What is a Female Sheep Called?

A female sheep called a ewe. In the USA they call it with slang as Yoe. Ewe is an integral part of sheep farming. The best ewes produce the best lambs.

The young female sheep is called a ewe lamb. The ewe lambs are the sheep that are less than one year. The female sheep that are older than a year and younger than two years are called a yearling ewe.

Female Sheep Called

After two years of age, the female sheep are called just ewe. The ewes that are selected for breeding purpose alone is called brood ewes. Brood ewes should be well-taken care before pregnancy and even after delivery.

Once the ewes deliver lambs, then it called the dam.

Sheep	Female Sheep Called
Young Female Sheep	Ewe Lamb
Female Sheep (Age between 1 to 2 years)	Yearling Ewe
Adult Female Used for Breeding	Brood Ewe
Female Mother Sheep (post delivery)	Dam
Adult Female Sheep	Ewe

Frequently asked questions

What do we call a female sheep?

An adult female sheep is referred to as a ewe (/juː/). The female sheep are the ones that produce offspring. The ewe lambs sexually mature around one year.

The strongest females are used for mating purposes with the best ram. The mating season is called a rut, which usually happens in the autumn.

The female sheep after mating goes into the gestation period. This period lasts for five months. The female sheep give birth to one or two lambs at a time in the spring.

What do sheep eat?

Sheep are ruminants, meaning they eat plants and digest it in a series of four compartments in their stomach.

A female sheep diet consists of mainly forages – grasses like alfalfa and clover, or hay (dried grasses). Sheep often graze on\land that can’t grow other crops.

At certain times during the year, farmers may also feed their sheep feed grains – corn, barley, oats, soybeans – as well as vitamins and minerals. The brood ewe requires additional supplements. It requires more energy to feed lambs.