Domestic sheep ( Ovis aries ) is a four-legged mammal animal that is usually kept as a livestock. Like most ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, ungulates the even-nails. Although the name sheep applies to many species in the genus Ovis , in everyday use almost always refers to Ovis aries . With a little over a billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous sheep species. Adult sheep are referred to as ewe ( ), intact males as ram or sometimes tup , a men castrated as weather , and a younger sheep as a sheep .
Sheep most likely came from the wild mouflons of Europe and Asia. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep raised for feathers, meat (lamb, wild boar or mutton) and milk. Sheep wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by shaving. Vegetable meat is called sheep when from young animals and goat meat when from older ones. Sheep continue to be important for wool and meat today, and also sometimes raised for the skin, as a dairy animal, or as a model organism for science.
Sheep farming is practiced throughout the majority of the inhabited world, and has become the basis for many civilizations. In the modern era, Australia, New Zealand, southern and central South America, and the British Isles are closely tied to sheep production.
Sheepraising has a great lexicon of unique terms that vary greatly by region and dialect. The use of the word sheep begins in Central English as a derivation of the Old English sc? Ap ; it is the singular and plural name for the animal. A group of sheep called a herd, a herd or a mass. Many other specific terms for different stages of sheep's life exist, commonly associated with symbolism, shearing, and age.
Being a key animal in farming history, sheep have a place embedded in human culture, and find representation in many languages ​​and modern symbology. As a cattle, sheep are most often associated with a pastoral image, Arcadian. Sheep figures in many mythologies - such as the Golden Fleece - and the great religions, especially the Abrahamic tradition. In ancient and modern religious rituals, sheep are used as sacrificial animals.
Video Sheep
History
The exact lineage between domestic sheep and their wild ancestors is unclear. The most common hypothesis states that Ovis aries is derived from the Asiatic ( O. Orientalis ) species of mouflon. Sheep are among the first animals to be domesticated (although dog domestication may have been more than 20,000 years before); the date of domestication is estimated to fall between 11,000 and 9,000 B.C in Mesopotamia. Sheep breeding for secondary products, and the development of breeds produced, begins in southwest Asia or western Europe. Initially, sheep are kept only for meat, milk and skin. Archaeological evidence from the statues found on sites in Iran indicates that the selection for wool lamb may have started around 6000 BC, and the earliest woven wool clothing was dated two to three thousand years later.
Sheep farming spread rapidly in Europe. Excavations show that in about 6000 BC, during the prehistoric Neolithic period, the people of Castelnovien, who live around ChÃÆ'Â Â ¢ teauneuf-les-Martigues near present Marseille in southern France, were among the first in Europe to maintain domestic sheep. Practically from the beginning, ancient Greek civilizations rely on sheep as the main livestock, and it is even said to name individual animals. Ancient Romans kept sheep on a large scale, and were important agents in the spread of sheep. Pliny the Elder, in Natural History ( Naturalist Historia ), speaks at length about sheep and wool. European colonists spread the practice to the New World from 1493 onwards.
Maps Sheep
Characteristics
Domestic sheep is a relatively small ruminant, usually with crimped hair called wool and often with horns forming lateral spirals. Domestic sheep differ from wild relatives and their ancestors in some ways, having become uniquely neotenic as a result of selective breeding by humans. Some primitive sheep breeds retain some of the characteristics of their wild cousins, such as short tails. Depending on the breed, domestic sheep may have no horns at all (ie polled), or horns on either sex, or in males only. Most horned breeds have a single pair, but some breeds may have some.
Another unique feature for domestic sheep compared with wild ovaries is the variety of color variations. Wild sheep are mostly brown color variations, and variations within species are very limited. The color of domestic sheep ranges from pure white to dark brown, and even visible or dappled. Selection for dyed white clothing begins early in sheep domestication, and because white wool is a rapidly spreading dominant trait. However, colored sheep do appear in many modern breeds, and can even appear as recessive properties in white flocks. While white wool is desirable for large commercial markets, there is a niche market for colored sweats, mostly for handspinning. The nature of the wool of the sheep varies greatly among offspring, from dense and wrinkled, to long and hairlike. There are variations in the type and quality of wool even among members of the same flock, so wool grouping is a step in commercial processing of fiber.
Depending on the type, sheep indicates varying heights and weights. Their growth rate and adult weight are inherited traits that are often chosen for breeding. Ewes usually weighs between 45 and 100 kilograms (100 and 220 pounds), and rams between 45 and 160 kilograms (100 and 350 pounds). When all primary teeth have erupted, sheep has 20 teeth. The adult sheep has 32 teeth. Like other ruminants, the front teeth in the lower jaw bit hard, toothless teeth in the upper jaw. This is used to take vegetation, then rear teeth grind it before swallowing. There are eight lower front teeth in the ruminants, but there are some disagreements as to whether these are eight incisors, or six incisors and two incisors. This means that the tooth formula for sheep is 0,0.3.3 4.0.3.3 or 0.0.3.3 3.1.3.3 There is a large diastema between the incisors and the molars. In the first few years of life one can calculate the age of the sheep from their front teeth, since a pair of milk teeth is replaced with larger adult teeth each year, a complete set of eight full mature front teeth around the age of four. The front teeth are then gradually lost as the age of the sheep, making it more difficult for them to feed and inhibit animal health and productivity. For this reason, domestic sheep in normal grasslands began to decline slowly from four years earlier, and the life expectancy of a sheep is 10 to 12 years, although some sheep can live for 20 years.
