In times gone by, shepherds used to place a bell around the neck of a castrated ram that was leading a flock of sheep so that the movement of the flock could be noted. What was another term for the castrated ram?
"Sheep Domestic sheep (""Ovis aries"") are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like most ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name sheep applies to many species in the genus ""Ovis"", in everyday usage it almost always refers to ""Ovis aries"". Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female sheep is referred to as a ""ewe"" (), an intact male as a ""ram"" or occasionally a ""tup"", a castrated male as a ""wether"", and a younger sheep as a ""lamb"". Sheep are"
"2000 BC. Though the bells for shepherding were expanded from the fertile crescent to Celtic, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman cultures, in Europe the earliest written evidence of bells used for livestock dates to the late 14th to early 15th century. Grimm's ""Deutsches Wörterbuch"" s.v. ""Kuhschelle"" points to a 1410 mention in a Frankfurt archive; the OED lists 1440 as the earliest attestation of a ""bell-wether"", the leading sheep of a flock, on whose neck a bell is hung. The OED also attributes the phrase ""to bear the bell"" in the sense ""to take the first place"" as originally referring to"
"– this includes ear tagging, docking, castration and usually vaccination. Ear tags with numbers are the primary mode of identification when sheep are not named; it is also the legal manner of animal identification in the European Union: the number may identify the individual sheep or only its flock. When performed at an early age, ear tagging seems to cause little or no discomfort to lambs. However, using tags improperly or using tags not designed for sheep may cause discomfort, largely due to excess weight of tags for other animals. Ram lambs not intended for breeding are castrated, though some"
"the Romans, the hour of bathing was announced by a bell. They also used them in the home, as an ornament and emblem, and bells were placed around the necks of cattle and sheep so they could be found if they strayed. See also Klang Bell (Malaysia, 2 c. BC) of the British Museum collection. In the western world, the common form of bell is a church bell or town bell, which is hung within a tower or bell cote. Such bells are either fixed in a static position (""hung dead"") or mounted on a beam (the ""headstock"") so they"
"Crotal bells, also known as rumble bells, were used on horse-drawn vehicles before motorised vehicles were common. They were often made of bronze with a slot cut down the side. These bells were used to warn other horse-drawn vehicle users (mostly on country roads) that another vehicle was approaching. They came in many sizes, from a small 1-inch version to bells that were many inches across - the older ones were forged while others were cast. They were either hung on a small leather-and-iron harness bracket above the horse's collar on smaller vehicles. On larger vehicles, such as delivery wagons,"
"decorated or left plain. The craftsmanship of cow bells varies by geographic location and culture. The ornaments on the cow bell and the collar are usually decorative although some cultures believe that certain ornaments provide or enhance magical protections such as the power to prevent or cure fever and other illnesses. The cow bell is used to keep track of grazing animal herds such as goats, reindeer, sheep and cows. They are mainly used in Europe, Mediterranean areas and Latin America, but are also used worldwide by those who practice transhumance, including nomadic pastoral tribes in Africa and Asia. Different"
"live in groups, called flocks. This helps them to avoid predators and stay warm in bad weather by huddling together. Flocks of sheep need to keep moving to find new grazing areas and more favourable weather as the seasons change. In each flock, a sheep, usually a mature ram, is followed by the others. In wild sheep, both rams and ewes have horns, while in domestic sheep (depending upon breed) horns may be present in both rams and ewes, in rams only, or in neither. Rams' horns may be very large – those of a mature bighorn ram can weigh"
"Cowbell (instrument) The cowbell is an idiophone hand percussion instrument used in various styles of music including salsa and infrequently in popular music. It is named after the similar bell historically used by herdsmen to keep track of the whereabouts of cows. While the cowbell is commonly found in musical contexts, its origin can be traced to freely roaming animals. In order to help identify the herd to which these animals belonged, herdsmen placed these bells around the animal's neck. As the animals moved about the bell would ring, thus making it easier to know of the animal's whereabouts. Though"
