Sheep

Sheep are a herdable animal that appears in Age of Empires II and Age of Empires III.

Age of Empires II
In Age of Empires II, sheep are a common food source that is beneficial in the early stages of a developing game. Nearing a neutral sheep will cause it to become aligned with the player's faction. As long as units are within close proximity of the sheep, they will remain under the control of the player that first discovers it. If, however, no friendly units are nearby and another team's unit happens to pass by, the sheep will fall under the control of that said player.

As mentioned above sheep are extremely useful in the early game, as rapid development of farmland may simply not be feasible due to a lack of necessary resources, which will be an issue in the Dark Age. As the game progresses the need for sheep gradually decreases as farms become plentiful and effective in the latter stages of the game.

Sheep can also be used for scouting, but have a horrible line of sight. Despite there being a risk of losing them, in island maps or maps where players start without a scout it can be relatively safe.

Sheep can be gathered for a total of 100 Food.

Age of Empires III
Like in Age of Empires II, sheep will fall under the control and influence to any nearest unit it comes into visual contact with. Unlike their medieval counterparts, however, AoE III sheep will actually fatten over time, which grants them a much larger supply of food as time goes on. They start at 50 food and can fatten to up to 300 food. This fattening process can be sped up substantially through the use of a Livestock Pen, Farm, or Village. Sheep can also be trained from Livestock Pens and shipped from the home city. They can also be found wild around certain maps and even as treasures.

Improvements

 * Unique Home City Improvements that benefit their Sheep

The first two cards can be unlocked from the start, consequently enabling the following cards to be unlocked.
 * Shipment Cards of Sheep.

History
"Scientific Name: Ovis aries Approx. Size: 2 ft, at the shoulder, 100 lb. Diet: Grasses, sedges, lichen, mosses Domesticated sheep have been kept by humans for thousands of years as sources of milk, wool, and meat. They are social creatures and gather in flocks, or mobs, known for blindly following the movement of their groups. In fact, there are distinct roles in the leadership of a mob. "Outliers" act as scouts and risk predation by ranging away from the herd in search of water and grazing. "Bellweathers" are sheep that watch the outliers and follow when it appears the outlier is safe. The rest of the flock then follows the bellweather. Sheep eat plants that other livestock will not and are now used in rotation with other livestock to maximize the grazing of pasture land and also as a form of natural weed control."

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