Crutching
Overview
Crutching refers to the removal of wool
from around the tail and between the rear legs of a sheep. It can also refer to removing wool from the heads of sheep (wigging) or from the bellies of male sheep (ringing).
After centuries of artificial selection
, domestic sheep have denser and longer wool than their wild forebears, which may require human intervention to maintain. Sheep with heavy fleeces of wool often develop stains or dags on their rear ends from faeces.
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
from around the tail and between the rear legs of a sheep. It can also refer to removing wool from the heads of sheep (wigging) or from the bellies of male sheep (ringing).
After centuries of artificial selection
Artificial selection
Artificial selection describes intentional breeding for certain traits, or combination of traits. The term was utilized by Charles Darwin in contrast to natural selection, in which the differential reproduction of organisms with certain traits is attributed to improved survival or reproductive...
, domestic sheep have denser and longer wool than their wild forebears, which may require human intervention to maintain. Sheep with heavy fleeces of wool often develop stains or dags on their rear ends from faeces.
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