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Sheep are flock animals and strongly gregarious; much sheep behavior can be understood on the basis of these tendencies. The dominance hierarchy of sheep and their natural inclination to follow a leader to new pastures were the pivotal factors in sheep being one of the first domesticated livestock species. [ 58 ]
Sheep have a breeding season (tupping) in the autumn, though some can breed year-round. [1] As a result of the influence of humans on sheep breeding, ewes often produce multiple lambs. This increase in lamb births, both in number and birth weight, may cause problems with delivery and lamb survival, requiring the intervention of shepherds. [2]
The main Australian predator of sheep is the dingo, which is a large-enough danger to sheep to precipitate the construction of the world's largest fence: the Dingo Fence. Red foxes also may prey on 10-30% of lambs, costing Australians sheep breeders more than A$ 100 million annually. [ 12 ]
Ovis is a genus of mammals, part of the Caprinae subfamily of the ruminant family Bovidae. [1] Its seven highly sociable species are known as sheep or ovines. Domestic sheep are members of the genus, and are thought to be descended from the wild mouflon of central and southwest Asia.
Ovis dalli dalli, the Dall sheep or Dall's sheep, is a subspecies of thinhorn sheep. Like other sheep, they are large herbivores , feeding primarily on grass and other plants. [ 1 ] They are endemic to northwestern North America , in Canada and Alaska .
Navajo-Churro sheep at the San Francisco Zoo with four horns. Churros are small sheep with long, thin tails, horizontal ears, [1] and a double coat. Ewes are 40–60 kg (88–132 lb), while rams are 55–85 kg (121–187 lb). The sheep are long-lived and can be productive for up to 15 years. [2]
Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer . Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year (depending upon dialect, a sheep may be said to have been "shorn", "sheared" or "shore" [in Australia]).
Homosexual behavior in sheep has been well documented and studied. The domestic sheep ( Ovis aries ) is the only species of mammal except for humans which exhibits exclusive homosexual behavior. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] "About 10% of rams (males) refuse to mate with ewes (females) but do readily mate with other rams."