What is a Sheep Life Expectancy?
Typically, the life expectancy increases with size of the animal. For example, cows usually live longer than sheep. The life expectancy of sheep is similar to dogs, 10 to 20 years, but the average is 10 to 12 years. However, the length of a sheep's productive lifetime tends to be much less because an ewe's productivity is usually highest between 3 and 6 years of age and begins to decline after age 7. As a result, most ewes are removed from a flock before they are 10 years old and put out to pasture.

What is the Difference Between a Goat and a Sheep?
Tails!
The easiest way to tell the difference between a sheep and goat is to look at their tails. A goat's tail goes up and Sheep tails hang down and are often docked for health and sanitary reasons.

Eating Behavior
The biggest difference between sheep and goats is their foraging behavior and diet selection. Goats are natural browsers, preferring to eat leaves, twigs, vines, and shrubs. They are very agile and will stand on their hind legs to reach vegetation. Sheep are grazers, preferring to eat short, tender grass and clover. Their dietary preference is forbs (broadleaf weeds) and they like to graze close to the soil surface.

Physical Differences
Sheep and goats have numerous physical differences. Most goats have hair coats that do not require shearing or combing. Most sheep grow wool and need to be sheared annually. Also if you look closely sheep have an upper lip that is divided by a distinct philtrum (groove), which the goat does not.

Are Sheep Stupid?
Due to their strong flocking instinct and failure to act independently of one another, sheep have been universally branded "stupid." But sheep are not stupid. Their only protection from predators is to band together and follow the sheep in front of them. If a predator is threatening the flock, this is not the time to act independently.

At the same time, there is a growing body of evidence that sheep may actually possess some smarts! Here are a few stories or tall tales…

Sheep Foil Cattle Guard
Hungry sheep on the Yorkshire Moors in Great Britain have taught themselves to roll 8 feet across hoof-proof metal cattle grids to raid villagers' valley gardens. According to a witness, "They lie down on their side or sometimes their back and just roll over and over the grids until they are clear. I've seen them doing it. It is quite clever, but they are a big nuisance to the villagers." [Source: BBC News, July 2004]

"A-mazing" Sheep
According to researchers in Australia, sheep can learn and remember. Researchers have developed a complex maze test to measure intelligence and learning in sheep, similar to those used for rats and mice. Using the maze, researchers have concluded that sheep have excellent spatial memory and are able to learn and improve their performance. And they can retain this information for a six-week period.

Self-Medicating Sheep
New research is suggesting that sick sheep could actually be smart enough to cure themselves. Australian researchers believe that sick sheep may actually seek out plants that make them feel better. There has been previous evidence to suggest that animals can detect what nutrients they are deficient in and can develop knowledge about which foods are beneficial or toxic.