Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

440 results found

sheep

(Encyclopedia)sheep, common name for many species of wild and domesticated ruminant mammals of the genus Ovis of the Bovidae, or cattle, family. The male is called a ram (if castrated it is a wether), the female is...

Karakul sheep

(Encyclopedia)Karakul sheep kărˈəkəl [key], breed native to central Asia. The newborn lambs usually have tightly curled black fur and are skinned before they are three days old to provide the commercial lambski...

Rambouillet sheep

(Encyclopedia)Rambouillet sheep rămˈbo͝olāˌ [key], fine-wool breed developed in France from the Spanish Merino sheep. It has become very popular in the United States and is the foundation of most of the Wester...

Merino sheep

(Encyclopedia)Merino sheep mərēˈnō [key], breed intermediate in body size having fine wool, developed in Spain. These sheep are noted for their hardiness and their herding instincts and have been used as parent...

Southdown sheep

(Encyclopedia)Southdown sheep, mutton breed of sheep originated on the South Downs of Sussex, England, and now raised throughout the world. It is a small sheep, the most thickset of all breeds, and it is valued for...

Oxford sheep

(Encyclopedia)Oxford sheep, relatively large-bodied, hornless breed developed in England using crosses between Hampshire and Cotswold sheep. The breed was selected for size and productivity. It has not had widespre...

Lincoln sheep

(Encyclopedia)Lincoln sheep, very large-bodied, white-faced, hornless breed having coarse wool, developed in England. It has made considerable contributions to the American sheep industry in the parentage of other ...

Columbia sheep

(Encyclopedia)Columbia sheep, medium-wool breed developed in the United States using Lincoln and Rambouillet sheep crosses. The breed was developed primarily for the Western ranges but is also used successfully in ...

Leicester sheep

(Encyclopedia)Leicester sheep lĕsˈtər [key], breed of sheep originated from native stock as mutton producers in Leicestershire, England, by the English livestock breeder Robert Bakewell (c.1755). English Leicest...

Hampshire sheep

(Encyclopedia)Hampshire sheep, large sheep bred originally in Hampshire, England, by crossing Southdowns, Cotswolds, and other breeds. Hampshires are large in size and hornless, have black faces and legs, and are c...