Sheep have good hearing, and are sensitive to sound when handled. Sheep have horizontally slit pupils, with excellent peripheral vision; with a visual area of ​​about 270 ° to 320 °, sheep can look back without turning your head. Many breeds have only short hair on the face, and some have facial wool (if any) limited to polls and or mandibular corner areas; wide angle edge vision applies to this offspring. Some breeds tend to have wool on the face; for some individuals of these breeds, peripheral vision may be greatly reduced by "wool blindness", except recently shaved about the face. Sheep have poor depth perception; shadows and dips on the ground can cause the sheep to strike. In general, sheep have a tendency to get out of the dark and into a bright enough area, and prefer to move uphill when disturbed. Sheep also have a very good sense of smell, and, like all species of their genus, have fragrance glands just in front of the eye, and are interdigit on the feet. The purpose of these glands is uncertain, but those on the face can be used in breeding behaviors. The leg glands may also be related to reproduction, but alternative reasons, such as the secretion of waste products or aroma markers to help lost sheep find their flock, have also been proposed.
Comparison with goats
Sheep and goats are very closely related: both are in the subfamily of Caprinae. However, they are a separate species, so hybrids are rare, and always infertile. A hybrid of a female and a buck (goat) is called a sheep hybrid (only one confirmed animal), and should not be confused with a sheep's chimera, though both are known as geep . The visual differences between sheep and goats include goatees and upper lambs. The sheep tail also hangs, even when short or anchored, while the short tail of the goat is held up. In addition, sheep breeds are often naturally occurring (both in both sexes or only in females), while naturally surveyed goats are rare (although many are artificially surveyed). Men of two different species in that goat go get a unique and strong smell during habit, while the ram is not.
Breeds
Domestic sheep are multi-purpose animals, and over 200 breeds are now created to serve these purposes. Some sources provide a thousand or more breeds, but these numbers can not be verified, according to some sources. However, several hundred sheep breeds have been identified by the FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization), with estimates varying from time to time: eg. 863 breeds in 1993, 1314 breeds in 1995 and 1229 breeds in 2006. (These figures exclude extinct breeds, which are also counted by FAO.) For the purposes of such a calculation, the FAO definition of the breed is "either group subspecific of domestic livestock with identifiable and identifiable external characteristics that allow it to be separated by visual appraisal from other groups that are defined similarly in the same or group species where the geographic and/or cultural separation of similar phenotype groups has led to the acceptance of separate identities. "Almost all sheep are classified as the most suitable to complement a particular product: wool, meat, milk, skin, or a combination in a dual-purpose breed. Other features used when classifying sheep include face color (generally white or black), tail length, presence or lack of horn, and breed topography have been developed. This last point is particularly emphasized in England, where breeds are described as highlands (hills or mountains) or lowland breeds. A sheep can also be from a fat-tailed type, which is a common purpose-dairy lamb in Africa and Asia with a greater fat content in and around its tail.
Breeds are often categorized by their wool type. Fine breed wools are those that have wool with wrinkles and large densities, which are preferred for textiles. Mostly of Merino sheep, and the breed continues to dominate the world of sheep industry. Breeding offspring has a wool between extremes, and usually fast-growing flesh and race offspring with a dark face. Some of the main feathered breeds, such as Corriedale, are double breeds of long and fluffy breeds and created for high-production commercial livestock. Long wool breeds are the largest sheep, with long wool and slow growth rates. Longest sheep wool is most valuable for crossbreeding to enhance the attributes of other sheep types. For example: the American Columbia breed was developed by crossing the Lincoln sheep (a long wool) with the fluffy Rambouillet sheep.
Rough wool or wool carpets are those with long wool to long characteristic roughness. Breeds traditionally used for woolen rugs show great variability, but the main need is wool that will not be damaged by heavy use (as does better breeds). Due to the demand for the decline in the quality of wool carpets, some of these sheep breeders try to use some of these traditional breeds for alternative purposes. Others have always been flesh-grade sheep.
The small class of sheep is a dairy breed. Breeds with multiple purposes that may be primarily meat or sheep's wool are often used secondary to milking animals, but there are some breeds that are primarily used for milking. These sheep produce a higher quantity of milk and have a slightly longer lactation curve. In the quality of their milk, the percentage of fat and protein content of dairy sheep varies from non-dairy races, but the lactose content is not.
The last group of sheep breeds are fur or lamb hair , which does not grow wool at all. Hair sheep are similar to sheep kept early since they were kept before the furry breeds were developed, and raised for meat and feathers. Some breeds of modern furry dogs, such as Dorper, are produced from crosses between wool and hairline. For meat producers and hiding, sheep hair is cheaper to keep, because they do not need to shave. Hair sheep are also more resistant to parasites and hot weather.
