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Valuable domestic animals: sheep and goat
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AMONG the most valuable of all the domestic animals are the sheep and goat. They supply people with milk, cheese, wool, meat, and leather.
Sheep live in flocks (群居). They follow a leader, usually an old ram (male sheep). They eat grasses and other plants. They like to graze (吃草) over wide areas of pasture. Sheep are naturally hill animals. They like it best where it is high and dry. They can be raised, however, on any land that is not wet and swampy (多沼泽的).
Domestic sheep depend on humans for protection. They are very timid. A sheet of paper blown by the wind will frighten them. A thunderstorm may throw them into a panic. They may drown without a struggle if they are scared while crossing a stream.
Goats are closely related to sheep. Like sheep, they are ruminants (反刍动物) and eat grasses and shrubs. Goats can live on coarse, thin growth and are often raised on land that is not fertile (肥沃的) enough to support cattle or sheep.\;
Most male goats have a rank (腐烂的) odour. They also have a long beard on the chin. The goat's tail is short and turns upward. The hollow horns grow upward from the head instead of twisting to the sides like those of sheep.
Most goats are somewhat smaller than sheep. Male goats are called rams or billys, but goat breeders prefer to call them bucks. Females are called does or nannys. Young goats are known as kids until they are old enough to reproduce sexually. For domestic does this occurs at about one year of age, but they are not usually allowed to breed until they are l8 months old.
The gestation (怀孕) period for domestic does is about 21 weeks. They usually bear one to three kids at a time. A few hours after birth the kids are able to follow their mothers around and climb mountainsides. Goats live to be about 15 years old.\;
Domestic ewes (female sheep) bear one or two lambs in the spring. On the first or second day after birth, the lambs are strong enough to follow their mothers. They usually become heavy enough to be sold for slaughter when they are three months old. The meat is called lamb until the animal is a year old. The flesh of older sheep is known as mutton.
Sheep that are raised for their wool are usually shorn (剪) of their fleece (羊毛) each spring. Cashmere (羊绒) shawls (披巾) and sweaters are made from the soft and silky undercoat of goats.(SD-Agencies)
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