abscess. A localized collection of pus, generally caused by an infected wound, a sting, or a splinter that’s encapsulated under the skin.
acclimatization. Becoming accustomed to a new environment.
acute infection. An infection or disease that has rapid onset and pronounced signs and symptoms.
additive. An ingredient or substance added to a feed mixture, generally in small quantities. May be added for nutritional reasons, such as vitamins or minerals, or for medicinal purposes, such as antibiotics.
afterbirth. The placenta and membranes that are passed from the ewe’s body after she gives birth.
AI. Abbreviation for artificial insemination.
anemia. A deficiency in the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood. Can be caused by loss of blood or by certain disease conditions but in sheep is most often caused by loss of blood due to blood-feeding worms.
anestrus. The nonbreeding season; females that are not in heat.
anthelmintic. A drug that kills or expels intestinal worms.
antibiotic. A medicine that inhibits the growth of, or kills, bacteria. Antibiotics have no effect on viruses, fungi, or worms.
antibody. A protein substance developed in the body to fight a specific antigen.
antigen. A “foreign invader,” which the body’s immune system recognizes as such. Usually a bacterium or a virus.
antiseptic. A chemical used to reduce or kill bacteria.
artificial insemination (AI). The introduction of semen into the reproductive system of a ewe for the purposes of impregnating her. Must be done by a trained technician or veterinarian.
ash. The mineral matter of feed.
bacterium. A single-celled microorganism. Some bacteria are beneficial and necessary for good health — for example, the bacteria that regularly live in the rumen — and others cause disease.
bag. The ewe’s udder, or mammary glands.
balanced ration. A feed ration that supplies all the required nutrients for an animal’s needs at the time.
band. Used by ranchers running thousands of sheep on a range to signify one group; like a flock but much larger. Also, a small rubber device that looks like a little doughnut that is used for castrating and docking.
black wool. Any wool containing black, or dark, fibers.
bloat. A disorder characterized by an abnormal accumulation of gas in the rumen. Bloat is often fatal if not caught and treated quickly.
blood grading. The degree of fineness of wool; measured as a fraction. Originally, the fraction indicated the portion of Merino blood in the animal.
body condition scoring. A system of assessing the condition a sheep is in, with scores ranging from 1 to 5, with 1 being thin and 5 being fat.
bolus. Regurgitated food that is being chewed or has been chewed and is ready to be swallowed (also called cud); a large pill for animals.
breech. The buttocks; a birth in which the fetus is presented “rear” first.
breed. A like group of animals that have been bred to exhibit certain definable, inherited traits; the mating of animals.
bright wool. Light, clean wool.
broken mouth. Old ewe or ram that has lost teeth. The condition usually begins around 4 years of age.
browse. Woody or brushy plants that can be eaten.
buck. Mature male; also called ram.
bummer. A lamb that has to be bottle-fed by the shepherd. Usually an orphan, though sometimes a lamb whose mother doesn’t produce enough milk for multiple lambs.
Burdizzo. A tool used to castrate lambs by severing the cord without breaking the skin.
bushel. A unit of capacity approximately equal to 1.25 cu ft (37.5 cm3).
carcass. The dressed body of a meat animal from which internal organs and offal have been removed.
carding. An operation that converts loose, clean wool into continuous, untwisted strands. May be done with hand cards or a carding machine.
carpet wool. Coarse, harsh, strong wool suitable for producing carpets.
carrier. An animal that carries a disease but doesn’t show signs of it.
carrying capacity. The number of animals a piece of land is capable of sustaining for a given period of time.
castrate. To remove the testicles from a ram so he is permanently incapable of breeding.
clean wool. Usually refers to scoured wool, though handspinners may use the phrase to describe a grease wool that has little or no vegetable contamination.
clip. The total annual wool production from a flock.
closed face. A sheep that has heavy wool about the eyes and cheeks.
club lamb. A lamb raised as a 4-H, FFA, or other club project.
colic. An abdominal condition generally characterized by severe pain.
colostrum. The first milk produced by a ewe after giving birth. Colostrum contains antibodies from the ewe’s immune system, which can be absorbed through the lamb’s intestines for the first 24 hours of life.