With the rise of modern corporate agribusiness and the decline of local family farming, many sheep breeds are in danger of extinction. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust of the UK listed 22 original breeds with only 3,000 registered animals (respectively), and The Livestock Conservancy listed 14 as "critical" or "threatened". Preference for breeds with uniform characteristics and rapid growth has encouraged hereditary (or heritage) heritage to the edge of the sheep industry. Those who are retained through the efforts of conservation organizations, registries of breeds, and individual farmers dedicated to their preservation.
Diet
Sheep are exclusively herbivorous mammals. Most breeds prefer to graze on grass and other short fibers, avoiding the higher wooden part of the goat-easy crop. Both sheep and goats use their tongues and tongues to select the parts of plants that are more easily digested or higher in nutrients. However, sheep graze well in monoculture pastures where most goats are badly priced.
Like all ruminants, sheep has a complex digestive system consisting of four spaces, allowing them to break down cellulose from stems, leaves, and seed shells into simple carbohydrates. When sheep graze, the plants are chewed into a mass called bolus, which is then passed into the rumen, through the reticulum. Rumen is a 19- to 38 liters (5 to 10 gallon) organ in which fodder is foddered. The fermentation organism includes bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. (Other important rumen organisms include some archaea, which produce methane from carbon dioxide.) Bolus is periodically vomited back into the mouth as a broth for chewing and additional saliva. After fermentation in the rumen, feed into the reticulum and omasum; Special feed like grains can cut rumen altogether. After the first three chambers, the food moves into the abomasum for final digestion before being processed by the intestine. The abomasum is the only one of four rooms analogous to the human stomach, and is sometimes called the "real stomach".
In addition to forage, other staple feed for sheep is straw, often during the winter months. The ability to thrive only in grasslands (even without straw) varies with breeding, but all sheep can survive on this diet. Also included in some diet sheep is a mineral, either in a trace mix or in lick. Meals provided for sheep should be specially formulated, since most livestock, poultry, pigs, and even some goat feeds contain lethal copper levels for sheep. The same dangers apply to mineral supplements such as licks of salt.
Shepherding behavior
Sheep follow daily activity patterns, eat from dawn to dusk, stop sporadically to rest and chew their chews. The ideal meadow for sheep is not grass-like grass, but a variety of grass, beans and tubers. The types of soil in which the sheep are raised vary greatly, from grasslands that are seeded and intensively upgraded to rough native ground. Common toxic plants for sheep exist in most parts of the world, and include (but not limited to) cherries, some oaks and acorns, tomatoes, yew, rhubarb, potatoes, and rhododendrons.
Effect on grassland
Sheep mostly graze herbivores, unlike explorers like goats and deer who prefer higher leaves. With a much narrower face, the sheep plant is very close to the ground and can gnaw pasture much faster than cattle. For this reason, many shepherds use intensive rotation managed grazing, in which the herd is rotated through several pastures, allowing time for plants to recover. Paradoxically, sheep can cause and solve the spread of invasive plant species. By disrupting the natural conditions of pasture, sheep and other livestock can pave the way for invasive plants. However, sheep also prefer invasive feeding such as cheatgrass, leafy spurge, kudzu and knapweed spotted over native species such as bushes, making grazing sheep effective for conservation grazing. Research conducted in Imperial County, California compares grazing sheep with herbicides to weed control in alfalfa nurseries. Three trials show that sheep grazing is as effective as herbicides in controlling winter weeds. Entomologists also compare grazing sheep with insecticides to control insects in winter alfalfa. In this experiment, sheep provide insect control as effectively as insecticide.
Behavior
Behavior of flock
Sheep are herd animals and very gregarious; many sheep's behavior can be understood on the basis of this tendency. The sheep dominance of sheep and their natural tendency to follow leaders to new grasslands is an important factor in sheep as one of the first pet breeding species. Furthermore, in contrast to red deer and antelope (two other ungulates essential for prehistoric meat production), sheep do not defend the territory even though they form home roaming. All sheep have a tendency to gather close to other flock members, although this behavior varies with breeds, and sheep can become stressful when separated from their flock members. During droves, sheep have a strong tendency to follow and a leader may just be the first moving individual. Relationships in sheep tend to be closest to the sheep involved: in a mixed cattle group, subgroups of the same species tend to form, and the parent and its direct descendents often move as one unit in a large group. Sheep can be agile to one particular local grassland (heft) so that they do not roam freely in unfolded landscapes. Lambs learn the weight of the sheep and if the whole group is taken then it must be returned to a replacement animal.
The behavior of sheep is generally only exhibited in groups of four or more sheep; fewer sheep may not react as expected when alone or with some other sheep. As a species of prey, the main defense mechanism of sheep is escaping from danger when their flight zone enters. The cornered sheep can fill and tear, or threaten with toenails and adopt an aggressive posture. This is especially true for sheep with newborn sheep.
In areas where sheep have no natural predators, none of the original sheep breeds exhibit strong group behavior.
