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Domesticated sheep are herd animals that are bred for agricultural trade. A flock of sheep is mated by a single ram, which has either been chosen by a farmer or, in feral populations, has established dominance through physical contests with other rams. [1] Sheep have a breeding season (tupping) in the autumn, though some can breed year-round. [1]
The history of the domestic sheep goes back to between 11,000 and 9,000 BCE, and the domestication of the wild mouflon in ancient Mesopotamia. Sheep are among the first animals to have been domesticated by humans. These sheep were primarily raised for meat, milk, and skins. Woolly sheep began to be developed around 6000 BCE.
By selectively breeding ewes that produce multiple offspring with higher birth weights for generations, sheep producers have inadvertently caused some domestic sheep to have difficulty lambing; balancing ease of lambing with high productivity is one of the dilemmas of sheep breeding. [93]
Four breeds of sheep, in the illustrated encyclopedia Meyers Konversationslexikon. This is a list of breeds of domestic sheep. Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are partially derived from mouflon (Ovis gmelini) stock, and have diverged sufficiently to be considered a different species. Some sheep breeds have a hair coat and are known as haired sheep.
Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry . Sheep are raised principally for their meat ( lamb and mutton ), milk ( sheep's milk ), and fiber ( wool ).
Domestication has been defined as "a sustained multi-generational, mutualistic relationship in which one organism assumes a significant degree of influence over the reproduction and care of another organism in order to secure a more predictable supply of a resource of interest, and through which the partner organism gains advantage over individuals that remain outside this relationship ...
An 81-year-old Montana man was sentenced Monday to six months in federal prison for illegally using tissue and testicles from large sheep hunted in Central Asia and the U.S. to create hybrid sheep ...
This is a list of sheep breeds usually considered to originate in Canada and the United States. [1] [2] Some may have complex or obscure histories, so inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively from those countries.