What is a female sheep called?

Sheep (Ovis aries) are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like most ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name sheep applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ewe an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a young sheep is a lamb.

They also display and recognise emotion by facial expressions. Sheep are known to self-medicate when they have some illnesses. They will eat specific plants that can cure them. Sheep are precocial (highly independent from birth) and gregarious (like to be in a group).

Sheep are one of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat (lamb, hogget or mutton) and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber and is usually harvested by shearing. China has the largest sheep population of 187 million as in 2017.