Herding
Farmers exploit group behavior to keep sheep together in unfenced pastures such as farming on hills, and to move them more easily. For this purpose, shepherds can use sheep dogs in this effort, with very strong herding ability. Sheep are food-oriented, and human associations with regular meals often produce sheep asking people for food. Those who move the sheep can exploit this behavior by herding the sheep with a bucket of food.
Hierarchy of dominance
Sheep builds a hierarchy of dominance through battles, threats, and competitiveness. Dominant animals tend to be more aggressive with other sheep, and usually eat first in the trough. Particularly among rams, horn sizes are a factor in the herd hierarchy. Lambs with different horn sizes may be less likely to fight to establish dominant order, while rams with equal size horns are larger. Merinos have a nearly linear hierarchy whereas there is a less rigid structure in Border Leicesters when a competitive feeding situation arises.
In sheep, the position within a moving flock is highly correlated with social dominance, but there is no definitive study to demonstrate consistent voluntary leadership by an individual sheep.
Intelligence and learning ability
Sheep are often regarded as unintelligent animals. Group behavior and their speed to escape and panic can make shepherding a difficult undertaking for the uninitiated. Despite this perception, the University of Illinois monograph on sheep reported their intelligence only under pigs, and is equivalent to livestock. Sheep can recognize human and human faces, and remember them for years. In addition to the long-term face recognition of individuals, sheep can also distinguish the emotional state through facial characteristics. If working patiently, sheep can learn their names and many sheep are trained to be led by dumbbells to point out and other goals. Sheep also responded to the clicker training well. Sheep have been used as rodents; Tibetan travelers distributed the luggage evenly across the herds as they were herded among the dwellings.
It has been reported that some sheep apparently show problem-solving abilities; a herd in West Yorkshire, England allegedly found a way to get over the grid of cattle by rolling around on their backs, though this documentation relied on anecdotal accounts.
Vocalization
Voices made by domestic sheep include bleats, grunts, rumbles and grunts. Bleating ("baaing") is used primarily for contact communications, especially between dams and sheep, but also sometimes among other flock members. Individual sheep bleaching varies, allowing the sheep and sheep to recognize the vocalizations of each other. Vocal communication between the sheep and their dam decreased to a very low level within a few weeks after birth. Various bleats may be heard, depending on the age and state of the sheep. In addition to contact communication, bleating may indicate suffering, frustration or impatience; However, sheep usually remain silent when in pain. Isolation usually ask to be dried by sheep. Pregnant female parent may grumble while in labor. Rumbling sound made by ram during courtship; a somewhat similar roar can be made by the mother, especially when with his neonate sheep. Sniffing (explosively explosive through the nostrils) may indicate aggression or warning, and is often aroused from shocked sheep.
Sense
In sheep breeds that have no facial wool, the visual field is wide. In 10 sheep (Cambridge, Lleyn and Welsh Mountain breeds, which have no facial wool), the visual field ranges from 298 ° to 325 °, averaging 313.1 °, with overlapping binoculars ranging from 44.5 Â ° to 74 Â °, averaging 61.7 Â °. In some breeds, uncut wool can limit the visual field; in some individuals, this may be enough to cause "wool blindness". At 60 Merinos, the visual field ranged from 219.1 ° to 303.0 °, averaging 269.9 °, and the field of binoculars ranged from 8.9 ° to 77.7 °, an average of 47 , 5 Â °; 36% of the measurements are limited by wool, although experimental photographs show that only limited facial wool growth has occurred since shaving. In addition to facial wool (in some breeds), visual field limitations may include the ears and (in some breeds) horns, so the visual field can be extended by tilting the head. The eyes of the sheep show very low hyperopia and small astigmatism. Such visual characteristics tend to produce retinal imagery that is focused both on the object at medium and long distance. Since the sheep eye has no accommodation, one might expect images of very close objects to be blurred, but rather clear close images can be provided by the tapetum and large retinal images of the sheep's eye, and adequate close vision can occur at the length of its snout.. A good depth perception, inferred from definite sheep legs, is confirmed in a "visual cliff" experiment; behavioral responses that show depth perception seen in lambs at the age of one day. Sheep are considered to have color vision, and can distinguish between different colors: black, red, brown, green, yellow and white. Vision is an important part of sheep communication, and when grazing, they maintain visual contact with each other. Each lamb raised his head up to check the position of the other sheep in the flock. This constant monitoring is probably what keeps the sheep in a herd as they move along the grazing. Sheep become stressed when isolated; This stress is reduced if they are given a mirror, indicating that seeing other sheep reduces stress.
Flavors are the most important flavor of sheep, setting out forage preferences, with preferred sweet and sour plants and bitter plants that are more often rejected. Touch and vision are also important in relation to certain plant characteristics, such as succulent forms and growth.
The sheep use their vomeronasal organs (sometimes called Jacobson organs) to feel the pheromones from the mother and detect when they are in estrus. The mother uses her vomeronasal organ for early recognition of her neonate sheep.
