(Redirected from Sheep)
The 'domestic sheep' (''Ovis aries''), the most common species of the 'sheep' genus (''
Ovis''), is a woolly
ruminant quadruped. It is probably descended from the wild
mouflon of
South Asia and
Southwest Asia.
Breeders refer to female sheep as '''ewes''', intact males as '''rams''',
castrated males as '''wethers''', yearlings as '''hoggets''', and younger sheep as '''lambs'''. In sheep
husbandry, a group of sheep is called a ''
herd'', ''flock'' or ''mob''. See other specialized vocabulary below.
The sheep is related to the
goat, both belonging to the
goat antelope subfamily
Caprinae, itself part of the family
Bovidae. However, the genes of sheep and goats differ so greatly that cross-species
hybrids do not occur.
Cultural significance
Sheep have had associations with many cultures, especially in the
Mediterranean area and
Great Britain, where they form the most common type of
livestock in
pastoralism.
Selective breeding of sheep has frequently occurred.
A wide
symbology relates to sheep in ancient art, traditions and culture. In
Egyptian Mythology the ram was the symbol of
Heryshaf.
Judaism uses many sheep references including the
Passover lamb.
Christianity uses sheep-related images, such as:
Christ as the good shepherd, or as the
sacrificed Lamb of God (
Agnus Dei), the
bishop's ''Pastoral'', the lion lying down with the lamb (a reference to all of creation being at peace, without suffering, predation or otherwise). Easter celebrations in
Greece traditionally feature a meal of Paschal lamb. Sheep also have considerable importance in
Arab culture;
Eid ul-Adha is a major annual festival in
Islam in which a sheep is sacrificed.
Herding sheep plays an important historico-symbolic part in the
Jewish and
Christian faiths, since
Abraham,
Jacob,
Moses, and
King David all worked as
shepherds.
The ram is the first sign of the Western
zodiac, in which it is known as ''
Aries''. The sheep (or
goat) also forms one of the animals associated with the 12-year cycle of in the
Chinese zodiac, related to the
Chinese calendar. Chinese tradition associates each animal with certain personality traits. See:
Sheep (Zodiac).
The raising of sheep for wool and meat became a major industry in colonial
Australia and
New Zealand and remains significant. As a result, sheep and
sheep shearing have become an important part of the folklore and cultural tradition of these two countries. In
New Zealand, sheep outnumber the human population 12 to 1.
[1]
Sheep are often associated with obedience due to the widespread perception that they lack
intelligence and their undoubted
herd mentality, hence the pejorative connotation of the adjective 'ovine'. In
George Orwell's satirical novel ''
Animal Farm'', sheep are used to represent the ignorant and uneducated masses of revolutionary
Russia. The sheep are unable to be taught the subtleties of revolutionary ideology and can only be taught repetitive slogans such as "Four legs good, two legs bad" which they bleat in unison at rallies. The rock group
Pink Floyd wrote a song using
sheep as a symbol for ordinary people, that is, everyone who isn't a pig or dog. People who accept overbearing governments have been pejoratively referred to as "
sheeple".
In contemporary events, controversy has raged over a scientific study at the
Oregon Health and Science University which, because of the unedited printing of a press-release by
PETA in a British newspaper, has been accused of attempting to find a way to breed out the minority trait which causes some rams to prefer
homosexual relations. Further investigation revealed it only attempts to study the genetics and circumstances which produce the phenomenon and not "cure" it.
[2] Even in this regard, the study has had implications for the agenda of such
Fundamentalist Christian advocacy groups such as
Focus on the family, as it may provide evidence to the contrary of the idea that homosexuality is a chosen
lifestyle rather than a trait affected by
genetics.
[2]. But critics point out problems with these conclusions. For one, James Dobson does not actually believe that homosexuality is a choice, contrary to the statements of several liberal critics. James Dobson once told Larry King when asked if homosexuality was a choice, "I never did believe that."
