Fleece as White as Snow?

1
Fleece as White as Snow?

• By Audrey Harmon

2
There are 45 different breeds of sheep in the
United States. The 3 most common are Suffolk,
Hampshire, and Dorset.
3
A female sheep is called a ewe.
4
A male sheep is called a ram.
5
Baby sheep are called lambs. They are born with
tails and their tails are docked later.
6
Some sheep are raised for meat.
7
Other sheep are raised for their wool production.
8
Sheep grow fluffy wool all over their bodies.
This coat is called a fleece.
9
Sheep growers who harvest the wool keep the
sheeps wool covered so that it stays cleaner.
10
The fleece keeps the sheep warm and dry. Sheep
need their hair cut about once a year. This is
called shearing.
11
It takes about five minutes to shear a sheep. A
good shearer can shear about 150 sheep a day.
12
Oklahoma sheep growers sheared 40,000 sheep in
2006.
13
From the fleece of these sheep, manufacturers
produced about 252,000 pounds of wool.
14
Wool can have a wide range of natural colors.
15
Wool can also have different textures.
16
Fleece is never as white as snow. Lanolin in
the fleece causes dirt to cling to the wool.
17
Wool is turned into yarn and used to make
clothing. Lanolin is used in lotion and make-up.