Reproduction
Sheep follows a reproductive strategy similar to that of other herd animals. A group of sheep generally married by a ram, which has been chosen by a breeder or (in a wild population) has formed dominance through physical contests with other rams. Most of the sheep are seasonal ranchers, although some may breed throughout the year. Ewes generally reach sexual maturity at the age of six to eight months, and rams are generally at four to six months. However, there are exceptions. For example, Finnsheep rams can reach puberty as early as 3 to 4 months, and Merino's mother sometimes reaches puberty at 18 to 20 months of age. Ewes has an estrus cycle every 17 days, in which they emit aroma and show readiness through the physical appearance of the ram. A small percentage of rams (an average of 8%) indicate a preference for homosexuality and a small number of females accompanied by a male fetus in utero are freemartins (ovarian and masculine males).
In wild sheep, the male sheep can fight during the habit of determining which individual can marry the mother. Sheep, especially the unknown, will also fight outside the breeding period to establish dominance; rams can kill each other if left to mix freely. During the routine, even usually friendly sheep can become aggressive against humans because of their elevated hormone levels.
After mating, sheep have a pregnancy period of about five months, and a normal delivery takes one to three hours. Although some breeds regularly dispose of larger lambs, most produce single sheep or twins. During or shortly after childbirth, sheep and sheep may be confined to a small pitcher, a small pen designed to aid careful observation of the mother and to bond between them and their sheep.
Obstetric ovine can be a problem. By raising female breeds that produce multiple offspring with higher birth weight for generations, sheep producers inadvertently cause some domestic sheep to have trouble breeding; balancing fertility with high productivity is one of the sheep breeding dilemmas. In the case of such a problem, those present at lambing can help the females by extracting or positioning the lambs. After birth, ideally break the amniotic sac (if it does not break during delivery), and start licking the sheep clean. Most of the lambs will start standing within an hour after birth. Under normal circumstances, the sheep nurse upon standing, receives vital colostrum milk. Lambs that fail to breastfeed or are rejected by the mother need help to survive, such as bottle feeding or grooming by other mothers.
After the lambs are several weeks old, sheep marks (ear tagging, docking, and castration) are performed. Vaccination is usually done at this point as well. The ear tag with the number attached, or the ear sign is applied, to facilitate the identification of the sheep later. Castration is done on rams that are not intended for breeding, although some shepherds choose to ignore this for ethical, economic or practical reasons. However, many disagree with the timing. Docking and castration is usually performed after 24 hours (to avoid interruption of maternal bonding and colostrum consumption) and is often performed no later than one week after birth, to minimize pain, stress, recovery time and complications. The first course of vaccination (usually anti-clostridial) is usually given at about 10 to 12 weeks of age; ie when the maternal antibody concentration obtained passively through colostrum is expected to fall low enough to allow for the development of active immunity. Ewes are often vaccinated each year about 3 weeks before giving birth, to provide high antibody concentrations in colostrum during the first few hours after childbirth. Ram lambs that will be slaughtered or separated from the male parent before sexual maturity are usually not castrated. Tail docking is generally done for welfare, which has been shown to reduce the risk of fly attacks. Objection of all these procedures has been filed by animal rights groups, but farmers defend them by saying they solve many practical and animal problems, and only cause temporary pain.
Health
Sheep can be victims of toxins, infectious diseases, and physical injuries. As a species of prey, the sheep system is adjusted to conceal signs of apparent disease, to prevent being targeted by predators. However, some signs of ill health are obvious, with sick sheep eating a little, voicing excessively, and becoming uninspired. Throughout history, much of the money and labor of sheep farming aims to prevent sheep's disease. Historically, shepherds often create solutions through experimentation in agriculture. In some developed countries, including the United States, sheep have no economic importance for drug companies to perform expensive clinical trials that are required to approve more than the relatively limited amount of drugs for ovine use. However, the use of extra-labeled drugs in sheep production is permitted in many jurisdictions, subject to certain restrictions. In the US, for example, the rules governing the use of extra-labeled drugs in animals are found in 21 CFR (Federal Regulatory Code) Section 530. In the 20th and 21st centuries, a few sheep owners have turned to alternative treatments such as homeopathy. , herbs and even traditional Chinese medicine to treat veterinary problems. Apart from some favorable anecdotal evidence, the effectiveness of alternative animal medicine has been met with skepticism in scientific journals. The need for traditional anti-parasitic drugs and antibiotics is widespread, and is a major obstacle to certified organic farming with sheep.
Many farmers take preventive measures to ward off problems. The first is to make sure all the sheep are healthy when purchased. Many buyers avoid outlets known to clean houses for animals taken from healthy cattle due to illness or just inferior. It can also mean keeping the flock closed, and quarantining new sheep for a month. Two basic prevention programs are maintaining good nutrition and reducing stress on sheep. Refraining, isolation, loud noises, new situations, pain, heat, extreme cold, fatigue and other stress can cause cortisol secretion, the stress hormone, in quantities that may indicate welfare problems. Excessive stress can harm the immune system. The "delivery fever" (pneumatic mannheimiosis, formerly called pasteurellosis) is a disease of special concern, which can occur as a result of stress, especially during transport and (or) treatment. Pain, fear, and some other stress can cause epinephrine secretion (adrenaline). Adequate epinephrine secretion in the last days before slaughter can adversely affect the quality of the meat (by causing glycogenolysis, removing the substrate for post-slaughter normal meat massification) and resulting in the meat becoming more susceptible to colonization by bacterial decay. Due to these problems, low stress management is essential in sheep management. Avoiding poisoning is also important; Common toxins are pesticide sprays, inorganic fertilizers, motor oils, and radiator coolers containing ethylene glycol.
