The Sheep
Center is located at 5651 Fredericksburg Rd, approximately 3 miles south
of the Wooster campus. The facility includes a total confinement
building and complete feeding system to utilize silages, haylage, and
stover. An additional building aids reproductive physiology research and
winter lambing. This building is more traditional in design, but has
innovative features like an open ridge ventilation system and an above
ground nipple water system. A custom corral system has been developed
over the years to allow for the handling and management of the flock.These facilities are located on 63 acres of permanent pasture and 30 additional acres of tillable ground used for intensive grazing research. The intensive grazing area allows for study of annual and perennial forages under various management strategies. At full capacity, as many as 120 (.2 acre) paddocks are available.
Hampshire and Dorset sheep are used in a predominantly crossbred flock to provide for research in the areas of reproduction, nutrition, disease, behavior, and management practices. The sheep center maintains a flock of approx. 350 ewes which lamb in two groups. One group of 120 ewes lambs in February. The remaining ewes lamb in May on pasture. These two groups provide opportunities for research in all phases of production and provide growing lambs for feedlot studies as well as pasture research.
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