62 



THE NATURE OF SHEEP 



development rather than the absolute age of the sheep in calendar 

 months ; hence, they are not infallible indications of age. If devel- 

 opment is slow, the first permanent teeth may not appear until the 

 sheep is fifteen or sixteen months old ; if it is rapid, they may appear 

 at ten months of age. A yearling sheep that has been forced by 

 heavy feeding may have four broad teeth in front instead of two 

 (Fig. 29). 



The teeth of an old sheep are Jikely to be spread apart, missing, 

 or worn down short. Other indications of advanced age are a 

 sunken appearance over the eyes, a comparatively short fleece with 

 sunken places on the surface, and a general lack of fullness of body 

 outlines (Fig. 30). 



(2) The Break Joint. On our large livestock markets, an index 



often depended upon for 

 determining whether an ani- 

 mal belongs in the sheep or 

 lamb class is what is known 

 as the " break joint." This is 

 the temporary, or epiphyseal 

 cartilage located immedi- 

 ately above the pastern joint. 

 Without it bones could not 

 elongate and hence it is pres- 

 ent until the lamb is pretty 

 well along in body develop- 

 ment. It can be distin- 

 guished best on the live ani- 

 mal by rubbing up and down 

 on the foreleg just above the 

 pastern joint with the thumb and forefinger. If temporary cartilage 

 has not disappeared, a great deal of prominence will be felt; if 

 it has, the bone will be comparatively round and smooth (Fig. 31). 

 Feeding and Drinking Habits. Being ruminants, sheep are 

 adapted not only to the consumption of grain, but also of bulky 

 feeds, such as grass and hay. They eat all of the grasses except the 

 very coarsest varieties and are very fond of the cultivated legum- 

 inous plants. They eat most of the weeds common to farms, and in 

 the West, weeds on sheep ranges are considered very valuable feed. 

 Sheep feed on young tree growth more than any other of our domestic 

 animals except goats. 



FIG. 31. (a) The break joint; when an imma- 

 ture sheep is slaughtered its forelegs are severed 

 at this joint its presence being a sure indication 

 that the animal was young. (6) The regular articu- 

 lating joint below the break joint; the forelegs of 

 mature sheep are severed at this joint. 