A common form of preventive medicine for sheep is vaccination and treatment for parasites. External and internal parasites are the most common disease in sheep, and can be fatal, or reduce livestock productivity. Worms are the most common internal parasites. They are digested during grazing, incubating in sheep, and expelled through the digestive system (starting the cycle again). Oral anti-parasitic drugs, known as drench, are given to flocks to treat worms, sometimes after the worm eggs in the stool have been calculated to assess the rate of infestation. After that, sheep can be moved to a new meadow to avoid ingesting the same parasite. External sheep parasites include: ticks (for different body parts), sheep keds, nose boots, sheep itching mites, and maggots. Keds are blood-sucking parasites that cause generalized malnutrition and decreased productivity, but are not fatal. Maggots are flies and blowflies. Flying maggots cause a very destructive fly condition. Flies lay eggs in wounds or wet, wool grime; when the maggots hatch them bodied into lamb, eventually causing death if untreated. In addition to other treatments, crutching (shear wool from sheep's ass) is a common prevention method. Some countries allow mulesing, a practice that involves stripping the skin on the buttocks to prevent flies, usually when sheep are sheep. The nasal bot is a fly larva that inhabit the sheep's sinus, causing breathing difficulties and discomfort. Common signs are the discharge of fluid from the nasal passages, sneezing, and panic movements such as the vibrating head. External parasites can be controlled through the use of immersive sheep's backliners, sprays or immersive sheep.
Various kinds of bacterial and viral diseases affect sheep. Nail disease, such as foot decay and foot scarring may occur, and be treated with footbaths and other treatments. This painful condition causes lameness and prevents eating. Disease Ovine Johne is a disease of waste that attacks the young sheep. Bluetongue disease is a disease spread by insects that cause fever and inflammation of the mucous membranes. Ovine rinderpest (or peste des petits ruminansia ) is a highly infectious and often deadly viral disease that attacks sheep and goats. Sheep can also be affected by primary or secondary photosensitization.
Some conditions of sheep can be transmitted to humans. Orf (also known as scabby mouth, contagious ecthyma or soremouth) is a skin disease that leaves lesions transmitted through skin-to-skin contact. Anthrax skin is also called woolsorter disease, because spores can be transmitted in unwashed wool. More seriously, organisms that can cause spontaneous enzymatic abortion in sheep are easily transmitted to pregnant women. Also of concern are prion disease scrapie and viruses that cause foot and mouth disease (FMD), as both can destroy livestock. The latter poses little risk to humans. During the 2001 FMD pandemic in Britain, hundreds of sheep were destroyed and some rare British breeds were threatened with extinction because of this.
Predator
In addition to parasites and disease, predation is a threat to sheep and the profitability of sheep care. Sheep have little ability to defend themselves, compared to other species kept as cattle. Even if the sheep survive the attack, they can die from their wounds or just because of panic. However, the impact of predation varies dramatically with the region. In Africa, Australia, America, and some European and Asian predators are serious problems. In the United States, for example, more than a third of sheep's deaths in 2004 were caused by predation. In contrast, other countries are almost devoid of sheep predators, especially the islands known for extensive sheep farming. Around the world, canids - including domestic dogs - are responsible for most of the sheep's death. Other animals that occasionally prey on sheep include: cats, bears, birds of prey, crows and wild pigs.
Sheep producers have used a variety of measures to combat predation. Pre-modern shepherds use their own presence, cattle guard dogs, and protective structures such as granaries and fences. Fencing (both regular and electric), sheep penning at night and children in the room continues to be widely used. More modern shepherds use weapons, traps, and toxins to kill predators, leading to a significant decline in predator populations. Following environmental and conservation movements, the use of these methods is now usually under the scope of specially designed government agencies in most developed countries.
The 1970s saw a revival in the use of cattle guard dogs and the development of new methods of predatory control by sheep producers, many of them non-lethal. Donkeys and llamas guards have been used since the 1980s in sheep operations, using the same basic principles as cattle guard dogs. Specific grazing, usually with larger cattle such as cattle or horses, can help prevent predators, even if the species is not actively keeping the sheep. In addition to animal guardians, contemporary sheep operations can use non-lethal predatory triggers such as motion-activated lights and noisy alarms.
Economic interests
Sheep are an important part of the global agricultural economy. However, their vital status has largely been replaced by other livestock species, especially pigs, chickens, and cows. China, Australia, India and Iran have the largest modern cattle group, and serve local and export needs for wool and goat meat. Other countries such as New Zealand have smaller livestock groups but still have a large international economic impact due to the export of their sheep products. Sheep also play a major role in many local economies, which may be a specialized market that focuses on organic farming and sustainable agriculture and local food customers. Especially in developing countries, such cattle may be part of subsistence agriculture rather than the trading system. The sheep themselves may be the trading medium in the barter economy.