"Cowbell A cow bell or cowbell is a bell worn by freely roaming animals made to scare off any predators. Although they are typically referred to as ""cow bells"" due to their extensive use with cattle, the bells are used on a wide variety of animals. The bell and clapper are commonly crafted from iron, bronze, brass, copper, or wood. The collar used to hold the bell is traditionally made with leather and wood fibers. Most cow bells are made of thin, flat pieces of plated sheet metal. Plating causes the sheet metal to have a surface which can be"
"streets of villages, towns or cities announcing the name of a recently deceased person, with details of the funeral. At the funeral the bell ringer, often the beadle, would walk at the head the cortege, solemnly ringing the bell from the home of the deceased until the church was reached. The bell was also sometimes used to indicate the point at which the coffin-bearers were changed. The dead bell ringer was instructed to go through the town no more than twice and was not permitted to use the words ""faithful"" or ""God"". He was not permitted to ring the bell"
"the leading cow or sheep of a drove or flock to Chaucer's ""Troilus and Criseyde"", 1374. In 15th-century Germany, a cow bell was worn only by the best and leading piece of livestock. The wider distribution of the bell worn by livestock was a gradual process of the Early Modern period. In France in the mid-16th century, Francois Rabelais makes this practice explicit in his ""Gargantua and Pantagruel"", stating that The importance of the cow bell is highlighted in Swiss folklore, which reflects a period when a great Trychel, or large cow bell, was a rare and much-coveted item. The"
"Shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards herds of sheep. ""Shepherd"" derives from Old English ""sceaphierde"" (""sceap"" 'sheep' + ""hierde"" 'herder'). Shepherding is among the oldest occupations, beginning some 5,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool. Over the next thousand years, sheep and shepherding spread throughout Eurasia. Henri Fleisch tentatively suggested the Shepherd Neolithic industry of Lebanon may date to the Epipaleolithic and that it may have been used by one of the first cultures of nomadic shepherds in the Beqaa Valley. Some"
"Camel cavalry Camel cavalry, or camelry (, ), is a generic designation for armed forces using camels as a means of transportation. Sometimes warriors or soldiers of this type also fought from camel-back with spears, bows or rifles. Camel cavalry were a common element in desert warfare throughout history in the Middle East, due in part to the animal's high level of adaptability. They provided a mobile element better suited to work and survive in an arid and waterless environment than the horses of conventional cavalry. The smell of the camel, according to Herodotus, alarmed and disoriented horses, making camels"
"for them on their arrival in the colony. Sheep owners complained about the inefficiency of shepherds and the shepherds' fears of getting lost in the bush. Typically sheep were watched by shepherds during the day, and by a hut-keeper during the night. Shepherds took the sheep out to graze before sunrise and returned them to brush-timber yards at sunset. The hut-keeper usually slept in a movable shepherd's watch box placed near the yard in order to deter attacks on the sheep. Dogs were also often chained close by to warn of any impending danger to the sheep or shepherd by"
"also be crimped together, resulting in a ridge around the middle. A glass marble may also be used as the ringer on larger bells. Bells of this type were developed centuries ago for fastening to harnesses used with horses or teams of horses. Typically they were used for horse-drawn vehicles, such as carriages and sleighs. The bell was designed to make a jingly sound whenever the horse and thus the vehicle was in motion. The purpose was perhaps to herald the approach of someone important, or likely to warn pedestrians of the vehicle's approach so that they might step aside"
"the use of a ring connected by a cable to a fixed point was recommended as a means of controlling and securing the bull while allowing a degree of movement by the subject bull. If the pen was strong enough, the bull could be turned loose, and if needed, placed in a stanchion. Farmers who lacked an assistant, or a bull staff, had no choice but to adopt other means. Some farmers elected to move their bulls by tying a rope to the ring and tying the other end of the rope to a farm tractor, providing both motive power"
