Just getting started...

[jimlas]

Hi Everyone! My name is Wendy and I am new to all of this farm stuff. All I actually have right now are chickens, but I have dreamed of owning a small critter farm for a very long time.
My husband just gave me permission to clear out the woods in our back yard so I could fulfill this dream )
My biggest question is can I keep Nigerian Dwarf goats, Babydoll sheep, and maybe a miniature donkey all in the same pen to hang out with each other? I am hoping for two goats, two sheep and just one donkey. I am planning to, Lord willing, get them all right from being weaned and all neutered as well. I know the donkeys are herd animals like the rest, but am hoping if they are raised with the goats and sheep that he will be fine with his friends of a different species.
Any thoughts on any of this would be greatly appreciated. I imagine that a separate stall for each species would be best as well???
Thanks so much, and I am enjoying reading all of this information on this site to get me educated in the wonderful world of back yard farming )

 

[jimlas]

Well, I just read about a donkey might not be the best thing to put in with goats. Any other small herd animal maybe???

 

[SheepGirl]

First off,

I assume you can keep all of them together. However, with sheep, there is a very small area between requirement and toxicity for copper...other species' requirements for copper are toxic to sheep, so you would need to provide them a separate mineral (and keep them away from the goat and donkey mineral) and separate feed (again, keeping them away from the other species' feed).

I have Babydoll Southdown x Montadale crosses (they live at my neighbor's currently with his purebred Babydolls and a Babydoll cross ewe).

How big is this area you plan on keeping them in? Do you plan on using it as pasture, or will you dry lot them (keeping them in a pen and feeding them hay/grain)? I assume you want wethers...so will they be for pets? Are you POSITIVE you wouldn't want to breed them in the future for babies/milk? (If so, then you may want to consider getting females.)

You don't need to put them in a stall like you do with horses My sheep go in and out of the barn and pasture as they please. Now that it's getting to be hot out and they are still in full wool, they tend to spend their days in the barn sleeping and then they come out at night when its cooler to graze. They're becoming nocturnal lol.

Good luck!

 

[jimlas]

This will definitely have to be a dry lot.
I was reading about the copper and sheeps. Maybe it would be better to have their enclosure split right down the middle with ample room on both sides.
What about predators? Is there any sure fire way to keep them out of the penned in area. My chickens are so locked down tight in their run that not even a snake could get in, but that is a smaller area and was costly enough. Not that I mind, these will be my pets for sure and I will protect with all my might if possible.

Oh me and babies are a good fit but the property is limited so I will have to be satisfied with what I can afford. Now if I had won that power ball a few weeks ago, that would of been a different story )

 

[SheepGirl]

Donkeys are a livestock guardian, so if you were to get a donkey, it would protect the sheep and goats from predators.

Instead of completely separating them, you could always just feed them separately and provide their minerals separately? But if you couldn't make it work, then a separate enclosure would be the next best thing.

If you were to get two females instead of two wethers, breed them, you can sell the babies after they're weaned and make some money back on feed bills That way you're not putting 1/2 ton of hay into each critter a year with no return (other than being pets). (In our area, that's $140 of hay/head/year...if they each had two babies, you could sell them for $150+ and make a small profit, or at least enough to cover feed, because bred/lactating animals require more feed than an animal in maintenance.)

Definitely something to think about

 

[jimlas]

Now that is something to think about. I could get my baby fix in as well. Knowing me, I would want to keep them.
Thanks so much!
My wheels are spinning now LOL

 

[SheepGirl]

 

[elevan]

When combining animals, personality of the individual animals is the most important factor.

On donkeys being livestock guardians, you should know that not all animals that are categorized as guardians make good guardians...again individual personality is key here. And a miniature donkey would not make a good guardian, they just don't have the size to get the job done.

 

[SheepGirl]

On donkeys being livestock guardians, you should know that not all animals that are categorized as guardians make good guardians...again individual personality is key here. And a miniature donkey would not make a good guardian, they just don't have the size to get the job done.

Good point.

 

[SmallFarmGirl]