Are goats the right dairy animal for us?

[Southern by choice]

I agree with 1 Fine Acre.

We have our Jacobs sheep in with our Nigerian Dwarf Goats and LaMancha.
Our Jacobs are for wool. Their wool isn't a "fine" wool, but we like it and it can produce great rugged outerwear. Jacobs are a bit more goat like in the sense they like leaves and tall stuff too. They are pretty rugged. Excellent parasite resistance.

We are new to sheep mostly because everyone said they couldn't go together. After researching and our livestock vet neighbor as well as another vet we use said "no, it isn't a problem" there are certain things to watch out for. The biggest issue is copper. Our one vets has her sheep and goats together . Our Jacobs do not have a copper storage issue so we really don't have the copper issues.
I am not well educated on all the bajillion kinds of sheep but for meat I would say the Katahdins or dorpers are a great choice, they are hair sheep though. Wool sheep are great BUT for meat Katahdins or something like what sheepgirl has. She has a website you could look at. Friends of ours have just weaned their lambs.. 90 days and 80+ lbs already. they have Katahdins. Many of the wool meat breeds may not have the quality of wool you are looking for. Wool breeds must be shorn also. It seems the hairsheep have less issues with parasites internal and external.

I could be way off here but I think the scottish black face and the icelandic may be "triple purpose" meat, milk, fiber. (Sheep)

Our goats do not destroy our fences. We also have Kiko meat goats here which, if you research them they are also excellent for milk.

Rams (male sheep) can be very aggressive and dangerous. Not everyone deals with this but it is more the rule than the exception. We chose to wether our Jacobs boy for that reason. He is very sweet.
Bucks (male goats) at least all the breeds and male goats we have are very sweet and never have been aggressive. Yes their are some that aren't ... there again mean ones are the exception. Rut is usually the time where any buck can get iffy. None of ours do. Every ram I have ever seen... always penned separately and they are dangerous. Our bucks are super lovey... pee smell and all we let them cuddle up with us and we pet em and then we change our clothes...

And yes sheep girl... I know your ram isn't

Getting really good parasite resistant stock IMO is also very important when having sheep and goats together too. We like having our males here because of bio-security and disease management. No transporting etc. I think that may be easier with goats because of thee heat cycles. It seems many with sheep do not keep a ram around unless they have a good many ewes.

I will say their are things I get annoyed about with my goats and things that annoy me with the sheep. Our goats are much friendlier and more personable. The sheep don't really want to come lay on our lap, they will tolerate a neck scratching but that is it. The biggest issue we have had is sometimes our ewe can get real bossy and she will really ram the goats sides. Not good when you have pregnant goats. Our goats never butt the goats, they may rear up as a warning but they just never hit them.


Yes long post... Just wanted to put a little out their without being biased. Sheep people always say sheep,"sheeples" are like that and goat people will push goats- come on "goaties" you know it's true! And EVERYONE pushes for their breed. It is great to take your time and visit as many farms as you can and see the different breeds you are interested in. Me, I am really a poultry and LGD gal, so a little less persuasive about goats vs sheep etc.

 

[sprocket]

Baaaaaaaah!

I'm so confused.

Here's the conclusion I'm drawing. We need to prioritize, for our family, what our goals are. This is what we came up with.
1. Stocking the freezer
2. Having milk, suitable for drinking, cheese, yogurt and soap.
2a. Milk suitable for butter. This is kind of a footnote, because I'm aware you're best bet for this is a cow. I don't want a cow.
3. Having fiber - nice to have

I do believe sheep are the winner for (1), from everything I'd read.

Goats win for (2).

I believe sheep win for (3).

I raise goats, but I'd actually vote for sheep on (2). Sheep milk has twice the protein and twice the fat as goat and will make AMAZING cheese and yogurt. It'll be a personal preference as to whether or not you'd want to drink it - it's a bit rich for my liking. You'll likely need to get a cream separator for both goat and sheep milk to get any amount of fat out for butter.

Now personality wise, I far prefer goats...sheep just aren't my thing when I have to work with them daily.

