# Can I house a sheep with goats?



## genevieve (Nov 16, 2014)

I got a reaaally cheap bottle lamb back in May because she was sick and the old owners didn't want to deal with it (she was the only lamb they had and they also had a bunch of nubian bucklings but no adult animals, kinda weird..)  She ended up having pneumonia but we got it all sorted out with our vet and now she's our bucket calf's buddy.  The bucket calf is going to be going bye-bye pretty soon here since we don't want to winter him or feed him out, and she will be left buddy-less.  I'm considering leaving her in with my pygmy goats and two nubians.  She doesn't seem to mind all of the goats except our biggest Nubian, who she fights with sometimes.  

So, I need some opinions.  Can I leave her in with the goats?  I know goats and sheep have different needs regarding minerals, so is that going to be a problem?  Right now, my goats have free access to a DuMor mineral block, but she's never seemed interested in it at all.  Besides mineral needs, will companionship be a problem?  None of the goats are super aggressive to her, but none of them are very friendly either.  Do I need to get another sheep to keep her company?  If I get another sheep, should I just house them separately from the goats?


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## mysunwolf (Nov 16, 2014)

I had some goats who thought they were sheep, but I have never had sheep who think they're goats.

If I were you, I'd get another sheep to keep her company, but still house them with the goats. A lot of people have no trouble with sheep eating goat minerals, but if you want to play it safe you should put out sheep minerals and then supplement the goats with copper. Temperament-wise, sometimes goats can get rowdier and more aggressive than sheep--you'd have to wait and see how your particular goats interacted. We've had no trouble housing sheep and goats together as long as the goats behaved themselves.


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## Southern by choice (Nov 16, 2014)

Ours were fine together for a time then the ewe and the wethered "ram" decided they wanted to start bulling and ramming the goats. It got pretty bad. We had a lot of pregnant does and we were very concerned they were going to abort after many very hard hits. The sheep just got completely stupid with the goats. The sheep also never adapted nor liked the LGD's. The sheep began taking over the barn, the hay feeder, everything and anything.

Ours are now banished to 3 acres (we only have 2 sheep) through several sets of wood on my neighbors property. 

I use to really like the sheep but they just didn't work well for us. Of course that is not all sheep. You may have a completely different experience.


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## goatgurl (Nov 16, 2014)

i have sheep and goats both and keep them together.  not giant herds of either, 11 goats and 6 sheep.   the goats are the bosses of the barn and will only let the sheep in when the weather's bad and i think that's because the sheep insist.  they don't go out and graze together, you'll find the goats in one part of the pasture and the sheep in another which drives the lgd's nuts.  the only problem i have had was this fall when the ram was loose with everyone and the does started to come in heat.  not wanting to risk spontaneous abortions or geeps i had to separate them.  the ewes were already bred so herb went into the buck pen by himself.  i have had does butt the sheep and ewes  butt the goats but mostly it is the adults who are teaching the youngsters manners and it isn't constant.  it's an ongoing thing that i'll play by ear and adjust as life goes on.


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## L J (Jan 27, 2015)

great question and I'm in a similar situation with the Geep I have (Goat Sheep Hybrid). I don't have any other barn animals and know I need to get him some friends before he is weaned and outside. I was leaning toward getting a couple goats, but any ideas are welcome.


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