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| Sheep
were first domesticated by man many thousands of years ago for their
wool, meat and skins. The fat was used for candles and cooking, with
plant colours used to dye the wool
The female sheep are called Ewes, the male sheep called Rams, their babies called Lambs Some breeds of sheep have horns on their heads and some sheep are wild and live in the mountains, but they all eat grasses, and many different types of grasses |
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| Sheep
are animals which have a coat of wool, and 4 legs, each leg has two toes
The wool fibres on each sheep may be thin or thick, depending on which breed it is. Thin wool is called fine wool, and thick wool is called coarse wool. Merino sheep have fine wool and Romney sheep have coarse wool There are many different breeds of sheep with different wool |
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Australia
has mainly Fine Wool sheep called Merinos
Each year over 150 million sheep are shorn by the shearers in Australia The wool is sorted by the woolhandlers, and the wool classer grades the different types of wool into different bins The wool presser uses a wool press to put the wool into bales which weigh around 190 kilograms each |
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New
Zealand has mostly coarse wool sheep and shearing teams shear over 70
million sheep a year
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Lambs without mothers need feeding regularly just like babies |
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| People who have lots of sheep on their farms are called sheep farmers - When sheep are put into sheds and live there most of the time, and are fed there instead of eating grass in paddocks it is called feedlotting | |||
| Wool
is used on the outside of most good brands of tennis balls
The average bedroom with wool carpet has the wool from 6 sheep in it The grease from the wool has lanoline in it which is used for, skin creams, lipstick, and rust proofing as well as lubricants |
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Wool
is a natural fibre and is available where ever there are sheep
Woollen Clothing is excellent insulation, and it stays cool in summer and warm in winter Wool is fire resistant, unlike most other clothing fabrics Wool is used in some houses for insulation inside the roof |
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| Some
female sheep are milked and the milk is used for Cheese, Yoghurt, or
just as Milk
The East Friesian is a dairy sheep raised for production of milk Sheep's milk is different from cow's milk. It contains more protein and has a higher fat content In France, milk from Roquefort sheep is used to make Roquefort cheese |
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The
meat from sheep is called Lamb or Mutton and is very tasty
Much Lamb and Mutton is exported from Australia and New Zealand to other countries for people to eat, as many countries do not have much meat of their own to eat |
South Suffolk Ewe with twin lambs |
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| Sheep are hardy
animals, and can survive in tough
climates, like when it is very cold, very hot, or very dry.
They move around in large groups called flocks or mobs Sometimes a shepherd and his dog will watch over the sheep. Some of the big modern farms are so big they need motor bikes or 4 wheel drive vehicle and airplanes to look after the sheep The big farms keep sheep in with fences and these fenced in areas are called paddocks. Farms may have many paddocks for the different sheep they keep When the farmers get the sheep in for shearing, this is called mustering, they sometimes have mobs of thousands coming in together |
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