[Womble]

I'm starting to wonder if I've ever got a hope of getting to grips with sheep. There seem to be a multitude of names just for the animals themselves, and even they change if you go more than two miles down the road!

So to help me (and the rest of us) out, how about a wee glossary?  For example,

Yearling - An animal between 1 and 2 years of age.
Hogget - A yearling sheep that has not yet been shorn.
Gimmer - Female sheep over 1 year of age.
Wether - a castrated male sheep.

If there are regional terms, it would also be really useful to put the location in brackets e.g. (Aberdeenshire). That way we get to find out that a 'Fluckie' in Aberdeen is actually the same as a 'Gronclap' in Cornwall! 

What do you reckon?  Worth a go?

[Rosemary]

If you have a look in Livestock, Sheep, there is a page called Sheep Terminology. It doesn't have every term but it does have a few to get you started 

[thenovice]

Dont forget teg for a young ewe, and tup for a ram 

[Fleecewife]

OK tell us what the fluckie and gronclap is  apart from the opportunity for rude spoonerisms 

[Womble]

Really Fleecewife - I thought you'd know those two! 

Thanks for the tip Rosemary, I sometimes forget there's a website attached to this forum  .

[tizaala]

The collective name for a flock is :  SELF HARMING SUICIDAL MANIACS.

[Fleecewife]

Really Fleecewife - I thought you'd know those two! 

Funnily enough I don't  and I can only count to yan, tan, tethera, something, something and dik.  Although I expect it's not dik, is it  .  When I count my sheep it goes something like Jezebel, Freda, Katy-Morag, Heather, .....you get the picture 

[SallyintNorth]

Really Fleecewife - I thought you'd know those two! 

Funnily enough I don't 

The gronclap is under the foddlepumpkin, while the fluckie is someone who makes up nonsensical sheep terms.

I can only count to yan, tan, tethera, something, something and dik.  Although I expect it's not dik, is it  .  When I count my sheep it goes something like Jezebel, Freda, Katy-Morag, Heather, .....you get the picture 

I can only do yan, tan, tethera too; I know methera is in there somewhere.  According to wiki, there are more than dik regional variations!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yan_Tan_Tethera

[colliewoman]

hovera, covera.
But that is according to the Nac Mac Feegle.
Crivens!

[Womble]

OK, seriously then, can anybody tell me what a Yelt is?

[jaykay]

Sounds like a version of gelt or geld, ie not in lamb

Ok, to add to the confusion completeness of the sheep terms  , here we have:

Gimmer lambs, gimmer hoggs, gimmer shearings, yows
Tup lambs, tup hoggs, tup shearings, tups
Wether lambs, wether hoggs - that usually as old as they get!

The local sheep count is:
Yan, tan, tethera, methera, pip, azzer, sezzer, overa, dovera, dix
Yannadik, tannadik, tetheradik, metheradik, bumfit, yannabum, tannabum, tetherabum, metherabum, jiggot 

[SallyintNorth]

My jeans aren't fifteen any more 

[Old Shep]

He he - mine neither!

Jaykay so glad you mentioned "shearings" with no L - that's what Mum & Dad always called them (Dales folk) but always seen it written with an L in it - thought I was cracking up   

[SallyintNorth]

Jaykay so glad you mentioned "shearings" with no L - that's what Mum & Dad always called them (Dales folk) but always seen it written with an L in it - thought I was cracking up   

Shearlings they are north and a little west of jaykay; my 'incomer' (20 years ago!) neighbours, hailing from Yorkshire, say 'shearings' too 

[jaykay]

Yes, it's always written in our local mart catalogue as 'shearlings' but we say it without the 'l'