combing. An operation that removes short fibers and leaves long fibers laid out straight and parallel.
composite. A uniform group of animals created through selective crossbreeding.
concentrate. A high-energy, low-fiber feed.
conformation. The shape, proportions, and “design” of the animal.
count. The fineness to which yarn may be spun; a system of grading wool based on how fine it can be spun.
creep. An enclosure that allows lambs to enter for supplemental feeding but prohibits older animals from entering.
crimp. The “wave” effect in wool fibers.
crossbred. Animals that are known to have more than one breed in their lineage. Many crossbreds perform well due to hybrid vigor.
cross-fencing. Fences used to subdivide pastures into smaller paddocks.
cud. A bolus of regurgitated food.
cull. To remove a breeding animal from the flock that isn’t meeting the needs of breeding animals within the flock, often because of health, age, poor reproductive record, and so on. In the case of rams, they’re often culled so they don’t breed their own daughters. One farmer’s cull animal may make a fine addition to another farmer’s flock!
dam. The female parent.
deficiency disease. An illness caused by a lack of one or more nutrients. For example, calcium deficiency in heavily milking ewes (also known as milk fever) can cause stiffness, lameness, bone deformities, and convulsions in the ewe or her lambs.
degreased wool. Wool that’s been cleaned chemically to remove all “grease,” or lanolin.
density. Number of wool fibers per unit area of a sheep’s body. Fine-wool breeds have greater density than coarse-wool breeds.
dental pad. The firm upper gum, which lacks teeth.
dock. To cut off the tail; the remaining portion of the tail of a sheep that has been docked.
drench. A liquid medicine given orally.
drift lambing. A pasture-based system of lambing in which ewes that have not yet lambed are moved each day, while ewes with new lambs remain in the pasture where they dropped their lambs.
dry. A nonlactating ewe; the period between lactations.
drylot. A small enclosure in which animals are confined.
dry matter. The proportion of a given feedstuff that doesn’t contain any water. Found in a laboratory by “cooking” a feed sample at about 120°F (48.9°C) to drive off all water molecules.
edema. Swelling due to excess accumulation of fluid in tissue spaces.
elasticity. The ability of wool fibers to return to their original length after being stretched. Good-quality wool has a great deal of elasticity.
Elastrator. A device that is used to apply a heavy rubber band to the tail or scrotum of a lamb for docking or castrating.
electrolytes. Salts naturally found in an animal’s blood. May be administered orally or intravenously during illness.
emaciated. An animal that is overly thin, often caused by illness.
estrous cycle. The time and physiological events that take place in one heat period of 17 days in a ewe.
estrus. The time during which a ewe will allow a ram to breed her. Normally, a ewe is in estrus for about 28 hours.
ewe. Mature female.
ewe breed. Fine-wool, prolific breed of sheep.
ewe lamb. Immature female.
extensive management. A management system that relies on low-input methods of production, centered on pastures and grazing. See intensive management.
facing. Trimming wool from around the face of closed-face sheep; see also wigging.
fecundity. The ability to produce many offspring, either within one year or over a lifetime.
feeder lambs. Animals under 1 year of age that make good gains if placed on high-input feedstuffs.
feedstuff. An ingredient or material fed to an animal.
felting. The interlocking of fibers when rubbed together under conditions of heat, moisture, and pressure.
fermentation. Microbial decomposition of organic matter in an oxygen-free environment, including the breakdown of food by microorganisms in the sheep’s rumen.
fertility. Ability of an animal to reproduce.
fetus. An animal in the uterus until birth.
finish. To fatten animals for slaughter.
fitting. Preparing an animal for show.
fleece. The wool from one sheep.
flock. A group of sheep.
flushing. Feeding ewes additional feed for 2 to 3 weeks prior to breeding.
forage. Vegetable matter in pasture, hay, or silage.
free choice. Food available at all times.
freshening. Giving birth.
gestation. Time between breeding and lambing; in sheep, between 147 and 153 days.
grade. Grade animals may be crossbred or purebred, but there definitely are no records of breeding recorded with a breed association.
grading. Classifying fleeces according to fineness, length, character, and quality.