[4]
In the 21st century, sheep retain considerable importance in the economies of several countries. After
China, the largest producers of sheep products are in the southern hemisphere:
Australia,
New Zealand and the
Patagonian regions of
Argentina,
Uruguay, and
Chile. Sheep play an important role in the economies of a number of smaller countries, such as
Wales. In some places, like
Sardinia, sheep-breeding has become the principal and characteristic activity.
Sheep headcount in 2004
In the
United Kingdom, the importance of the wool trade was so significant that in the upper chamber of parliament (the
House of Lords), the
Lord Chancellor sits on a bench known as the
Woolsack. This is, as its name suggests, a sack of wool and confers the importance of the wool trade to the English economy at the time of its installation many centuries ago.
The economic importance of sheep in much of the
United States has declined as it has become, in some cases, economically unviable to ranch sheep for wool.
[5] Texas has by far the most sheep of any state,
[6] but now has only about one-tenth
[7] of the almost 11 million sheep it had in the 1940s.
[8]
In the 21st century, in some situations, sheep can provide a return on investment of up to 400% of their cost annually (including reproduction gains). Sheep breeding has played a role in several historic conflicts, such as the Scottish
Highland Clearances, the American
range wars, and the English "
enclosing of the commons".
Domestication
Evidence for the domestication of sheep dates to
9000 BC in
Iraq.
[9] Domestic sheep are descended from the
mouflon that is found from the mountains of
Turkey to southern
Iran. It has been found by
DNA analysis to be one of two ancestors of domestic sheep. Although the second ancestor has not been identified, both the
urial and
argali have been ruled out.
[10] The
urial (''O. vignei'') is found from northeastern Iran to northwestern India. It has a higher number of
chromosomes (58) than domestic sheep (54) which makes it an unlikely ancestor of the latter, but it interbreeds with the mouflon. The
argali sheep (''O. ammon'') of inner Asia (Tibet, Himalayas,
Altay Mountains,
Tien-Shan and
Pamir) has 56 chromosomes and the Siberian
snow sheep (''Ovis nivicola'') has 52 chromosomes.
Evidence of early domesticated sheep has been found in
PPNB Jericho and
Zawi Chemi Shanidar. The fleece-bearing sheep are only found since the
Bronze Age. Primitive breeds, like the Scottish
Soay sheep have to be plucked (a process called rooing), instead of sheared, as the kemps are still longer than the soft fleece, or the fleece must be collected from the field after it falls out. The European mouflon (''O. musimon'') found on
Corsica and
Sardinia as well as the Cretan and the extinct Cypriot wild sheep are possibly descended from early domestic sheep that turned
feral.
Cuisine
Chefs and diners commonly know sheep
meat prepared for food as
'lamb' or 'mutton' (compare the
French word for "sheep": ''mouton'').
Ewes' milk is used in the production of
cheese and
yogurt in many upland parts of the world. Well known sheep milk cheeses include the
Roquefort of France, the
brocciu of
Corsica, the
pecorino of
Italy and the
feta cheese of
Greece. See
Category:Sheep's-milk cheeses. Sheep milk contains
lactose, and may trigger
lactose intolerance in humans.
[2]
Sheep
testicles - called
animelles or
Lamb fries in culinary terms - are considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. They are sometimes confused with
Rocky Mountain oysters which are exclusively the testicles of
boars or
bulls.
Behavior
A flock of sheep grazing in Montana, United States.
Some breeds of sheep exhibit a strong
flocking behaviour. Flocking behaviour is advantageous to non-predatory animals; the strongest animals fight their way to the center of the flock which offers them great protection from predators. It can be disadvantageous when food sources are limited and sheep are almost as prone to overgrazing a pasture as goats. In
Iceland, where sheep have no natural predators, and grasses grow slowly, none of the various breeds of sheep exhibit a strong flocking behaviour.
