-keep-a-flock-of-sheep-on-the-white-house-lawn
