Domestic sheep are hooved mammals, or ungulates, with woolly coats. Sheep are ruminants, or ungulates that chew their cud and have an even number of toes. Cud is partially digested food that has been burped back up to the mouth before being passed along to another part of the stomach for further digestion. Domestic sheep are descended from European and Asian wild mouflon. People have raised sheep for about 10,000 years. More than 1,000 different breeds exist today.
What They Eat
Sheep are grazers, eating grasses, weeds, herbs and shrubs. On farms, they also eat corn, oats, barley and wheat. Sheep are able to survive with minimal water supplies, but must have salt in their diet.
Where They Live
Sheep live on all continents except Antarctica. The greatest numbers of sheep are found in Australia, New Zealand, South and Central America, and the United Kingdom. Different breeds are adapted to different habitats. Shetland sheep, for example, are a hardy breed, well-suited to the cold, wet, rugged Shetland Islands of northeastern Scotland.
What They Do
Sheep are social animals that live in groups called flocks. Flocks tend to move together, either led by a dominant sheep, a shepherd, or herd dog. This grouping behavior makes it easy for one person to take care of an entire flock. The safety provided by the flock allows a sheep to spend most of its day grazing, chewing its cud, or resting.
How They’re Doing
Domestic sheep are prized for their meat, fleece and milk. Sheep are not in danger of extinction. However, some breeds, such as the Hog Island Sheep, are rare. The Shetland sheep at the Wells Fargo Family Farm was previously a critically rare breed, but numbers are now increasing.
Common Names
Ewe: adult female
Ewe lamb: young female that has not given birth
Fleece: coat of wool
Flock or herd: group of sheep
Lamb: male or female, from birth to 12 months. Also, the meat of a young sheep.
Ram: uncastrated male
Ram lamb: young male
Shearlings: yearling that has been shorn once
Wether: castrated male
Yearling: male or female, age 12-24 months
Animal Facts
Body Length: 4 – 6 feet
Shoulder Height: 2 – 4 feet
Weight: 50 – 400 pounds
Lifespan: 10 – 12 years
Number of babies per pregnancy: 1 – 2 lambs
Taxonomic Category
Mammal, hoofed
Where at the Zoo
Wells Fargo Family Farm
A small flock of domestic sheep lives at the Goat and Sheep Barn at the Wells Fargo Family Farm. When the Farm is open, guests can pet and feed the sheep and lambs.
Meet the Animals
The Zoo’s flock consists entirely of Shetland sheep. This breed is mainly farmed for wool, and occasionally for meat. The breed originated in the Shetland Islands of northeastern Scotland and their high-quality wool is the finest of any British breed. Today, they can also be found on a small number of farms outside of Europe. Rams have spiral horns, while ewes have no horns at all. Small and slow-growing compared to other sheep breeds, Shetland sheep are calm, long-lived and easily give birth to lambs.
Home on the Farm
The Goat & Sheep Barn is a red-walled, green-roofed building with a fenced area for sheep to enjoy the fresh air outdoors. Inside the barn, there is a lambing pen for ewes and a kidding pen for female goats. There is also a ram pen for male sheep and a billy pen for male goats.
Care at the Zoo
The Goat and Sheep Barn has both an indoor stall and a fenced outdoor area for the sheep. Inside the Barn, there is a lambing pen for ewes and a kidding pen for female goats. There is also a ram pen for male sheep and a billy pen for male goats.
Sheep usually breed from early fall to midwinter. Lambing, or giving birth, most often occurs in spring. Gestation (pregnancy) lasts about 148 days, or nearly 5 months. Single and twin births are common, with triplets and quadruplets being born only occasionally. The lambing pen is a warm, safe place for a ewe to give birth and care for her newborn babies. Newborns are extremely strong and can stand and drink the mother’s milk within a few minutes of birth. Lambs are weaned when they are 2-3 months old. Nearly all males and some female sheep born at the Minnesota Zoo are sold in the fall after weaning.
Sheep are shorn (or sheared) in the spring. Shetland sheep have a double coat with two types of wool, so they are sheared a little later in the spring than some other sheep breeds. A shearer or Zoo staff do the annual shearing. The sheared fleece should be in once piece and be in the shape of the animal when laid out. If the wool is not needed at the Zoo for classes or other purposes, the shearer will take the wool for processing.
Staff at the Wells Fargo Family Farm oversee sheep feeding, nutrition and housekeeping; they work closely with Minnesota Zoo veterinarians to address any medical problems. Farm staff clean the sheep pens daily and line them with fresh bedding. When the weather allows, the pens are scrubbed. Just like other animals at the Minnesota Zoo, the sheep receive enrichment toys and treats that allow staff to train them.
