Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7: Sheep
SHEEP GLOSSARY
Bag:
The ewe's udder or mammary glands
Band:
A group of sheep larger than a flock; usually referring to thousands of sheep
kept on range land
Black wool:
Refers to dark wool; any wool containing black or dark fibers
Blood grading:
The degree of fineness of wool. The term was originally used to
refer to the amount of Merino blood (a breed of sheep) in an animal.
Bright wool:
Light, clean wool
Broken mouth:
An old ram or ewe that has lost teeth. The condition usually begins
when an animal is around four years old.
Bummer:
A lamb that has to be bottle-fed. Usually an orphan, but it can be a lamb
that is being ignored by its mother if there are multiple births.
Burdizzo:
Tool used to castrate lambs by breaking the cord without breaking the
skin
Carding:
Converts loose, clean wool into longer, continuous strands. Carding may
be done by hand or by machine.
Carpet wool:
Coarse, strong wool suitable for making carpets
Clean wool:
May refer to scoured wool; hand spinners may use the term to refer to
a grease wool with little or no contamination from vegetable sources.
Clip:
The total annual wool production taken from a flock
Closed face:
A sheep that has lots of wool around its face and eyes
Club lamb:
A lamb that is raised as a club project for 4-H or FFA
Combing:
Removing the short fibers and leaving the long fibers laid out straight
and parallel on a sheep
