Sheep

Spring is the time of new birth, and that goes for sheep too. I've seen posts for days on sites, like Colonial Williamsburg, showing the new lambs. Raising sheep can be quite interesting.

Carding wool

Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated, and there are over 1,000 different breeds. They were certainly important in ancient times and were referred to often in the Bible. Sheep are raised for their fleece, meat, and milk and the skin. Other parts may also be used. 

Sheep at Highland Village, Nova Scotia

Sheep are herbivores and spend much of their time grazing. Since their noses are narrower than some grazers, they tend to eat the grass close to the ground, so it's easy for them to overgraze and harm an area. This caused conflict between cattle ranchers and sheep herders in the history of the Western United States. Like cows, sheep also chew their cud.

Being gregarious creatures, sheep flock together and tend to follow a leader. If you've ever driven in Europe, you may have run up on a herd or two. Sheep can actually become stressed when separated from their group. Although they do have home ranges, they're not territorial. After mating, they have a gestation period of about 5 months. If not guarded or enclosed, all sheep can fall victim to predators, but especially the lambs. Dogs are often used to help guard and herd the sheep.

Scotland alone has about 7 million sheep on about 15,000 farms. New Zealand has 3 million people and 60 million sheep. Worldwide, the number of sheep is astronomical. In the mid-1940's, the United States had about 55 million sheep, but in 2011, there were only around 200,000.

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