Domestic sheep

Ovis aries
A research flock at US Sheep Experiment Station near Dubois, Idaho
Conservation status
Domesticated
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Caprinae
Genus:	Ovis
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.^[1]

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.^[2]

Sheep are domesticated animals which have been bred by man. There are breeds which specialise in wool or meat.

The plural of "sheep" is just "sheep".

1. ↑ Ensminger M.E. & R.O. Parker 1986. Sheep and goat science. 5th ed, Interstate Illinois. ISBN 0-8134-2464-X.
2. ↑ Simmons, Paula & Carol Ekarius 2001. Storey's guide to raising sheep. Storey, North Adams, MA. ISBN 978-1-58017-262-2.