# Sheep VS. Goats...how hard are they?



## EggsForIHOP (Feb 4, 2012)

So...I'm just really thinking on this at this point - no set plans, no good ideas even...BUT...

For those that have both or have had both...could you give me a comparison in how hard or easy sheep are when you are already used to goats?

I mean, the goats keep me on my toes   There's kids, and milking, and medical stuff...I actually love the goats!  But in the next few years, if we took on a small little bit of "sheep responsibility", how would that compare to what i put in with the goats?  Easier?  Harder?

For now I lurk and learn...it's just a thought...but I'd love some ideas on how they compare so I can have a grip on what I would be adding to my typical day/week/month etc....

Just wondering what other's thoughts are on the 2 when you line them up side by side and compare dietary needs, medical needs, time spent, etc...


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## aggieterpkatie (Feb 5, 2012)

Sheep are so easy!  Unless you get a very flighty breed, they're easy to contain.  Some people think they're "boring' compared to goats, but I prefer my sheep over my goats.  I love them both, but if I could only keep one I'd definitely keep the sheep!


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 5, 2012)

As far as meat goats compared to meat sheep, Sheep are overall easier, except for shearing. That is a big job. Sheep don't have nearly the personality as goats, which can be a good thing, when it comes to trying to keep them fenced in.  However there are certain breeds of sheep that are very flighty. I don't care to ever work with cheviots again. We really enjoy our hampshire suffolk crosses that our kids show. 

My husband tended to  a herd of 40 ewe lambs when he was a kid for several years. And he hates sheep. And he doesn't want anything to do with them as an adult. He prefers the goats.


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## Erins Little Farm (Feb 5, 2012)

Sheep! They are so sweet and they aren't too much work!


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## Roll farms (Feb 5, 2012)

Goats over sheep any day here....but I like the goat's personalities....and I hate shearing.


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## Bossroo (Feb 5, 2012)

Hands down... hair sheep ( sheds wool) such as the Dorper,   are far easier to keep than any goat.   They also tend to browse similar to goats for better utilisation of pasture grases, forbs, shrubs, weeds, etc. for increased meat production over wool breeds.  Their lambs take care of the milking. Also, since they are out of season breeders, they will produce 3 lamb crops in 2 years, which means more profit to you.


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## EggsForIHOP (Feb 5, 2012)

So...sheep are easier to fence in?

They don't keep you up at night for weeks on end waiting for babies?

No personality huh?  Really?  Even the "meat" type critters here have some personality...No much with sheep eh?

There are flighty and non-flighty breeds?

Does anyone know any good breeders in Texas - specifically closer to Houston or Waco? (I'm kinda in an odd spot)...

I'm hoping to find a good "mentor" somewhere along the way...I HAD a REALLY good mentor on the goat side of things, but she passed away a while back...so I've been "winging it" and reading more and researching as time goes on...I'd like to find some one like her...but with sheep...before I ever get started...without her I wouldn't have the goats...

Sorry...I have a MILLION questions....just wondering...


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## SheepGirl (Feb 5, 2012)

EggsForIHOP said:
			
		

> So...sheep are easier to fence in?
> 
> They don't keep you up at night for weeks on end waiting for babies?
> 
> ...


Our fence is woven wire with one barbed wire strand at the top. It keeps the sheep in. My ram on the other hand...we have a fence gate for the ram pasture, and I guess the gate wasn't tied tightly enough one day so he went through/under the bottom of it and bred his mother.  We also have five-board fencing near where the barns are and they seem to be contained by that. (But lambs sometimes go through it to get the fresh grass outside the "sheep area.")

I wouldn't really say they have a personality. For me, they're friendly or they're not; shy or outgoing (kind of goes with friendly-ness); passive or aggressive; gentle/calm or high strung; etc. I mean, I love my sheep, but I wouldn't say they have "defined" personalities, at least, not like a dog or a cat.

There ARE flighty and non-flighty breeds. I have heard that (but have no experience with) Blackbellies are notoriously flighty and don't like much human contact. Usually wooled breeds are more "domesticated" and not as flighty. But my wooled sheep, they are pretty wild right now because they aren't getting any grain (except for my ewe who I think is now bred). My wether, though, he always comes up to me in the pasture to see what I have for him. After he sees I either don't have anything or he ate all of what I had for him, he walks away and doesn't want to be near me anymore. (He was supplemented with a bottle as a lamb.)

