Farm Animals

   SHEEP

 Sheep, common name for a collection of grazing mammals that may be either wild or domesticated; the domesticated varieties are the most widely distributed kind of domestic animal, found in nearly all countries. Wild species are found in some areas of the world: the bighorn in western North America; Dall sheep in northern Canada and Alaska; the mouflon in Mediterranean countries; the Asian mouflon in western Asia; the urial Afghanistan and Pakistan; and the argali in eastern Asia.

Sheep were probably domesticated about 11,000 years ago in what is now northern Iraq, and they are thought to have descended primarily from the mouflon, although recent evidence suggests that species such as the Asian mouflon contributed to some of the modern breeds.

CHARACTERISTICS  
Sheep are even-toed, hoofed animals. They are cud-chewing animals with the upper incisor teeth missing and with a four-compartmented stomach.   They have paired, hollow, unbranched horns that are not shed. The horns of the adult male, or ram, are massive and spirally curved. The horns of the adult female, or ewe, are short and only slightly curved.

Sheep typically have a long, fairly narrow muzzle and pointed ears. The length of the head and body averages about 1.5 m (about 5 ft), with a short tail, and an adult may weigh 75 to 200 kg (165 to 440 lb). In the wild, the animals are nimble runners and climbers. The female bears up to three young after a gestation period of about 150 days. Sheep live as long as 20 years.

Besides providing pelts and wool for clothing and carpets, meat in the form of lamb and mutton, and milk for drinking and cheesemaking, sheep are used to a limited extent as pack animals, and the wild species are hunted as game. Several distinct types and more than 800 breeds of domesticated sheep have been developed. The breeds are adapted to