Sheep

 

Sheep are mammals that have been bred over more than 11,000 years for a variety of uses such as wool, meat and milk products. There are hundreds of types of sheep which are all thought to descend from the wild sheep of south-central and south-west Asia. The scientific name for the domestic sheep is Ovis aries. Like the cow it has a complex digestive system. This 'ruminant quadruped' digests its food through a series of four stomachs!

 

Female sheep are called ewes, males are known as rams, castrated males are called wethers, sheep one year old are called hoggets. Lambs are young sheep less than one year old and a group of sheep is called a mob or a flock.

 

Farmers breed certain types of sheep for their wool or meat qualities. Wool producers look for sheep that will yield fine, long fibres and with a suitable degree of crimp or wave. Major wool breeds include Merino, Corriedale, Polwarth, Romney, Rambouillet and Lincoln. Sheep breeds used for meat include Suffolk, Hampshire, Dorset and Texel.

 

Some sheep breeds are used for both purposes, such as Border Leicester or Corriedale, and cross-breeding is used to improve yield for both meat and wool. Merino ewes providing wool, for example, are crossed with Suffolk rams to produce lambs that are robust and suitable for the meat market.

 

More than 80% of all sheep in Australia come from the Merino bloodline of which there are four strains:

 

  • Peppin Merino
  • Saxon Merino
  • South Australian Merino
  • Spanish Merino