Don't know anyone in Texas, sorry. As for mentors, the best one you can get is the one where you get your sheep from, because they are familiar with their genetics, potential health problems, etc.


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## bonbean01 (Feb 5, 2012)

I totally love my hair sheep...Dorper/Kahtadin crosses, and I protest!!!  Each and every one of them has their own personality, own call...and they are a total delight  I know who is calling before I even see them.  Very friendly and the lamb babies bouncing around out there are so much fun to watch.

I've never had goats, but our neighbour does and as cute as they are...I'm happy we went with these sheep


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## Beekissed (Feb 5, 2012)

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> I totally love my hair sheep...Dorper/Kahtadin crosses, and I protest!!!  Each and every one of them has their own personality, own call...and they are a total delight  I know who is calling before I even see them.  Very friendly and the lamb babies bouncing around out there are so much fun to watch.
> 
> I've never had goats, but our neighbour does and as cute as they are...I'm happy we went with these sheep


X 10.  My sisters had goats while I was growing up and I used to help with them...give me hair sheep over goats any day of the week and twice on Sundays!  

Sweet, quirky, loyal to the shepherd and not necessarily to just the "food bringer", stay fenced easily, thrive on very little intervention or special diets, supplements or feed rations...pasture, hay, monitoring for worms and a yearly hoof check and trim was all mine needed.  Lambed like a dream, mothered up well, healthy as horses.

The issue of wool is easily overcome by having hair breeds.  Katahdins(the lovers of the hair breeds) are docile, sweet and easy to manage, St. Croix are a little more independent but also have more mischievous  personalities than the Kats.  They stay fat on hay and grass, so feed is cheaper.  

If you have to worry about the minerals, just give sea kelp meal and coarse salt.  My gals thrived on it and loved it but didn't eat it in one gulp like they did with a goat/sheep block. 

And...if you want, you can milk them also.  My Kat would stand and let me milk her as a young, first time mother and didn't seem to care.  She was milky and didn't need extra grains to maintain good milk production.


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## purplequeenvt (Feb 5, 2012)

> I wouldn't really say they have a personality. For me, they're friendly or they're not; shy or outgoing (kind of goes with friendly-ness); passive or aggressive; gentle/calm or high strung; etc. I mean, I love my sheep, but I wouldn't say they have "defined" personalities, at least, not like a dog or a cat.


Some sheep don't seem to have a personality, but the ones that do totally make up for the others! We have Steve who loves attention and basically shows herself at the fair. She will also pout (and not show off in the ring) if she doesn't get a "cookie". Then there is Infiniti who is the first one to the gate to greet me (ie....check for goodies) in the morning. Bridget the bug-eyed Shetland who never stops yelling. Jazmin, the best bottle lamb I've ever had. She isn't pushy or overly obnoxious and she is soooo sweet and comes when she's called. She and her buddy, Moe, go to the children's barnyard at one of our fairs every summer. Galadriel (AKA Pig Sheep) is the fattest, pushiest sheep in the barn. She looks like she is pregnant with triplets even when she isn't pregnant at all. But even the ones that aren't "in your face friendly" have personalities. Hairball (don't ask ) and Dixie are both quiet and shy. Babette and Buttercup occasionally like to be pet, but usually prefer to watch from a distance.

As to Goats vs. Sheep....I don't know that one is necessarily easier or better than the other. Wool sheep require shearing, dairy goats require milking, etc... I'm not really qualified to judge from the goat side of the question as I only have one goat and he is not a normal goat. He prefers to keep his four feet firmly planted on the ground. He's a good goat now that he's realized that the sheep are not going to eat him.

If you do get some sheep, being in TX, a hair sheep would probably do better than a wool breed. A lot of wool breeds would do fine, but the hair breeds seem to thrive on shrubs and heat.


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## aggieterpkatie (Feb 6, 2012)

I've had some sheep that don't have much in the way of personalities, but I have had a few that have been just like dogs.  They knew their names, came when called, loved attention, etc.  And my girls now definitely have personalities.  Goats are more "in your face" and demand attention.  That bothers me sometimes.  When I go in to give them all attention, the darn goats practically knock me over and keep the sheep away, and I hate that.  If I'm feeding treats (like veggie scraps, etc) the goats will be buttheads and keep the sheep away.  Drives me absolutely nuts.  If it wasn't for the milk, I'd not keep goats.  I'm fond of my goats, but I could live without them.