 

[SkyWarrior]

To add more confusion. I love my goats. Goat meat is yummy and goat's milk can't be beat. They will graze gas but prefer browse. Of course mine are simply wonderful.

My DH said "NO SHEEP!"

We have lots of goats.

 

[woodsie]

You said you needed 5 - 6 gallons of milk - you can get that from one good dairy goat. ( I don't recommend having one goat though) Goats are opportunistic feeders... they will browse or they will graze. Goat milk does not separate as easily as cows milk - however - it WILL separate. A couple days in the fridge in a shallow pan and you can skim off the cream. Goat butter is white and delicate flavored - Yummy!

I don't have sheep, so I can't speak to that aspect.

What I do know is that goats have personality plus!

5 - 6 Gallons of milk off one goat? I would love to get a goat from you if that is the case! I am pretty sure that 5+ liters (not gallons) is a good milk goat. OOPS - I just reread the original post and you are saying 5-6 gallons per WEEK not daily....my bad - sorry!

 

[woodsie]

I have both my goats and sheep together, I just have the goat minerals on top of the run in shelter...the goats jump up there to get their grain and minerals and the sheep have never even tried. They get along very well together and all sleep together and ruminate together. The goats stray further from the "herd" and will go browse for any leaves they can reach while the sheep keep their heads down and eat the grass.

I have hair sheep and live in a dry climate so I haven't had a hard time with parasites. Even our ram is in with them as he is very peaceful, a little pushy when there is grain but I have about 4 or 5 buckets/feeders I spread the grain out so they just dance around between the bowls, the ram can only be at one bowl at a time...

In short, if you are a little creative and keep a close eye on them it can be done...I don't think it would work if you want a model of efficiency and are running large herds but for a "backyard herd" it works out well. I have 6 ewes a ram and 4 nannies on the pen together and rotate them through 4 pens and portable areas that need to be "mowed".

A side note - I think the sheep may have become "tamer" with the goats in the pen as the goats are much more people oriented and the sheep seem to realize that I am not dangerous and follow the goats when rotating them into the temporary pens...or it could be the grain....haha, yeah it is probably the grain. LOL!

 

[wooliewabbits]

We have a sheep and 5 goats and there are never any problems.We just make sure she doesn't get into the goat grain! Only one problem.....she thinks she a GOAT!

 

[Animallovers1]

If you are still look in to goat a nupine a cross between a Nubian and and alpine and a pygora would probly be okay for you

 

[GLENMAR]

I have Nubians. I have three does. Combined they give me 5 and a half gallons a week. I am only milking once a day.
One of my does has been in milk over 300 days and still gives at least a quart a day.
Their field is about 3/4 an acre.

 

[bjjohns]

I don't own sheep. I do own goats. Goats are seasonal milkers (You won't get milk year-round). My Lamancha and my Nigerian dwarf both will breed off-season from all my other goats, so that means I have fairly decent year round milk availability for us (but not enough in the off season for selling products). Most of my goats milk from 1/2 to 3/4 gallons of milk a day, with a couple of the Saanens producing as muck as 1.5 (6 liters per day.

What's the difference between a sick sheep and a dead sheep? 30 Minutes. I've had really bad luck with sheep.

 

[GLENMAR]

I don't own sheep. I do own goats. Goats are seasonal milkers (You won't get milk year-round). My Lamancha and my Nigerian dwarf both will breed off-season from all my other goats, so that means I have fairly decent year round milk availability for us (but not enough in the off season for selling products). Most of my goats milk from 1/2 to 3/4 gallons of milk a day, with a couple of the Saanens producing as muck as 1.5 (6 liters per day.

What's the difference between a sick sheep and a dead sheep? 30 Minutes. I've had really bad luck with sheep.

You said you won't get milk year round, but I have been milking one of mine for 300 days. I think you could stagger a few kiddings, and still get milk year round.
A lady came up a few months back and bought one of my bucklings, she said she had been milking her herd continously for 6 years. I think I would need a break by then.