The domestic sheep (Ovis aries), the most common species of the sheep genus (Ovis), is a woolly ruminant quadruped which probably descends from the wild mouflon of south-central and south-west Asia. Sheep 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 specialised vocabulary below.

Etymology

Modern English "sheep" comes from Old English "sceap", ultimately from Common West Germanic "*skæpan", and within the Indo-European languages, unique to West Germanic languages. North and East Germanic languages use word with a different root, and most Indo-European languages use a term related to "ewe" for "sheep".

Cultural significance

Australian Sheep

Sheep have had associations with many cultures, especially in the Mediterranean area and Britain (in particular, Wales), where they form the most common type of livestock in pastoralism. Selective breeding of sheep has frequently occurred and in Egyptian Mythology the ram was the symbol of Heryshaf.

A wide symbology relates to sheep in ancient art, traditions and culture. 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). Greek Easter celebrations traditionally feature a meal of Paschal lamb. Sheep also have considerable importance in Arab culture, with Eid ul-Adha being a major festival in Islam when a sheep is sacrificed yearly.

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 modern culture, entertainment and stories often use the example of sheep jumping over a fence, and someone counting them until they fall asleep.

Breeds

Icelandic breed sheep

There are many breeds of sheep, but these are generally sub-classable as wool class, hair class and sheep meat breeds.

Farmers develop wool breeds for superior wool quantity and quality (fineness of fibers), wool staple length and degree of crimp in the fiber. Major wool breeds include Merino, Rambouillet, Romney, Herdwick and Lincoln. Drysdale is a sheep bred specifically for carpet wool.

Breeds of meat sheep include Suffolk, Hampshire, Dorset, 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. Another dual-use breed is the Corriedale. 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.

The Finnish Landrace sheep has a reputation for multiple births.

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.

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Domestic_sheep&action=history

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