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| Domestic sheep | |
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| A research flock at US Sheep Experiment Station near Dubois, Idaho | |
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| Species: | O. aries |
| Binomial name | |
| Ovis aries Linnaeus, 1758 | |
A domestic sheep (Ovis aries) is a domesticated mammal related to wild sheep and goats. Sheep are owned and looked after by a sheep farmer. Female sheep are called ewes. Male sheep are called rams. Young sheep are called lambs.
They are kept for their wool and their meat. The wool of sheep, after cleaning and treating, is used to make woollen clothes. The meat of young sheep is called lamb, and the meat from adult sheep is called mutton. Both are economically important products which have been used since prehistoric times.
Sheep are domesticated animals which have been bred by man. There are breeds which specialise in wool or meat.
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