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Sheep (pl.: sheep) or domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term sheep can apply to other species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates ...
Most ruminants do not have upper incisors; instead, they have a thick dental pad to thoroughly chew plant-based food. [28] Another feature of ruminants is the large ruminal storage capacity that gives them the ability to consume feed rapidly and complete the chewing process later.
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.
The sheep and goats exhibit remarkable seasonality of reproduction, in the determination of which the annual cycle of daily photoperiod plays a pivotal role. Other factors that have a significant influence on this cycle include the temperature of the surroundings, nutritional status, social interactions, the date of parturition and the ...
Another area of research that is growing in importance is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly methane, from livestock. Ruminants are responsible for contributing the highest emissions out of all types of animals. Many researchers are conducting studies to determine how manipulating sheep diets may help reduce these dangerous ...
Although hares and other lagomorphs (coney, rabbits, pikas) do not ruminate at all, they do typically re-ingest soft cecal pellets made of chewed plant material immediately after excretion for further bacterial digestion in their stomach, which serves the same purpose as rumination. They are also known to ingest their own and the droppings of ...
Bighorn sheep graze on grasses and browse shrubs, particularly in fall and winter, and seek minerals at natural salt licks. [25] Females tend to forage and walk, possibly to avoid predators and protect lambs, [28] while males tend to eat and then rest and ruminate, which lends to more effective digestion and greater increase in body size. [28]
Cud is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant's stomach to the mouth to be chewed for the second time. More precisely, it is a bolus of semi-degraded food regurgitated from the reticulorumen of a ruminant. Cud is produced during the physical digestive process of rumination. [1]