# goat lamb



## Nutty Fruit Farm (Mar 24, 2017)

We just bought our first farm and we are debating on whether to get goats or sheep. I know your suppose to get 2 goats so they keep each other company but I want to get 1 male and female goat and 1 male and female sheep. I will house the males together and the females together separate from each other till mating time. Will they keep each other company? Or am I going to have a goat that cries constantly?
I figured this way after a year or two we will know which one we would prefer.


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## mysunwolf (Mar 24, 2017)

If you are raising to find out which species you prefer, why not get 2 female lambs and 2 female kids, then get a male of the favorite species when they are old enough to breed and sell the other two? Then they'll have friends in the meantime!


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## Nutty Fruit Farm (Mar 24, 2017)

I should have added that I am going to milk both. I am not sure which milk my family will prefer since all we have ever had was store bought milk.


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## mysunwolf (Mar 24, 2017)

You can usually find a local farmer that will sell you goats milk, but sheepsmilk is a little harder to find--though not impossible, there are a few sheep dairies around the country, plus hobbyists like me. That would be a much less expensive test for which milk your family prefers  

And since I seem to have forgotten: !!!


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## animalmom (Mar 24, 2017)

Welcome to BYH and all the wonderful, crazy, wouldn't change it for the world life with animals.

Goats need copper.  Copper is very bad for sheep.  I wouldn't keep sheep and goats together for that reason.

@mysunwolf has give good advise, and a good breeder ought to offer you a sample of the herd's milk if you tell them you don't know what it is like.  At least I do that.

Good luck with what you decide.  No reason you can't do both goats and sheep... just do it separately.


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## Green Acres Farm (Mar 24, 2017)

Just don't taste test store bought goat milk.


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## Latestarter (Mar 25, 2017)

Greetings and welcome to BYH! Glad you joined us. Fresh refrigerated goats milk is supreme! The stuff they sell in stores is nasty. Please don't use that to compare. Supposedly sheep milk is even richer than goats milk, which is richer than cows milk... I've never had sheep milk but may get to try it some day.

Another option would be to try to buy a dairy breed doe in milk with kid by it's side, and a dairy breed ewe in milk with a lamb by it's side. Then you can try each kind of milk and raise each breed and determine which works best for you. And if the babies are female you'll have two to breed. You can either sell the animals you don't want or eat them... both are fairly tasty.


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 25, 2017)

Nutty Fruit Farm said:


> We just bought our first farm and we are debating on whether to get goats or sheep. I know your suppose to get 2 goats so they keep each other company but I want to get 1 male and female goat and 1 male and female sheep. I will house the males together and the females together separate from each other till mating time. Will they keep each other company? Or am I going to have a goat that cries constantly?
> I figured this way after a year or two we will know which one we would prefer.



The problem with that plan is the males will likely fight. I have seen a male goat kill a ram by fighting. Sounds like a better idea to get a diary breed with kid/lamb at their side or bred to start off. If you get a kid/lamb to start off it is going to be at least a year and a half until you get to see which milk you like and that is a lot of feed before you find out if you even want that kind of animal. Also try to get one who is trained to milk as that will make your life soo much easier.



animalmom said:


> Welcome to BYH and all the wonderful, crazy, wouldn't change it for the world life with animals.
> 
> Goats need copper.  Copper is very bad for sheep.  I wouldn't keep sheep and goats together for that reason.
> 
> ...



We copper bolus our goats because they are with our sheep. I imagine they could do the same thing since they will only have 2 goats. Just make sure your grain has no copper and you use loose sheep minerals.


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## Bossroo (Mar 25, 2017)

Another fly in the ointment will be the leangth of time that a sheep or goat will produce milk as well the decreasing amount per week. Not from personal experience with dairy animals ( normaly sheep raising their own lambs will produce milk for 3 months then the production drops off then they dry up at about 5 +/ -  months )  but what I have heard is  maybe 3-5 months per year before they are not worth milking and/ or dry up. Dairy cows are milked for 305 days before they are no longer profitable to milk and are dried up untill the next calf is born.


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 28, 2017)

Bossroo said:


> Another fly in the ointment will be the leangth of time that a sheep or goat will produce milk as well the decreasing amount per week. Not from personal experience with dairy animals ( normaly sheep raising their own lambs will produce milk for 3 months then the production drops off then they dry up at about 5 +/ -  months )  but what I have heard is  maybe 3-5 months per year before they are not worth milking and/ or dry up. Dairy cows are milked for 305 days before they are no longer profitable to milk and are dried up untill the next calf is born.



The dairy breeds often milk until you force them to dry off which some will not. Most goat owners who want milk, milk the same goat for all but 2 months of the year. The production is the same if you milk the same right until you dry them off...not counting the peak production when thy first kid or the changes in production in the first 2 months after kidding other then those the production is steady based on your demand. More then one goat owner has reported milking the same goat without breed back for 1-2yrs without a production drop.


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## norseofcourse (Mar 28, 2017)

Nutty Fruit Farm said:


> We just bought our first farm and we are debating on whether to get goats or sheep. I know your suppose to get 2 goats so they keep each other company but I want to get 1 male and female goat and 1 male and female sheep. I will house the males together and the females together separate from each other till mating time. Will they keep each other company? Or am I going to have a goat that cries constantly?
> I figured this way after a year or two we will know which one we would prefer.


Good comments so far!

It's a lot of work and expense to keep one male for only breeding one female, you have to feed, house and maintain that ram/buck all year round, when he's only actually needed for a few minutes...  and I don't know about bucks, but my ram would have a lot of excess, frustrated energy if he only had one ewe to breed.  The male sheep can also produce wool, but wool's not usually worth a lot.

One drawback to housing them together is that rams and bucks play/fight differently.  A ram will back up, lower head and charge.  A buck will rear up and smack down with their head.  I'd be way too worried they'd injure each other.

Artificial insemination is easier with goats, if I only wanted one or two goats I'd either find someone local who could do AI, or see if the place I got my does from would let my girls visit for breeding.  I'd be leaning towards goats if you want milk, and if you really want wool, maybe a couple wethered sheep.


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