Sheep usually live to be about eight years old. They hate to be alone--that's why they live in flocks (groups of sheep). Sheep are very gentle animals and are easily frightened. They flock together for protection because they can't really protect themselves. The sheep has many natural predators, animals that hunt and kill sheep for food. They include coyotes, wolves and domestic dogs. Sometimes larger animals, like mules or llamas, are kept in the pastures with the sheep to scare off possible predators.
The people that raise and care for sheep are called shepherds. Sometimes, shepherds have dogs to help take care of the sheep. The dog learns to round up the sheep, and when one wanders from the flock, the dog brings it back!
When a lamb is born, the shepherd makes sure it gets off to a good, healthy start in life. To find out more about when lambs are born, read the next story, "."
Sheep have been a friend to people for over 10,000 years, providing both meat and clothing. There are many different breeds of sheep. Some are raised mainly for meat, and others primarily for their wool. Sheep are valuable because they often graze land that other livestock cannot. Sheep eat grass and hay.
Sheep usually give birth once a year and have 1-3 lambs. They normally live to be about 8 years old. One year's growth of fleece is about 8 pounds of wool. Sheep are usually shorn once a year. The sheep shearer uses a machine that is like the clippers used to trim a dog's fur. Wool straight from the sheep is called raw wool. Raw wool may go through more than 70 processing steps to assure that fabrics made from the wool are of the highest quality. One of the best things about wool fabrics is that they are flame resistant, so they are safer to wear. Wool also provides excellent protection from cold and wet weather. Even if your wool sweater gets wet from snow or rain, it will still keep you warm. Wool also wears well and lasts for a long time.
Sheep are also raised to provide meat. Lambs are ready for market when they weigh somewhere between 90-120 pounds. Lamb as food is an outstanding source of vitamins and minerals, and is one of the easiest to digest. The meat from a grown sheep is called mutton and that from a young sheep is called lamb.
Female sheep are called ewes, baby sheep are called lambs, and male sheep are called rams. A group of sheep is called a flock.
Did you know?.....
- Sheep make a bleating sound. A baby lamb can identify its mother by her bleat.
- Lamb is the lowest in cholesterol of all red meats.
- The body of a sheep is covered with wool. Once a year, the wool is removed by shearing (shaving).
- There are 150 yards (450 feet) of wool yarn in a baseball.
- Soay sheep shed their wool naturally in the spring.
- Sheep have no top front teeth but the roof of their mouth is hard. This permits sheep to eat vegetation close to the ground and prevents them from pulling up plant roots.
- One mature ewe produces 7 to 10 pounds of newly shorn wool a year - enough to make a man’s suit.
- The small intestines from 11 sheep are needed to make 1 tennis racket.
- Sheep have poor eyesight but an excellent sense of hearing.
- One pound of wool can be spun into 20 miles of fine yarn.
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