Sheep have rectangular pupils which allow them to have a 270-320 degree field of vision. This means that they can see almost everything around them, except for what is directly behind them, without having to turn around.
There are over 200 distinct breeds of sheep (Ovis aries) worldwide. The UK has 57 native sheep breeds, of which 25 are considered rare.
There are thought to be more sheep breeds in the UK than any other country in the world.
Worldwide there are over 1 billion domestic sheep!
The country with the most sheep is China, with 187 million individual sheep at any one time.
Like humans, lambs have a set of baby teeth that they lose as they get older. Most sheep won't get their full set of adult teeth until they are 4 years old.
Sheep are flock animals and always stay together, they love their families and will stick close to their mother and siblings. In a large flock you may notice that related sheep are always standing near each other.
Ewes typically give birth to between 1 and 3 lambs at a time, with pairs of twins being the most common.
Quad lambs are known to be extremely rare, however we have had several sets over the years at Whitehouse Farm.
Sheep have great memories and can recognise up to 50 other sheep faces and remember them for two years.
They do not have teeth in their upper front jaw.
