Sheep (Ovis aries)

Sheep in Iowa. State: Iowa, By: Unknown, Name: NRCSIA99208. Year: 1999. High Resolution Image 253.9 kb JPEG image (24 bit RGB color) uncompressed archival TIFF version 9.4 mb TIFF image (32 bit CMYK color)

Sheep were among the first animals domesticated. An archeological site in Iran produced a statuette of a wooled sheep which suggests that selection for woolly sheep had begun to occur over 6000 years ago. The common features of today's sheep were already appearing in Mesopotamian and Babylonian art and books by 3000 B.C. Sheep: (Ovis aries)

Approximately 6 million sheep are used for meat and wool production in the United States and 2.5 million goats are used for meat, milk and mohair production. On this page, you will find information on breeding, husbandry, care, housing, nutrition and health, and management for these species. Sheep and Goats

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