64 



THE NATURE OF SHEEP 



doubtful whether they would take to the hills from choice. It is 

 interesting to note how sheep feed on hills. In a hilly country, 

 where sheep are grazed in large numbers, the traveller is sure to 

 see along the hillsides many sheep paths which look lilce little 

 terraces, indicating that in grazing, the sheep do not pass o\'er the 

 hill, but rather along the side, gradually working to the top 



(Fig. 32). , , , 



Sheep are able to exist without water longer than most domes- 

 ticated animals. Craig says that this is probably due to the fact 

 that they have unusually large salivary glands ; very likely it is 

 also due in part to still other physiological characteristics. It has 



often been thought that sheep 

 do not need to have daily access 

 to water, but such an assiunption 

 is erroneous, for even in cold 

 weather they will drink from two 

 to four quarts daily. They pre- 

 fer running to still water. 



Folding Habits. — S h e e p 

 that have been allowed to choose 

 between shelter and the open, 

 prefer to lie out of doors on high 

 places. This may not be true, 

 however, of sheep that have been 

 raised in barns. Their prefer- 

 ence for high, well-drained, and 

 airy resting and sleeping grounds 

 is very marked, for it is only in the severest of winter weather that 

 they abandon such spots for lower, wind-protected places. After 

 the lamb is a few hours old it constantly seeks some eminence, 

 such as its mother's back, a bale of hay, a log, or a rock. It has 

 been observed that young sheep seek high places more readily than 

 do the older ones ; yearlings will feed higher up on a hillside than 

 old ewes (Figs. 33 and 34). 



Breeding Habits. — Most domesticated breeds of sheep are 

 monoestrous. That is, the ewes come in heat (oestrus) in but one 

 season of the year, which, in the United States, is in the autumn and 

 early winter months ; hence, it is not possible to have lambs bom at 

 any time in the year. But there are a few breeds, such as the Tunis 

 and Dorset Horned, for which it is claimed that the ewes will breed 



Fig. 33. — The little Iamb aspires for heights 

 affording wider outlook upon the world. 