Domestic sheep provide a variety of raw materials. Wool was one of the first textiles, though at the end of the 20th century the price of wool began to drop drastically as a result of popularity and low prices for synthetic fabrics. For many sheep owners, the cost of shaving is greater than the possible benefits of sheep's wool, making living out of wool production alone practically impossible without agricultural subsidies. The sweater is used as an ingredient in the manufacture of alternative products such as wool insulation. In the 21st century, meat sales were the most profitable companies in the sheep industry, though much less consumed lamb than chicken, pork or beef.
Sheepskin is also used to make clothing, footwear, carpets, and other products. The by-products of sheep slaughter also have value: lamb fat can be used in candle making and soap, sheep and cartilage have been used to provide carved articles such as dice and buttons as well as glue and gelatin provided. Intestinal lambs can be formed into a sausage sheath, and sheep gut has been formed into surgical sutures, as well as strings for musical instruments and tennis rackets. Sheep impurities, which are high in cellulose, have even been sterilized and mixed with traditional pulp materials to make paper. Of all the lamb byproducts, perhaps the most valuable is lanolin: a fatty, water-resistant substance found naturally in sheep's wool and used as the basis for countless cosmetics and other products.
Some farmers who keep sheep also benefit from live sheep. Giving lambs to teenage programs like 4-H and competitions at agricultural shows is often a reliable opportunity for sheep sales. Farmers may also choose to focus on certain types of sheep to sell the listed racial animals, as well as providing ram rental services to breed. New options to benefit from live sheep are renting livestock for grazing; This "cutting service" is employed to keep unwanted vegetation down in the public spaces and to reduce fire hazards.
Despite the decreasing demand and prices for sheep products in many markets, sheep have distinct economic advantages when compared to other livestock. They do not need expensive housing, like those used in chicken farms or pigs intensively. They are efficient land use; about six sheep can be kept in sufficient quantities for one cow or horse. Sheep can also consume plants, such as toxic weeds, which most other animals will not touch, and produce younger at a faster rate. Also, unlike most species of livestock, the cost of raising sheep should not be associated with the price of food crops such as wheat, soybeans and corn. Combined with lower cost of quality sheep, all of these factors combine with lower overhead costs for sheep producers, thus having a higher profitability potential for small farmers. Sheep are beneficial to independent producers, including family farms with limited resources, because the sheep industry is one of the few types of farms that have not been vertically integrated by agribusiness.
As food
Lamb and dairy is one of the earliest basic proteins consumed by human civilization after the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture. The lambs prepared for food are known as either goats or sheep. "Mutton" comes from the ancient French
In the 21st century, countries with the highest consumption of lambs are Persian Gulf States of Arabia, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Uruguay, England, and Ireland. These countries eat 14-40 pounds (3-18 kg) of lamb per capita, per year. Lamb meat is also popular in France, Africa (especially Maghreb), Caribbean, the rest of the Middle East, India, and parts of China. This often reflects the history of sheep production. In these countries in particular, dishes consisting of cuts and offal alternatives may be popular or traditional. Testicular lamb - called animelles or fried lamb - is considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. Probably the most unusual lamb dish is the Scottish haggis, consisting of various lamb chops cooked together with oatmeal and chunks of onion in the stomach. In comparison, countries like the US consume only one pound or less (under 0.5 kg), with Americans eating 50 pounds (22 kg) of pork and 65 pounds (29 kg) of beef. In addition, such countries rarely eat goat meat, and may prefer a more expensive piece of lamb: mostly lamb and lamb.
Although sheep milk may be rarely drunk in fresh form, today it is used primarily in cheese and yogurt making. Sheep have only two nipples, and produce a much smaller volume of milk than a cow. However, since sheep's milk contains much more fat, solids, and minerals than cow's milk, it is ideal for cheese-making. It also holds down contamination during cooling better because of its much higher calcium content. The famous cheeses made from sheep's milk include Feta Bulgaria and Greece, Roquefort France, Manchego from Spain, Pecorino Romano (Italian word for lamb is pecora) and Ricotta from Italy. Yogurt, especially some form of strained yogurt, can also be made from sheep's milk. Many of these products are now often made with cow's milk, especially when produced outside their home country. Sheep milk contains 4.8% lactose, which can affect those who are intolerant.
Like other domestic animals, the unconfined stud meat is inferior in quality, especially as they grow. A "bucky" sheep is a sheep that is neither castrated early enough, nor is it neuterly castrated (yields one testis defended). These lambs are less valuable in the market.
In science
Sheep are generally too large and reproduce too slowly to create an ideal research subject, and thus not a common model organism. They, however, play an influential role in some fields of science. In particular, Roslin Institute of Edinburgh, Scotland uses sheep for genetic research that produce breakthrough results. In 1995, two babies named Megan and Morag were the first mammals to be cloned from different cells. A year later, the Finnish Dorset sheep named Dolly, nicknamed "the world's most famous sheep" in Scientific American, was the first mammal to be cloned from adult somatic cells. After this, Polly and Molly were the first cloned and transgenic mammals simultaneously.