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## EggsForIHOP (Feb 6, 2012)

So, one more thing I have been curious on...

With the goats I have a pretty good grasp of what I need to be asking/inquiring of breeders now...but with sheep? 

What would you be asking of people when you contact them?  Diseases, issues, etc....

I mean, a beautiful website and a pretty farm can still be harboring some nasty stuff underneath it all as a friend of mine learned the hard way once...it was sad watching her go through some of the stuff she did and all because she just didn't know to ask...

Is there an online guide here somewhere of good things to inquire when one does look at sheep? Like "The Potential Sheep Buyers Interview Guide?"

If not, someone experienced needs to put one together  PLEASE!

And hair sheep....hmm....I like hair sheep...I could do without shearing things ...I have a huge 2 - 3 acre chunk of the property that we could clear out and dedicate to sheep (just a few) so I'm gong to read up for sure on different breeds and such...kinda start taking notes...it took a while to REALLY talk me into the goats, but once I got into researching and such I got more and more excited...so I could see myself doing the same with some sheepies 

The goats have even beat out my horses for my favorites...I don't think sheep will ever over ride that ...but I think I have a warm corner of my heart and a portion of the property we could one day dedicate to sheep


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## Beekissed (Feb 6, 2012)

This may help you with breed info and what to look for or ask about diseases:

http://www.sheep101.info/201/


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## boykin2010 (Feb 6, 2012)

I'll take hair sheep over goats anyway! All of mine have their own personality.  My bottle baby knows his name and waits at the gate for someone to come and scratch behind the ears.  No shearing and no special foods other than grain and hay ( only parts of the year.) 
Sheep are very independent but when raised right can be as tame if not more tame than goats.  I've also noticed goats kind of like to think that the grass is greener on the other side and are constantly escaping.  My sheep have never gotten out.  All we have is a 5 wire electric fence.  Many people also think lamb and mutton taste better than goat although that is a personal preference. 

Katahdins are my favorite breed. Great mothers, great meat to feed ratio, friendliness, easiness to take care of, ample milk, etc.  I can't think of anything bad to say about them!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 6, 2012)

I like this article the American Finnsheep Breeders' Assocation wrote up: http://www.finnsheep.org/buysheep.htm


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## boykin2010 (Feb 6, 2012)

Oh and also wanted to add that depending on where your at 3 acres is plenty of grass for some hair sheep.  I keep about 10 full grown sheep on 3-4 acres.


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## TexasShepherdess (Feb 7, 2012)

I had some goats before I got my sheep...you couldnt pay me to have goats again...granted, they are entertaining to watch..afew kids in our 4-h club have goats and they were entertaining to watch at the show..my son's ewe was kinda boring..she slept most of the time..BUT, she actually has quite abit of personality..very commanding in the ring...actually most of my sheep have unique personalities..just not the annoying-ness of the goats. 

my goats were VERY hard on my fences, constantly getting out and were just generaly more labor intensive then my sheep are. my sheep are dorpers, so they shed..no labor there. 

the sheep 101 website is a great resource.


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## Cornish Heritage (Feb 9, 2012)

Having had goats in the past, we will not go there again. Goats are very hard on fences BUT I will say that they are WAY more intelligent than sheep. 

If you do not want to shear sheep then get hair sheep. That is one of the reasons we bought our herd of St. Croixs - they shed their hair like a dog or cow etc each spring. One other thing you want to take into consideration is parasite resistance. Many sheep breeds have to be regularly wormed due to their low resistance. St Croix are one of the most parasite resistant sheep breeds out there, that is why some of the universities keep flocks of them to study. That is also why some breeders sue St Croixs to cross into their flocks to try & up the parasite resistance in their own flock.

Liz


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## EggsForIHOP (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks to everyone for the links and good info...I've been reading and clicking on links and googling and such like CRAZY the last few days...taking notes as I go...REALLY thinking through all the info and such!

I POSITIVELY see sheep in our future!  Maybe sooner than I thought, in a year perhaps...but the goats are staying too   I just love them and their antics too much to even consider trading them for sheep...but ADDING "sheep corner" to the property is doable I think 

Thank you again everyone for all the good info!  I'll be back with more questions when the time comes


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## barredcountrycoop (Feb 17, 2012)

I have pygmies and Barbados blackbellies. I love them both, but the sheep are much easier. GOats are way more , let's say adventurous (destructive) lol the sheep are pretty content. My ram is very friendly, and tame. No shearing with blackbellies either


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