Sheep Vocabulary
Vocabulary frequently used in
sheep production

Shepherds


Wool


A flock master or herdsmen who feeds and guards a
flock of sheep or goats
Fibers constituting soft, curly coats of sheep.
Natural fiber
Lamb

Referring to meat, that which comes from a sheep
less than 1 year old

Mutton


Ewe


And adult breeding male
Lambing


An adult breeding female
Ram


The flesh of a sheep older than 1 year old
The act of giving birth when referring to sheep
Shearing

The act of removing wool from a sheep or goat
from a shearing machine

Flock


Wether


The wool from all parts of a single sheep, consists
of crinkly hair
Wool clip


Castrated male
Fleece


Group of sheet
The annual wool crop
Gummer

A sheep or goat having no teeth

Jail


Drench


Small pen large enough to hold the ewe and the
offspring
A fluid dose of medication given by introducing it
into the mouth
Tagging
Clipping manure and dirt locks from the sheep
 The process of attaching tags to animals


Wool card

The process of disentangling and separating the
fibers of woo and delivering them in a parallel
condition suitable for spinning

Seasonally polyestrous


Bummer lamb


The process of an animal giving milk
Docking


A lamb that has been rejected by its mother
Lactation


An animal that has repeated estrus cycles only during
certain seasons.
The removing of an animal’s tail
Dip

Any chemical preparation into which livestock or
poultry are submerged briefly to get rid of the
insects
Sheep Species Outline

Species name


Adult breeding female


Ovine
Ewe
Adult breeding male

Ram
Species cont.

Castrated male


Immature female


Ewe lamb
Immature male


Wether
Ram lamb
Gestation Period

5 months
Species cont.

Market age


Market weight


5-6 months
100-150 lbs
Meat from sheet

Mutton or lamb