38 BULLETIN 1360, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
CLASSES OF SHEEP 
Sheep are divided into three classes—ewes, wethers, and rams. 
A ewe (figs. 22 and 25) is any female sheep. 
A wether (fig. 23) is a male sheep which was castrated before it 
had reached sufficient maturity to make reproduction possible, and 
has developed characteristics peculiar to its class. As a rule castra- 
tion is done before the animal is 6 weeks old. 
A ram (fig. 24) is an uncastrated male sheep. 
SUBDIVISIONS OF EWE CLASS 
Ewes are divided into three subclasses—slaughter (see fig. 22), 
feeder, and breeder (see fig. 25). The terms slaughter and feeder 
have been defined elsewhere in connection with other classes of 
animals. 
Breeder is a new subclass not used in the schedule in connection 
with other kinds and classes of livestock. The term is to be inter- 
preted literally and is therefore self-explanatory. The stocker sub- 
class was eliminated because very few ewes are sent back to the 
country from market for any but breeding or feeding purposes. 
Slaughter ewes are divided into two age selections—yearling and 
2 years old and over. The significance of these terms is apparent. 
A yearling ewe is one which has acquired its first pair of perma- 
nent teeth but has not yet acquired the second pair. These first 
permanent teeth appear when the animal is anywhere from 10 to 
15 months old. Asa rule the second pair of teeth appears when the 
animal is about 2 years old, although there is some variation in this. 
In any event for most purposes, the animal is considered a yearling 
until its second pair of permanent teeth appears. 
The 2-years-old-and-over age selection is self-explanatory. It 
includes ewes which have acquired at least four of their permanent 
teeth. Ordinarily the second pair of these teeth appears at about 24 
months of age, but the time varies slightly under different circum- 
stances. 
The weight selections appearing in the schedule are largely self- 
explanatory. Only three weight selections are listed for slaughter 
yearling ewes as the lightweight and handyweight groups are com- 
bined. A comparicon with the wether schedule will show that in 
the yearling group the various weight selections of ewes run 
slightly lighter than the corresponding groups of wethers. This 
is largely because at the same age the male is usually heavier than the 
female. In the 2-years-old-and-over group the opposite is true. In 
other words, the last three weight groups of ewes average somewhat 
heavier than the corresponding groups of wethers. This is largely ~ 
because wethers are now seldom held beyond 2 years of age, whereas 
ewes, because of their usefulness for breeding purposes, are fre- | 
quently held until they are 5 or 6 years old and sometimes longer. 
The grade groups of slaughter ewes are for the most part self- 
explanatory. The number and names of grades included in the dif- 
ferent groups vary somewhat according to the requirements of the © 
age and weight selections involved. To illustrate: There isno Prime ~ 
grade, lightweight, 2-years-old-and-over slaughter ewe, because a — 
ewe of that age, weighing less than 100 pounds is likely to be too ~ 
