[franksolich]

But I always wondered how true this was, sir.

The physician was just speculating (about the law prohibiting shepherds from assisting in childbirth)--and as we were both on our coffee breaks, there were no textbooks or other references handy.

[concretebob]

It has been, for lack of a better term, "common knowledge" that female sheep were the source.
How this information was derived, or it's source, is not known to me, I just remember my boot camp days.
and frank, calling me "sir" is like puttin an elevator in an outhouse, it's not really necessary. :)