Sheep flocking behaviour is so prevalent in some
English breeds that special names apply to the different roles sheep play in a flock. One calls a sheep that roams furthest away from the others an ''outlier'', this sheep ventures further away from the safety of the flock to graze, due to a larger
flight zone or a weakness that prevents it from obtaining enough
forage when with the flock, while taking a chance that a
predator, such as a
wolf, will attack it first because of its isolation.
Another sheep, the ''
bellwether'', which never goes first but always follows an outlier, signals to the others that they may follow in safety. When it moves, the others will also move. Traditionally this was a castrated ram (or ''wether'') with a ''bell'' hung off a string around its neck. The tendency to act as an outlier, bellwether or to fight for the middle of the flock stays with sheep throughout their adulthood; that is unless they have a scary experience which causes them to increase their
flight zone.
According to a spokesperson of the British National Sheep Association, "Sheep are quite intelligent creatures and have more brainpower than people are willing to give them credit for."
[11] For example, sheep in
Yorkshire,
England found a way to get over
cattle grids by rolling on their backs. A study published in ''National Geographic'' (December 8) showed a sheep can remember the faces of fifty other sheep for over two years. If sheep are acting poorly, they are known as a "Goulden in the rough."
Sheep can become
hefted to one particular pasture so they do not roam far from home. Since the outbreak of
foot and mouth disease in the
United Kingdom, transplanted sheep have had to be trained to stay in their grazing area.
[12]
Sheep are also one of the many animals that can display a preference for
homosexuality and are one of the few in which this occurrence has been systematically studied. It occurs in about eight percent of rams on average. Its occurrence does not seem to be related to dominance or flock hierarchy; rather the rams typical motor pattern for intercourse is merely directed at rams instead of ewes
[13].
Sheep have horizontal slit shaped pupils. The narrower the pupil, the more accurate the depth perception of peripheral vision is; so narrowing it in one direction would increase depth perception in that plane
[14] [15]. Animals like goats and sheep may have evolved horizontal pupils because better vision in the vertical plane may be beneficial in mountainous environments
[16].
Glossary
Lamb
This is a glossary of terms that relate to ''sheep'' and ''domestic sheep''. Note that some terms have localised meanings, and may be used only in one geographical region, or may mean slightly different things in different areas.
★ 'Cryptorchid' — a male sheep with no descended testicles, with them both being retained internally.
★ 'Ewe' — a female sheep, capable of producing lambs.
★ 'Hoggett' (or 'Hoggatt') — a sheep which by virtue of its age and development is no longer a lamb, but not yet 'mutton'. esp. in relation to meat breeds.
★ 'Lamb' — a young sheep, generally unweaned. In many Eastern countries, there is a less strict definition of lamb which may include older hoggetts. Also used to refer specifically to the
meat of such a sheep.
★ 'Monorchid' — a male sheep that has only one descended testicle, with the other being retained internally. They are less fertile but have an increased production of lean meat due to the presence of testosterone.
★ 'Mutton' — an older female sheep to be used for meat. Also used to refer specifically to the
meat of such a sheep. May refer to
goat meat in eastern countries. Derived from the French word 'Mouton' (sheep).
★ 'Ram' (also called a 'tup') — an uncastrated male sheep.
★ '
Riggwelter' — a sheep that has fallen onto its back and (usually because of the weight of its fleece) is unable to get back up.
★ 'Old-season lamb' — a lamb a year old or more.
★ 'Ovine' — member of the
genus '''Ovis'''.
★ 'Slink' — a very young lamb.
★ 'Sucker' — an unweaned lamb.
★ 'Teg' — a sheep in its second year.
★ 'Wether' — a castrated male sheep.
See also
★
Blue tongue disease
★
Dolly the sheep
★
Fat-tailed sheep
★
Goat
★
Guard llama, used as livestock guardians
★
Lamb (food)
★
List of sheep breeds
★
Ovis (sheep genus)
★
Scrapie
★
Sheep-goat chimera (or Geep)
★
Sheep-goat hybrid
★
Sheep husbandry
★
Sheep shearing
★
★
Sheepskin
★
Shepherd
★
Sleep in nonhumans
★
Wool
References
1. The people of New Zealand
2. Seattle Times
3. Seattle Times
4. [1].