graft. Have a ewe accept and mother a lamb that isn’t her own.
grease wool. Wool as it comes from the sheep.
gummer. An old sheep missing all or most of its teeth.
halter. A rope or leather headgear used to control or lead an animal.
hot house lamb. A lamb born in fall or early winter and butchered at 9 to 16 weeks of age.
hybrid vigor. The extra vigor, strength, hardiness, and productive capacity that comes from crossbreeding animals.
immunity. An animal’s ability to resist or overcome infection; may be natural or the result of vaccinations.
inbreeding. The breeding of animals that are closely related.
infestation. Presence of a large number of parasites or insects.
intensive management. A production system that relies on high levels of inputs, including harvested feeds and specialized facilities. See extensive management.
jug. A small pen large enough for just one ewe and her offspring, generally used for several days after birthing.
ked. An external parasite that affects sheep; sometimes referred to as a sheep tick, but actually the organism is a flat, brown, wingless fly.
lactation. The period during which a ewe is producing milk.
lamb. Newborn or immature sheep, typically under 1 year of age.
lanolin. The naturally occurring “grease” that coats wool.
long wool. Wool that is 12 to 15 inches (30.5 to 38.1 cm) long, typically from the Lincoln, Leicester, and Cotswold breeds.
luster. The natural gloss or sheen of a fleece.
maintenance requirement. Feed ration required to maintain an animal’s condition at rest; does not provide adequate nutrition for growth.
mastitis. Infection of the mammary gland or udder.
meconium. The first manure passed by a lamb.
milk letdown. A physiological process that allows milk to be removed from the udder by sucking or mechanical means.
minor breeds. Those breeds that have fallen from favor in commercial agriculture; consequently their numbers decrease — sometimes to the extent that a breed becomes endangered or extinct.
mutton. Meat from a mature or aged sheep.
open face. A sheep that doesn’t have much wool around the eyes and cheeks.
Ovis aries. Scientific name for domestic sheep.
oxytocin. A hormone that controls milk letdown.
packers. Animals that are destined to go to the butcher; cull ewes and rams.
palatable. Acceptable taste and quality for an animal to readily ingest.
papered. See registered.
pathogen. A disease-causing organism.
pelt. The skin from a slaughtered sheep that still has the wool on it.
physiological. Pertaining to the science that deals with the functions of living organisms.
piebald. An animal that is spotted.
polled. Naturally hornless.
purebred. Purebred animals have 100 percent of their bloodlines coming from one breed.
quarantine. Keeping an animal isolated from other animals to prevent spread of infection.
ram. Mature male; also called buck.
ration. The amount of feed supplied to an animal or a group of animals during a specific period.
registered. Registered animals are purebred or bred in accordance with the standards of the breed’s association or registry; also called papered.
replacement. A young animal selected to be kept for the breeding flock.
retained placenta. A placenta not passed as afterbirth.
roughage. Course and bulky feed that is high in fiber, such as hay or silage.
ruminant. A category of animals, such as sheep, goats, or cattle, that have a four-compartment stomach system.
scours. Diarrhea.
second cuts. Short lengths of wool resulting from cutting the same spot twice during shearing.
shearing. The act of clipping wool from a sheep.
shearling. Pelt from a slaughtered sheep that carries less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) of new wool.
shrinkage. The amount of weight an animal loses during adverse conditions or transport; the loss of carcass weight during aging; the loss of weight in wool during scouring.
skirting. The practice of removing the edges of a fleece at shearing.
stanchion. A device for holding the head of an animal for milking or to perform veterinary procedures.
stripping. Removing milk from the udder; usually refers to removing the last of the milk.
tagging. Cutting dung locks off a sheep.
tags. Locks of wool contaminated by dung and dirt.
tallow. The extracted fat from sheep and cattle.
teaser. A ram or stag that is incapable of breeding ewes but is used to find ewes that are in heat.
udder. The mammary glands with nipples.
unsound. An animal that has health problems, poor conformation, and so on.
weaning. Stopping lambs from suckling on their dams.
wether. Castrated or neutered male.
wigging. Trimming wool from around the face of closed-face sheep; also called facing.
yearling. Ewe or ram between 1 and 2 years old.