Scientific name:
Ovis orientalis f. domestica

Natural spread:
global occurrences

sheep and goat is valid as the oldest usefulness-animals of the human being. More than 9000 years ago, game-sheep turned already into house-sheep, with what the Mufflon (Ovis orientalis) probably has the biggest share of our house-sheep according to present-day knowledge, from front and central-Asia. For over 8000 years, there have been house-sheep on the Balkans, since approximately 6000 years in Central Europe. In Africa, house-sheep lived already 7000 years ago, the same in the Industal and since 4000 years in China. In the course of the time, house-sheep found spread in all continents.

The tropical house-sheep primarily deliver meat, besides it also milk. Known races from these zones are Cameroon, Persians, and Somalischafe. Cameroon-sheep have backs maroon - and black peritoneum. A black stomach-coloring is rare with mammals. Somalischafe are usually horn-free and have Z. T. stunted ear-mussels. its head is black, the remaining body knows. they have a bulge like other sheep of the tropics at the tail-root. One calls such forms fat-coccyx-sheep.

The wool-sheep come from colder climates. Heidschnucken are known because of its modesty. they are stopped at sand-grounds of the Central European heaths. The Lüneburger heath (as far as it still is heath) is a culture-landscape, that got its scenic strike through the sheep-attitude. The Rhönschaf is a small, horn-loose one and langschwänzige sheep-race. The march-sheep is very much more ambitiously than other breeding-races. This big race is dependent on the rich feed of the coast-areas. It delivers corresponding profit. A showy appearance is the Zackelschafe Hungary and the Balkans. its horns are corkscrew-nicely winding about a straight axis. Merinoschafe, that came from Asia Minor originally, deliver the best wool. In Spain, the breeding of these sheep got in the 14. Century to high bloom. Today, a Merinoanteil probably always is contained in the important wool-sheep-continuances.

For the fur-production, the Karakulschaf descendant from Buchara in means-Asia is of big importance. In southwest-Africa, an important acquirement-branch of the agriculture was created by the Karakulzucht. Karakullämmer are slaughtered in the age of 3-8 days to the fur-production. its fur has the sought-after frizzy curl ("Persianer", "width-tail").

Fat-tail-sheep, as they occur among the long-tail-sheep of Westasiens, are disfigured by excessive fat-settlement in the tail. The amount of fat can amount up to 10 kg.

Sheep deliver only modest quantities to a high-fat milk. Especially profitably, milk-sheep with a performance on average of 500 liters of milk is the East-Frisian in the year.

Sheep are of first-position-y importance for the agriculture of some countries. In Europe, they were repressed by cow and pig-attitude. They play an important role in South Africa, Australia and sharing of the moderately warm Asia for the wool-export.