They are smit marks and farmers have been using them for hundreds of years to identify who sheep belong to. A daub of paint – perhaps two marks of red or one of black – nearer the haunch or the shoulder. From these a farmer would know which were his sheep and which belonged to his neighbour.
The Irish counties with the most sheep, in order, are Donegal, Galway and Mayo, with almost half a million each, followed closely by Kerry and then Wicklow.
Galway sheep are the only native sheep from Ireland. The merino breed is in the Galway sheep, with selective breeding this helps to improve the wool.
Way back in pre-history someone worked out that there were two smart ways to identify sheep. Herdwick sheep are identified by lug marks (ear notches) and smit marks (coloured markings on sheep, comprised of stripes and spots of different colours in different places).
Perhaps the love for sheep comes from the fact that sheep have an amazing memory and can remember humans and other animals. The Irish are known for being very forgetful so perhaps they simply fill the void the Irish lack. They have amazing peripheral vision and can even see behind them without turning their head!
Ireland is 340% self sufficient in sheep meat resulting in over 71% of the total production been exported. The lowland sheep flock is the major source of lamb output, accounting for 85% of carcass output. The hill flock and mountain flocks account for the remainder.
Blackface Sheep are one of the hardiest sheep breeds in Britain and are the backbone of the Scottish sheep industry. These sheep have had their fleeces dyed a bright orange/yellow colour, a practice that appears to be quite common in Scotland for farmers wishing to "show" their sheep at agricultural shows.
Sheep are thought to have colour vision, and can distinguish between a variety of colours: black, red, brown, green, yellow and white.
The red colour marks the rams out of the ewes and makes it easier to spot a Herdwick from the bottom of the fell. The dye makes the Herdwick fleeces look grand in shows and auctions. Originally the red dye was made from iron ore or graphite mixed with grease. Now chemical dyes are available.
Paint branding; marking crayons, sticks, and rattles; and spray markers can all be used to identify sheep and lambs for periods of several weeks to several months. Marks from marking crayons will usually last for several weeks, whereas paint brands tend to last for many months.
Tupping – mating in sheep, or the mating season (autumn, for a spring-lambing flock). Weaner – a young animal that has been weaned, from its mother, until it is about a year old.
so many products come from sheep that we really do use everthing but the baaa! so many products come from cows that we really do use everthing but the mooo! so many products come from pigs that we really do use everthing but the oink! AND OF COURSE: bacon, ham, sausage, pork chops, ribs, BBQ and more!
In some hilly parts of the UK the sheep graze on open, unfenced ground where the flocks from different farms can get mixed up. Farmers in these parts put a pattern called a smit mark onto their sheep so that they can tell at a distance which ones belong to them.
With south type Scottish Blackfaces they use moorit which gives a really dark colour to hide some of the black wool in the fleece. The idea stems from the practice of tupping on the hill and with them being coloured you can see your tups within a flock of ewes at just a glance and at a distance.
This is actually a parasitic condition caused by a mite called Psoroptes ovis that is spread from sheep to sheep through friendly head-butting and rubbing. Applying a thick coat of medicinal oil to the sheeps' heads was believed to kill the parasites and prevent their spread.
Tennis ballsBalls are one of the more difficult aspects of being a vegan tennis player as many—including those made by top companies such as Penn and Wilson—are made with animal-derived wool felt. Players often use a new can for every match, which results in a high demand for sheared sheep.
Sheep can now spawn in the color gray, light gray, or black. Sheep can now rarely spawn in the color pink or brown. Sheep now drop 2-4 wool when sheared.
There's nearly as many sheep as people in IrelandAccording to the 2019 censuses, the population of both Northern and the Republic of Ireland totals at around 6.79 million.
Typical stocking densities on productive grass can be approximately six to 10 sheep per acre. However, the stocking density will vary according to climate, topography and grass quality (both farm specific and seasonal variations).
There were 1% fewer cattle but 1% more sheep in Ireland at the end of 2020 than a year ago, according to the latest survey by Central Statistics Office Ireland.
Kerry cattle (Irish: Bó Chiarraí or Buinín) are a rare breed of dairy cattle, native to Ireland. They are believed to be one of the oldest breeds in Europe, probably derived from small black cattle brought to Ireland by Neolithic man.
There are more sheep than people in New Zealand, around 6 sheep per person.
Here is a top 10 most popular sheep breeds, raised for meat and wool:
- Merino.
- Leicester Long-wool Sheep.
- Lincoln sheep.
- Dorset sheep.
- Turcana.
- Dorper sheep.
- Tsigai.
- Hampshire sheep.
Farms stocked at 12 ewes per ha with ewes capable of weaning 1.8 lambs per ewe will have a high output per ha and can achieve a net margin of €400 to €600 per Ha. However the high output advantage can be lost where costs are high especially concentrate costs.