And of the claim that a sheep experiment has been started that could shed new light, many conservatives wish to see the end results of the experiment before they see the media foresee its conclusions.
Breeds
This
Soay ram demonstrates the wide variance in sheep traits that belies the prototypical appearance of the animal.
There are many breeds of sheep, but these are generally sub-classable as wool class, hair class and sheep meat variety breeds. Dual-purpose breeds are bred for both wool and meat.
Major wool breeds include Merino, Rambouillet, Romney, Shetland, and Lincoln. Drysdale and Herdwick are bred specifically for carpet wool.
Breeds of meat sheep include Beltex, Suffolk, Portland, Hampshire, Columbia, Texel, and Montadale.
Breeders of dual-purpose wool class sheep concentrate on fast growth, multiple births, ease of lambing and hardiness. An easy-care sheep is the Coopworth that has long wool and good lamb meat production qualities. Other dual-use breed are the Corriedale and Shropshire. Sometimes sheep are used for both purposes equally and cross-breeding is practiced to maximise both outputs. For example, Merino ewes providing wool may be crossed with Suffolk rams to produce lambs which are robust and suitable for the meat market.
Hair class sheep are the original class of sheep in the world, developed for meat and leather. They are prolific and highly resistant to disease and parasites. Dorpers and Kahtahdins are composite breeds of wool and hair crosses with different degrees of wool/hair mixes within the hair class. True hair sheep such as St. Croix, Barbados Blackbelly, Mouflon, Santa Inez and Royal White shed their protective down fiber to an all hair coat in the Spring/Summer. Hair class sheep are becoming more popular for their no-shear aspects.
Economic importance
Raising sheep was and is important to farmers in many economies, given that sheep can give milk (and its derivative products, such as cheese), wool, sheepskin (used for making clothes, footwear, rugs, and other coverings) and meat. Sheep droppings have even been sterilized and mixed with other traditional pulp materials to make paper.[Sheeppoopaper.com]
5. Shear Artisans
6. Top Five Sheep & Lamb Producing States
7. Sheep and Goats
8. Sheep Herding
9. Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions & Discoveries of the Ancient World, Krebs, Robert E. & Krebs, Carolyn A, , , Greenwood Press, 2003, ISBN 0-313-31342-3
10. Molecular analysis of wild and domestic sheep questions current nomenclature and provides evidence for domestication from two different subspecies. Hiendleder S, Kaupe B, Wassmuth R, Janke A.
11. Crafty sheep conquer cattle grids
12. Sheep taught to stay put
13. OHSU
14. MadSci Network, posted by Tim Susman, Staff Zoology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
15. MadSci Network posted by Tim Susman, Staff Zoology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
16. MadSci Network posted by Tim Susman, Staff Zoology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
External links
★
Breeds of Livestock - Sheep: (Ovis aries)
★
★
Genetic origins of domestic sheep
★
Dutch Texel Sheep
★
SHEEP 101 .info
★
A Glossary of sheep terms (National Sheep Association)
★
The Domestic Sheep by Henry Stewart (1898), "Natural History" and "Anatomy."
★
Information on the heradic sheep of the Merseyside area.
Further reading
★ Juliet Clutton-Brock. ''A natural history of domesticated animals'' (London 1987).
★ Journal of Heredity. 1998 Mar-Apr;89(2):113-20. ''Analysis of mitochondrial DNA indicates that domestic sheep are derived from two different ancestral maternal sources: no evidence for contributions from urial and argali sheep.'' Hiendleder S, Mainz K, Plante Y, Lewalski H.
★ G.J. Syme & L.A. Syme. ''Social Structure in Farm Animals'' (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1979).
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