In 2008, the genome of the sheep has not been fully sorted, although a detailed genetic map has been published, and a draft version of the complete genome produced by assembling a sheep DNA sequence using information provided by other mammalian genomes. In 2012, a transgenic sheep called "Peng Peng" was cloned by Chinese scientists, who united their genes with roundworm (C. elegans) to increase the production of healthy fats for human consumption.
In the study of natural selection, the population of sheep that remains on the island of Hirta has been used to explore the relationship of body size and color to reproductive success. Sheep Soay comes in several colors, and investigators are investigating why larger and darker sheep have decreased; this incident goes against the rule that larger members of the population tend to be more successful reproductively. The wild Soays in Hirta are very useful subjects because they are isolated.
Sheep are one of the few animals in which the molecular basis of the diversity of male sexual preference has been examined. However, this research has become controversial, and much publicity is generated by a study at Oregon Health and Science University that investigates the mechanisms that produce homosexuality in rams. Organizations such as PETA campaigned against the study, accusing scientists of trying to heal homosexuality in sheep. OHSU and the scientists involved strongly denied the allegations.
Domestic sheep are sometimes used in medical research, primarily to examine cardiovascular physiology, in areas such as hypertension and heart failure. Pregnant sheep is also a useful model for human pregnancy, and has been used to investigate the effects on fetal development of malnutrition and hypoxia. In behavioral science, sheep have been used in separate cases for facial recognition studies, because their mental recognition processes are qualitatively similar to humans.
Cultural impact
Sheep have had a strong presence in many cultures, especially in areas where they form the most common types of livestock. In English, calling someone as a sheep or egg might offend that they are timid and easily led. Contrary to this description, ram is often used as a symbol of masculinity and power; logos from the Los Angeles Rams football team and the Dodge Ram pickup truck allude to the man from the bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis .
Counting sheep is popularly said to be a relief to sleep, and some ancient systems count sheep survive today. Sheep are also included in everyday words and idioms often with phrases such as "black sheep". To call an individual, the scapegoat implies that they are a member of a strange or bad group. This usage comes from the recessive nature that causes an occasional scapegoat to be born into a wholly white herd. This black sheep is considered undesirable by the shepherd, because black wool is not commercially feasible like white wool. Citizens who receive arrogant government have been referred by Portmanteau neologism from sheeple. Somewhat different, the adjective "shame" is also used to describe shame.
Religion and folklore
In ancient times, symbolism involving sheep being trimmed in religions in the ancient Near East, Middle East, and Mediterranean regions: ÃÆ' â € Å" atalhÃÆ'¶yÃÆ'¼k, ancient Egyptian religion, Kana'an and Phoenician traditions, Judaism, Greek religion, and others. The religious symbolism and rituals involving sheep begin with some of the first known beliefs: The skull of a ram (along with a bull) occupies a central placement in a shrine in a settlement ÃÆ' â € atalhÃÆ'¶yÃÆ'¼k in 8000 BC. In Ancient Egyptian religion, the ram was a symbol of several gods: Khnum, Heryshaf and Amun (in his incarnation as a god of fertility). Other gods are sometimes shown with ram features including the goddess Ishtar, the Phoenician god Baal-Hamon, and the god Babylonia Ea-Oannes. In Madagascar, sheep are not eaten because it is believed to be the incarnation of the ancestral soul.
There are many ancient Greek references to sheep: that Chrysomallos, a gold-bulus ram, continues to be told through into the modern age. Astrologically, Aries, ram, is the first sign of the classical Greek zodiac, and sheep is the eighth of twelve animals associated with a 12-year cycle in the Chinese zodiac, linked to the Chinese calendar. In Mongolia, shagai is an ancient form of dice made of sheep's cube bones that are often used for forecasters purposes.
The sheep played an important role in all the Abrahamic religions; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, King David and Prophet of Islam Muhammad are all shepherds. According to the biblical account of Binding Isaac, a ram was sacrificed as a substitute for Isaac after an angel remained in the hands of Abraham (in the Islamic tradition, Abraham would sacrifice Ishmael). Eid al-Adha is the main annual festival in Islam where sheep (or other animals) are sacrificed to remember this action. Sheep are sometimes sacrificed to commemorate secular events that are important in Islamic culture. The Greeks and Romans regularly sacrificed sheep in religious practice, and Judaism once sacrificed the sheep as Sacrifice (sacrifice), like the Passover lamb. Ovine symbols - like the ceremonial puff of the shofar - still find a presence in the tradition of modern Judaism. Followers of Christianity are collectively referred to as flocks, with Christ as the Good Shepherd, and sheep are elements of Christ's birth iconography. Some Christian saints are regarded as patrons of shepherds, and even sheep. Christ is also described as the sacrificial Lamb of God ( Agnus Dei ) and the Passover celebrations in Greece and Romania traditionally feature food from the Passover lamb. In many Christian traditions, a church leader is called a pastor, derived from the Latin word for shepherd.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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