A sheep's natural lifespan is about 10-12 years, but unless they are pets, most sheep on a farm don't live that long. A female sheep's (ewe) lifespan is very much dependant on how long they are able to produce lambs and be commercially viable to the farmer. Often this is five to six years, about half their natural lifespan.
Lambs bred for meat obviously have the shortest lifespan, not usually making it to one year old.
Prized rams could live the longest on the farm and indeed, a valuable ram can be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. No, we are not joking – a 6.5 month-old ram lamb sold for 350,000 guineas, (£367,500) in 2020.
These prized rams are bound to get the best care possible and should live well – while they are still fertile. However, should their fertility wane they, too, might well have their lives curtailed early.
Who was the oldest sheep ever?
The oldest sheep ever was a ewe that lived to a staggering 28 years and 51 weeks - let's call it 29 years. The crossbred and very fertile sheep was kept at Taliesin, near Aberystwyth in Wales and died in January 1989.
