Glossary - Raising Sheep - page 419

ram lamb . Immature male.
ration . The amount of feed supplied to an animal or a group of animals dur-
ing a specifi c 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 fl ock.
retained placenta . A placenta not passed as afterbirth.
roughage . Course and bulky feed that is high in fi ber, 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 fl eece at shearing.
stanchion . A device for holding the head of an animal for milking or to per-
form 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 fi nd
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.