Sheep Facts 1-10

Today I decided to post a helpful guide for you to get a better understanding of the world of sheep.

Did you know:

1.  Sheep were once on the white house lawn.  During Woodrow Wilson's administration he had sheep grazing on the front lawn!

2.  Sheep have been used for their wool, meat and milk.

3.  Sheep only have bottom teeth; the top of their mouth is only gum.

4.  "Dolly" the sheep was the first mammal to be cloned.

5.  Sheep live in groups called "flocks".

6.  Adult sheep eat between 1-4 kgs of grass or hay per day.

7.  Sheep are ruminants meaning they have 4 stomachs.  This allows them to "chew their cud" or regurgitate their food and chew it again.

8.  Sheep produce wool as their hair.  This wool is also know as "fibre" and is softer and finer than human hair.

9.  The top three producers of sheep in the world are: China, Australia and New Zealand.

10.  Sheep are sheared once a year and can be sheared in 3 to 4 minutes.  A shearer takes about 53 strokes to cut the fleece off a sheep in one piece.  Sheep are shorn with a tool that looks like hair clippers.