"flock as they move along grazing. Sheep become stressed when isolated; this stress is reduced if they are provided with a mirror, indicating that the sight of other sheep reduces stress. Taste is the most important sense in sheep, establishing forage preferences, with sweet and sour plants being preferred and bitter plants being more commonly rejected. Touch and sight are also important in relation to specific plant characteristics, such as succulence and growth form. The ram uses his vomeronasal organ (sometimes called the Jacobson's organ) to sense the pheromones of ewes and detect when they are in estrus. The ewe"
"Lamb marking Lamb marking is the term applied to the procedure of earmarking, castration and tail-docking of the lambs of domestic sheep. Vaccination is usually carried out then, too. Sheep are usually ear marked at approximately 3 months of age after lambing (birth). Lambs are castrated to prevent full development of reproductive organs and hormones. Ear marking is used to identify each lamb in the flock and tail-docking is usually carried out to prevent blowfly strike. At some stage, blow-flies lay their eggs within moist and warm areas (breech region) of the sheep. Then, the maggots grow and eat away"
"is to be playable on a bugle or equivalently on a trumpet without moving the valves. (If a bandsman plays calls on a trumpet, for example, one particular key may be favored or even prescribed, such as: all calls to be played with the first valve down.) Bugle calls typically indicated the change in daily routines of camp. Every duty around camp had its own bugle call, and since cavalry had horses to look after, they heard twice as many signals as regular infantry. ""Boots and Saddles"" was the most imperative of these signals and could be sounded without warning"
"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1750), whose opening lines are: T. S. Eliot ""Gus the theater cat"" (""Old possum's book of practical cats"") Curfew bell The curfew bell was a bell rung in the evening in Medieval England as the curfew signal for everyone to go to bed. A bell was rung usually around eight o'clock in the evening which meant for them to cover their fires - deaden or cover up, not necessarily put out altogether. The usual procedure was at the sound of the curfew bell the burning logs were removed from the centre of the hearth"
"keep rams typically prefer softer preventative measures, such as moving within a clear line to an exit, never turning their back on a ram, and possibly dousing with water or a diluted solution of bleach or vinegar to dissuade charges. Without ultrasound or other special tools, determining if a sheep is pregnant is difficult. Ewes only begin to visibly show a pregnancy about six weeks before giving birth, so shepherds often rely on the assumption that a ram will impregnate all the ewes in a flock. However, by fitting a ram with a chest harness called a ""marking harness"" that"
"Shepherd's whistle A shepherd's whistle is a specialized, modulatable, variable-pitch whistle used to train and transmit commands to a sheepdog to aid in herding. Unlike other whistles, they are placed inside the mouth and the sound is controlled by the placement of the tongue. Like tin whistles, while simple, they can be used as musical instruments in their own right. A shepherd's whistle is traditionally used for communicating comands to sheepdogs. They are typically seen used at sheepdog trials. Shepherd's whistles are used to communicate clearly and at distances up to several hundred yards the commands of the owner to"
"Curfew bell The curfew bell was a bell rung in the evening in Medieval England as the curfew signal for everyone to go to bed. A bell was rung usually around eight o'clock in the evening which meant for them to cover their fires - deaden or cover up, not necessarily put out altogether. The usual procedure was at the sound of the curfew bell the burning logs were removed from the centre of the hearth of a warming fire and the hot ashes swept to the back and sides. The cold ashes were then raked back over the fire"
"driven about as other cattle would be. Cows with young calves can be particularly dangerous if protecting their young, and cattle in general, including calves, steers and bullocks, do cause many serious human injuries and deaths. Generally the use of both a ring and a halter, and management of the bull by two people, is the preferred method today for controlling the bull. Typically, a bull was led by a wooden staff with a steel end that snapped into the ring. A long rigid steel or wooden bull staff locked into the ring could also be used to push a"
"or rumen bolus (a cylindrical object placed in the rumen) before movement from the property and that the movement be reported to the NLIS. However, if animals are tagged for internal purposes in a herd or farm, IDs need not be unique in larger scales. The NLIS now also requires sheep and goats to use an ear tag that has the Property Identification Code inscribed on it. These ear tags and boluses are complemented by transport documents supplied by vendors that are used for identification and tracking. A similar system is used for cattle in the European Union (EU), each"
