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.
• 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. See also "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.
• 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".
• Hogget (also hogg, hog or hoggat) – a yearling sheep.
• In lamb – pregnant.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 – a coloured marker 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".
• Riggwelter – a sheep that has fallen onto its back and (usually because of the weight of its fleece) is unable to get up.
• Ringing – the removal of a circle of wool from around the pizzle of a male sheep.
• Ruddy – local Cumbrian term for "raddle".
• Shearling – a yearling sheep before its first shearing. Also "teg".
• Slink – a very young lamb.
• Stag – a ram castrated after about 6 months of age.
• Stores – sheep (or cattle etc) 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 "shearling".
• Theave or theaf – 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.