If sheep always need sheering how did they survive before humans farmed them?

Question

If sheep always need sheering how did they survive before humans farmed them?

Answer 1

Sheep did not exist before humans farmed them! They are a domestic species which is not found in the wild, like domestic dogs or horses. Their wild ancestors - possibly mouflon or a relative - have much less wool, which is shed naturally when the weather warms. These animals were taken into captivity by humans thousands of years ago, and selectively bred over many generations to produce an animal with more and more wool - just as wolves were taken into captivity and selectively bred until they became all the hundreds of different dog breeds we have today. Domestic animals like these are now so different from their wild ancestors that they are considered a different species, and many can no longer survive without humans to look after them.

Answer 2

Sheep do not need sheering. That is a want for their wool.  And sheep did not exist before man bred them from rams and, goats, and deer, (like dogs breeds) and the could not survive without man and would be easy prey for wild animals. (Because they are so stupid)

Answer 3

I grew up on a sheep and cattle property/ranch, and you're right that sheep do need to be shorn. Before sheep were domesticated and bred to have the type of wool they have these days, they used to have less wool, and what they had would automatically be shed when the weather became hot.

As sheep became domesticated, they were bred to have more wool, and also to have wool that would not shed automatically, meaning that they had to be shorn by humans from that point onwards.

Sheep wool will generally not come off automatically at all these days. This question reminded me of one time when I was driving along a boundary fence where I grew up and saw a huge, cream-coloured thing near a fence on a neighbouring property. It actually moved, so I stopped and went to have a look. It was a sheep that hadn't been shorn for I can't imagine how many years, but the wool was about 25cm long all over it. I don't know whether the poor thing ever got shorn, but I realised after that, that the neighbour didn't have a very good technique for mustering his sheep. (Normally sheep are shorn once a year). I have seen another sheep with wool about that length as well, and that was at a country show where someone had brought a sheep to show people, and they said it hadn't been shorn for 5 years. The wool was about the same length as the other one I had seen, and they actually shore the sheep at the show that day. It must have felt like it was flying with that massive load of weight coming off it.

Anyway, in a nutshell, modern day sheep do need to be shorn because they have been bred to be that way. Before they were domesticated and bred to be like that, the wool took care of itself.

Answer 4

i don't think sheering is a NEED.

Answer 5

well thats easy they rubbed against trees silly so it came off

Answer 6

Typically sheep shed their heavy winter wool on their own before the summer season so they don't really need shearing.  However sheep were the first animals domesticated by humans.  Because of this the sheep were pulled from their natural habitat and were therefore thrown "out of whack" and didn't shed their wool in time for the hot summer in a lower climate.  

Since we now have the technology, shearing sheep is merely for aesthetic and health reasons.  It is generally carried out in the spring, so sheep don't become overheated in the summer.  A long fleece is likely to become dirty and drag along the ground, increasing the possibility of fly strike.  A bulky fleece decreases the mobility of sheep. In HOT weather, sheep with too much wool are extremely susceptible to heat stress!!  Shearing keeps stained wool and mud-contaminated wool separate from new fleece growth.