| Question |
Answer |
| Hampshire |
Meat, large frame, black face ears and legs, wool cap and leg wool, medium wool |
| Oxford |
Meat, mod-large frame, black face eears legs, heavy wool cap and leg wool, medium wool |
| Shropshire |
Meat, mod-large frame, black face ears legs, wool cap and leg wool, medium wool |
| Southdown |
Meat, Mod frame, grey - brown face ears legs, black nose and hooves, mod wool cap and leg wool, med wool |
| suffolk |
Meat, large frame, black face ears legs, no wool cap and leg wool, medium wool, #1 breed in the US |
| Texel |
Meat, Extremely heavy muscled and lean, white face ears legs, black nose and hooves, legs and head free of wool, medium wool |
| columbia |
wool, large frame, chalk white face ears legs, polled, wool cap and leg wool, medium wool |
| corriedale |
wool, mod-large frame, white face ears legs, black nose and hooves, wool cap and leg wool, med-fine wool |
| lincoln |
wool, mod-large frame, either black or white, wool cap and leg wool, medium wool |
| merino |
wool, small-mod frame, white face ears legs, wool cap and leg wool, very fine wool, "the golden fleece" |
| Rambouillet |
wool, mod-large frame, white face ears legs, pink nose and lips, wool cap and leg wool, fine wool |
| cheviot |
dual purpose, small frame, white face ears legs, erect ears, black nose and hooves, bare head and legs, medium wool, very hardy |
| dorset |
dual purpose, mod-large frame, white face ears legs, medium wool, #2 breed in the US, "out of season" breeders |
| montadale |
dual purpose, mod-large frame, long body, white face ears legs, long ears pointed out, black nose and hooves, bare head and legs medium wool |
| targhee |
dual purpose, mod-large frame, white face, polled, open faced, med-fine wool |
| finnsheep |
specialty, mod-small frame, open face, short tail, multi-births, early maturity, mothering ability, med wool |
| Advantages of Crossbreeding |
heterosis (hybrid vigor: best of both breeds), increased genetic diversity |
| disadvantages of crossbreeding |
less predictable outcomes, potential for outbreeding depression (opposite of hybrid vigor) |
| puberty reached in sheep |
5-12 months |
| sheep estrous cycle |
16-17 days |
| sheep estrus |
30 hours |
| sheep gestation |
147 days but influenced by breed |
| factors that effect reproduction |
light, crossbreeding, age, temperature, environment |
| Scrapie susceptibility |
important genetic trait to monitor. Leaves sheep susceptible to "scrapie", which is a Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. |
| abnormal jaws |
overshot or parrot mouth and undershot or monkey mouth |
| spider syndrome |
deformed front legs |
| enterotoxemia |
also called "overeating" or "bloody scours" caused by a virus |
| lamb meat |
sheep meat from an animal that is less than one year old |
| mutton |
meat from sheep one year old and older |
| what type of digestive system does a sheep have |
ruminant |
| four sections of the sheep stomach |
rumen (bacterial digestion), reticulum (collects hardware and aids in regurgitation), omasum (water absorption), abomasum ("true stomach") |
| what are the general nutritive needs of sheep |
water, energy (carbohydrates), protein, vitamins, minerals |
| main causes of death loss (non-predator) in adult sheep |
old age, lambing problems, digestive disorders |
| main causes of death loss (non-predator) in lambs |
respiratory disease, digestive disorders, weather-related issues, dystocia |
| what are the top predators of sheep |
coyotes, dogs, mountain lions |
| what are some methods to control predators |
fencing, night penning, guard animials, lamb sheds, herders, sound (the best method depends on the predator) |
| what are some alternative uses for sheep |
vegetation and insect control because they can eat practically anything |
| what are some of the costs associated with the sheep industry |
feed (largest expense), labor, veterinary, breeding costs, shearing, utilities, building and equipment maintence |
| what are some of the income sources in the sheep industry |
sale of lambs, cull ewes and rams, wool |
| top wool producing state |
texas |
| top wool producing country |
australia |
| what is the average US fleece weight |
7.4 pounds |
| when are most sheep shorn |
April, May, and June |
| what determines the price of wool |
fineness, length, yield |
| what are some properties of wool |
absorbent fiber, resistant to flame, dyeable, durable, natural felting properties, resilience |
| why is absorbency an important property of wool |
aids in keeping the body dry, warm in winter and cool in summer |
| what does resiliance mean |
can be stretched 30% of original length when dry and 50% when wet and still return to original shape |
| What is important about wool pools and coops |
creates larger lots, improves uniformity, increases prices received and profits |
| what are polycontaminants |
twine, tarps, and bags |
| how to limit polycontamination |
reduce/eliminate the use of poly products, skirt fleeces at shearing |
| what are the two ways of packing wool and which is better |
bags vs bales, bales are better because they can be stored more easily |
| what are the key things about storing wool |
keep out o fdirect sunlight, keep off the ground, keep dry |
| what are some wool products |
woven apparel, insulation, ragg wool |
| characteristics of woven apparel |
uses worsted yarns, higher quality, more expensive |
| examples of woven apparel |
sweaters, upholstery, hosiery |
| characteristics of insulation |
uses woolen yarns, lower quality, less expensive |
| examples of insulation wool |
rugs, tennis balls, bedding products, oil spill clean-up pads |
| Wool quality improvement program (WQIP) |
started in 1990, improve quality, eliminate contamination, improve prices, make american wool more competitive in a global market |
Poultry