"number of whom wear bells tuned so that the livestock's location can be heard, begin to respond to the call, answering back and the sound of the bells indicates that they are moving down the mountain towards their home farm. The ""kulokks"" can belong to an individual, but are sometimes family-based and are handed down so that a family's cows know they are being called and thus respond. A number of calls contain names of individual (sometimes the ""lead"") animals, as herds are not very large. Geneid et al (2016/2018) showed that kulning, as compared to falsetto, exhibits a better"
"hound' (a hound handled on a leash or 'lyam') to trace the animal from its footprints or droppings to where it was browsing or lying up. This became known as 'harbouring' the animal. When this had been done the huntsman reported back to his lord, who then brought the pack of raches to chase it down on its hot scent when it had been unharboured, 'rowsed' or 'upreared'. Sometimes pairs of raches were held at strategic points along where the quarry was expected to run, to be uncoupled when the huntsman blew the signal, or when the quarry was seen"
"male status among virile rams, by ramming their heads into others. Traditionally, the male aggressiveness is not a desirable quality among sheep husbandry, as the sheep farmers prefer a docile sheep and eliminate the aggressive ones through series of selective breedings. This is the main practice of sheep domestication over time. However, farmers and shepherds traditionally may take ram fighting as an occasional pastime or entertainment, and look for this behaviour as the sign of virility, health, and also good gene and immune system. In some cultures it has been developed into a ""game"" or a sport, or even held"
"""Gambrel"" is a Norman English word, sometimes spelled gambol such as in the 1774 Boston carpenters' price book (revised 1800). Other spellings include gamerel, gamrel, gambril, gameral, gambering, cambrel, cambering, chambrel referring to a wooden bar used by butchers to hang the carcasses of slaughtered animals. Butcher's gambrels, later made of metal, resembled the two-sloped appearance of a gambrel roof when in use. Gambrel is also a term for the joint in the upper part of a horse's hind leg, the hock. In 1858, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. wrote: An earlier reference from the ""Dictionary of Americanisms"", published in 1848,"
"hour of birth. In normal situations, lambs nurse after standing, receiving vital colostrum milk. Lambs that either fail to nurse or are rejected by the ewe require help to survive, such as bottle-feeding or fostering by another ewe. After lambs are several weeks old, lamb marking (ear tagging, docking, and castrating) is carried out. Vaccinations are usually carried out at this point as well. Ear tags with numbers are attached, or ear marks are applied, for ease of later identification of sheep. Castration is performed on ram lambs not intended for breeding, although some shepherds choose to omit this for"
"sheep were integrated in the family farm along with other animals such as chickens and pigs. To maintain a large flock, the sheep must be able to move from pasture to pasture. This required the development of an occupation separate from that of the farmer. The duty of shepherds was to keep their flock intact, protect it from predators and guide it to market areas in time for shearing. In ancient times, shepherds also commonly milked their sheep, and made cheese from this milk; few shepherds still do this today. In many societies, shepherds were an important part of the"
"Halter A halter (US) or headcollar (UK) is headgear that is used to lead or tie up livestock and, occasionally, other animals; it fits behind the ears (behind the poll), and around the muzzle. To handle the animal, usually a lead rope or lead shank is attached. On smaller animals, such as dogs, a leash is attached to the halter. Halters may be as old as the early domestication of animals, and their history is not as well studied as that of the bridle or hackamore. The word ""halter"" derives from the Germanic words meaning ""that by which anything is"
"of the ""remuda,"" or herd of spare horses. The wrangler on a cattle drive was often a very young cowboy or one of lower social status, but the cook was a particularly well-respected member of the crew, as not only was he in charge of the food, he also was in charge of medical supplies and had a working knowledge of practical medicine. Barbed wire, an innovation of the 1880s, allowed cattle to be confined to designated areas to prevent overgrazing of the range. In Texas and surrounding areas, increased population required ranchers to fence off their individual lands. In"