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Sheep farming in Namibia (2017). According to the FAOSTAT database of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the top five countries by number of head of sheep (average from 1993 to 2013) were: mainland China (146.5 million head), Australia (101.1 million), India (62.1 million), Iran (51.7 million), and the former Sudan (46.2 million). [2]
A last group of sheep breeds is that of fur or hair sheep, which do not grow wool at all. Hair sheep are similar to the early domesticated sheep kept before woolly breeds were developed, and are raised for meat and pelts. Some modern breeds of hair sheep, such as the Dorper, result from crosses between wool and hair breeds.
Sheep are social animals and live in groups, called flocks. This helps them to avoid predators and stay warm in cold weather by huddling together. Flocks of sheep need to keep moving to find new grazing areas and more favourable weather as the seasons change. In each flock, a sheep, usually a mature ram, is followed by the others. [3]
Many modern farmed animals are unsuited to life in the natural world. Dogs were domesticated early; dogs appear in Europe and the Far East from about 15,000 years ago. [10] Goats and sheep were domesticated in multiple events sometime between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago in Southwest Asia. [11]
Dall sheep climb onto rocks to escape predators. [2] They follow the same paths from summer places to winter places for generations. [5] Dall sheep live in herds. Adult rams live together in bachelor herds, and the ewes and young sheep live in other herds. Male sheep leave the female herds when they are two or three years old. [4] [6] [2]
Due to the intensification of the dairy production systems, Lacaune sheep spend part of the year in the sheepfold. The first few weeks of milking take place in the sheepfold but sheep are let out into the pasture during the day. [1] Lacaune sheep are the second highest producing dairy sheep breed in the world.
Domesticated sheep are herd animals that are bred for agricultural trade. A flock of sheep is mated by a single ram, which has either been chosen by a farmer or, in feral populations, has established dominance through physical contests with other rams. [1] Sheep have a breeding season (tupping) in the autumn, though some can breed year-round. [1]
Afghan urial or Turkmenian sheep (Ovis vignei cycloceros): southern Turkmenistan, eastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan (north Balochistan) [4] Punjab urial ( Ovis vignei punjabiensis ): provincial animal of Punjab, Pakistan [ 5 ]