Sheep, like the vast majority of other animals and living beings in this world, have two genders: male and female. Female sheep are called ewes, while male sheep are called rams.
There are quite a few differences between male and female sheep. Males usually have horns and they’re responsible for breeding the females. They’re also larger than the females. Males are simply called rams, while females are called ewes. Like the majority of other animals, sheep also have males and females.
What is a Female Sheep Called?
A female sheep is called a ewe. It is responsible for bearing lambs and delivering them, and it differs from the male sheep in many different ways.
Ewes are female sheep. They are different from males in many ways. Ewes weigh between 90 and 220 pounds, which is typical for adult ewes. Younger ewes are not as heavy and are usually smaller.
One of the main responsibilities of ewes is breeding and making sure they can provide offspring to their herd. A typical ewe can breed between the ages of 2 and later on in life and might deliver 1-3 lambs per lambing season. Some ewes are capable of breeding and delivering every year or even more frequently.
Younger ewes are not as fertile as adult ewes and thus are not as capable of breeding as early as adult females.
Compared to males, female sheep are weaker and don’t have horns as frequently as males, but they are also more social and not as territorial. Ewes will also take care of the lambs for the first few days and weeks after lambing, which is also one of the main characteristics of ewes.
What is a Male Sheep Called?
A male sheep is called a ram. Rams are responsible for breeding ewes and are usually the protectors of the herd. They can get aggressive towards other rams, which is why they have horns.
Like the majority of other animals in nature, sheep also have two genders. The main genders are male and female. Females are called ewes, while the males are called rams. There are some clear differences between the two, just like you will see with other animals with two genders.
Rams are responsible for protecting the herd and making sure that the herd gets new members by breeding the ewes. Rams are selective when it comes to breeding, as they will pick the ewes that are ready to breed.
They do that by smelling and recognizing the pheromone levels in each ewe. If the ewe is not ready to breed, it will not display mating behaviors and will not emit as many pheromones as other ewes. This is why rams are typically more attracted to ewes that are ready to breed.
Another characteristic of rams is their aggressiveness. They need to protect their herd and they can also get quite territorial. This means that they will inevitably get into fights with other rams as well as other animals if need be. They will use their horns to fight against other rams and other animals.
One of the breeds of sheep with the biggest horns is the Bighorn ram. The rams of this breed will have large horns that serve to protect them and help them make sure they can fight off their enemies.
Differences Between Rams and Ewes
As we’ve already mentioned, there are some clear differences between rams and ewes that you’ll see immediately.
Here are some of the main ways that you can distinguish between rams and ewes.
1. Size
The first and the most obvious thing you’ll notice is that rams are significantly larger and heavier than the ewes.
This is a typical distribution of size and while it is not always evident, you should be able to see it quite clearly. Rams are larger than ewes because they need to be more intimidating and they will also be bulkier because of this.
2. Horns
While some female sheep also have horns, this characteristic is usually only seen with rams. Rams are the ones that are most likely to use their horns when they fight against other rams and potentially even against other animals.
Some wild sheep breeds will also have females with horns, but this is not very common. It’s much more common to see males with horns, as you’ll see with the majority of sheep breeds. Males need these horns to fight with other males, so it’s much more likely that you’ll only see horns on males.
Males also have much larger horns. Bighorn rams have the largest horns. These horns serve to protect the ram and its head when it crashes against the head of another ram or against another animal. They’re also used to intimidate their opponents and make them scared.
3. Aggressiveness
Another big difference between ewes and rams is their behavior. Namely, rams can get quite aggressive towards other rams and towards other animals, they see threatening to them or their herd.
One of the main purposes of the ram is to protect their herd and make sure they are not attacked by other animals. This is why rams can get territorial against other rams and even against other animals.
Attacks against humans are not common, but they do happen occasionally, especially if the ram feels threatened or irritated in one way or another.
While defending against predator attacks will not always be possible, rams are responsible for fighting off their predators. Some predators are still too strong for the ram, but the biggest rams can knock out even the most potent of predators with their strong charges and their horns.
More Articles About Sheep:
- Do Sheep Make Good Pets?
- How do Sheep Sleep?
- Rams vs Bucks (Who Would Win in a Fight?)
- How Much Wool Does a Sheep Produce?
- How Many Sheep are in a Flock?
Conclusion
To conclude, not all sheep are female. Instead, sheep have males and females. The females are called ewes, while the males are called rams. You’ll see that there are some clear differences between rams and ewes. Rams are usually larger and they also have horns, while the ewes usually don’t have these.
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