Glossary of sheep husbandry

A trio of lambs.

The raising of domestic sheep has existed in nearly every inhabited part of the globe, and the variations in cultures and languages which have kept sheep has produced a vast lexicon of unique terminology used to describe the practice. A few of the more major terms include:

• Bale – a wool pack containing a specified weight of wool as regulated by industry authorities.
• Bottle lamb or cade lamb – an orphan lamb reared on a bottle. Also "poddy lamb" or "pet lamb".
• Broken-mouth or broken-mouthed – an old sheep which has lost some of its incisor teeth.
• CFA or cast for age – sheep culled because of their age. Also see "cull ewe".
• Clip – all the wool from a flock (in Australian Wool Classing).
• Comeback – the progeny of a mating of a Merino with a British longwool sheep.
• Cull ewe – a ewe no longer suitable for breeding, and sold for meat.
• Crutching – shearing parts of a sheep (especially the hind end of some woollier breeds such as Merino), to prevent fly-strike. Also see "dagging".
• Dags – clumps of dried dung stuck to the wool of a sheep, which may lead to fly-strike. (Hence "rattle your dags!", meaning "hurry up!", especially used in Australia.)
• Dagging – clipping off dags. Also see "crutching".
• Draft ewe – a ewe too old for rough grazing (such as moorland), "drafted" (selected) out of the flock to move to better grazing, usually on another farm. Generally spelt "draft", but in British Isles either as "draft" or "draught".
• Earmark – distinctive mark clipped out of the ear (sometimes a tattoo) to denote ownership.
• Eartag – plastic or metal tag clipped to ear, with number or name, or (in European Union) the official flock mark.
• Ewe (Template:PronEng) – a female sheep, capable of producing lambs. In areas where "gimmer" or similar terms are used for young females, may refer to a female only after her first lamb. In some areas "yow".
• Fleece – the wool covering of a sheep.
• Flock – a group of sheep (or goats). All the sheep on a property (in Australian Wool Classing; also all the sheep in a region or country. Sometimes called herd or mob.
• Fold (or sheepfold) – a pen in which a flock is kept overnight to keep the sheep safe from predators, or to allow the collection of dung for manure.
• Folding – confining sheep (or other livestock) onto a restricted area for feeding, such as a temporarily fenced part of a root crop field, especially when done repeatedly onto a sequence of areas.
• Gimmer (Template:PronEng, not /ˈdʒɪmɚ/) – a young female sheep, usually before her first lamb (especially used in the north of England). Also "theave".
• Guard llama – a llama (usually a castrated male) kept with sheep as a guard. The llama will defend the flock from predators such as foxes and dogs.
• Hefting (or heafing) – the instinct in some breeds of keeping to a certain heft (or heaf – small local area) throughout their lives. Allows different farmers in an extensive landscape such as moorland to graze different areas without the need for fences, the ewes being scattered evenly over a wide area. Lambs usually learn their heft from their mothers.
• Hogget (also hogg, hog or hoggat) – a yearling sheep. Also see "shearling" and "teg".
• In lamb – pregnant.
• Lamb (Template:PronEng) – a young sheep in its first year. In many eastern countries there is a looser use of the term which may include older hoggets. Also the meat of younger sheep.
• Lambing – the process of giving birth in sheep. Also the work of tending lambing ewes (shepherds are said to "lamb" their flocks).
• Lamb marking – the earmarking, docking and castration of lambs.
• Livestock guarding dog or livestock guardian dog – a dog bred and trained to guard sheep from predators such as bears, wolves, people or other dogs. Usually a large type of dog, often white and woolly, apparently to allow them to blend in with the sheep. Sometimes given a spiked collar to prevent attack by wolves or dogs. Does not usually herd the sheep. Sometimes called a sheepdog – but also see separate entry for this.
• Lug mark – local term in Cumbria for "earmark".
• Monorchid – a male mammal with only one descended testicle, the other being retained internally. Monorchid sheep are less fertile than full rams, but have leaner meat than wethers.
• Mule – a type of cross-bred sheep, both hardy and suitable for meat (especially in northern England). Usually bred from a Bluefaced Leicester ram on hardy mountain ewes such as Swaledales. May be qualified according to the female parent: for example a Welsh mule is from a Blue-faced Leicester ram and a Welsh Mountain ewe.
• Mulesing – a practice in Australia of cutting off wrinkles from the crutch area of Merinos, to prevent fly-strike. Controversial, and illegal in other parts of the world. Named after a Mr Mules.
• Mob – a group or cohort of sheep of the same breed that have run together under similar environmental conditions since the previous shearing (in Australian Wool Classing).
• Mutton – the meat of an older sheep. Also an older female sheep to be used for this purpose. May refer to goat meat in eastern countries. Derived from the Anglo-Norman French word mouton ("sheep").
• Old-season lamb – a lamb a year old or more.
• Poddy lamb or pet lamb – an orphan lamb reared on a bottle. Also "bottle lamb" or "cade lamb".
• Raddle – coloured pigment used to mark sheep for various reasons, such as to show ownership, or to show which lambs belong to which ewe. May be strapped to the chest of a ram, to mark the backs of ewes he tups (different rams may be given different colours). Also a verb ("that ewe's been raddled"). Also "ruddy".
• Ram – an uncastrated adult male sheep. Also tup.
• Riggwelter – a sheep that has fallen onto its back and is unable to get up (usually because of the weight of its fleece).
• Ringing – the removal of a circle of wool from around the pizzle of a male sheep.
• Ruddy – local Cumbrian term for "raddle".
• Shear – cut off the fleece. A sheep may be said to have been either sheared or shorn, depending on dialect.
• Shearling – a yearling sheep before its first shearing. Also see "teg" and "hogget".
• Sheepdog or shepherd dog – a dog used to move and control sheep, often very highly trained. Other types of dog may be used just to guard sheep (see "livestock guarding dog"), and these are sometimes also called sheepdogs.
• Sheep – the species, or members of it. The plural is the same as the singular, and it can also be used as a mass noun. Normally used of individuals of any age, but in some areas only for those of breeding age.
• Shepherd – a stockperson or farmer who looks after sheep. Used even in areas where a group of sheep is called a flock.
• Shepherding – herding sheep, or sheep husbandry more generally.
• Slink – a very young lamb.
• Stag – a ram castrated after about 6 months of age.
• Store – a sheep (or other meat animal) in good average condition, but not fat. Usually bought by dealers to fatten for resale.
• Sucker – an unweaned lamb.
• Teg – a sheep in its second year. Also see "hogget" and "shearling".
• Theave or theaf (plural of either: theaves) – a young female sheep, usually before her first lamb. Also "gimmer".
• Tup – an alternative term for "ram".
• Tupping – mating in sheep, or the mating season (autumn, for a spring-lambing flock).
• Weaner – a young animal that has been weaned, from its mother, until it is about a year old.
• Wether – a castrated male sheep (or goat).
• Wigging – the removal of wool from around a sheep's eyes to prevent wool blindness.
• Wool blind – when excessive wool growth interferes with the normal sight of a sheep.
• Wool pack – a standard-sized woven nylon container manufactured to industry specifications for the transportation of wool.
• Yow (Template:PronEng) – local form of "ewe" in some areas.

See also

Domestic sheep Sheep husbandry Australian Wool Classing