"Lammie" sheep? goat? Geep? 🧐

[mysunwolf]

Definitely a goat. You can check the shape of the tail for a more definitive look. Goats have a kind of deep pocket under the tail and heavy attachments on the sides and often are able to hold their tails totally perpendicular from their spines for great lengths of time. Sheep cannot. I don't feel like the wattles would have come through on a mix either. As has been discussed, most crosses that do occur (rare in the first place) are aborted in utero due to chromosomal abnormalities.

 

[Alaskan]

Hello!
My Mom has been raising goats and sheep for almost 30 years, in the same fields but they tend to do their own things. Nothing like this has happened before, here. Pure bred Kathadin sheep and pure bred Nubians and Saanens tend to have different interests and they never mingled much before this past year.
Despite her efforts to keep him away it seems that her Katahdin ram and one of her Saanens got together while the ram was with the sheep?
This year's kids brought "Lammie" into the world... Born with a completely Saanen (looking) brother Lammie looks like a sheep, hence the name.
She's wearing a sweater in the photo, she's always cold, but she has Katahdin fleece on her body and even looks physically different than her brother and Mother.
Has anyone ever had this cross before? Any advice would be appreciated!
View attachment 89772

It is interesting. She does look different.

 

[Amelia]

Why do you think it costs 13k to test?

Google shows its 300.

If she knows who the suspected sire is, regular parentage testing is even cheaper.

But if they're just for meat, I wouldn't bother. Not like you'll make bank off of her.

Definitely a goat. You can check the shape of the tail for a more definitive look. Goats have a kind of deep pocket under the tail and heavy attachments on the sides and often are able to hold their tails totally perpendicular from their spines for great lengths of time. Sheep cannot. I don't feel like the wattles would have come through on a mix either. As has been discussed, most crosses that do occur (rare in the first place) are aborted in utero due to chromosomal abnormalities.

I am personally wondering if she is technically a Chimera since she was born with a brother who shows no sheep features.

Does anyone here have any parentage testing services that they have used and would recommend?

 

[Ridgetop]

If she is the one laying down on the right, she has goat horns starting and Saanen ears. I can't really see much difference between the 3 of them that would make me think she is not a goat. If the kid is a doe but looks bucky it might be a hermaphrodite - they have both male and female sex organs and are sterile.

Since you are sending her to market, I wouldn't worry about it. I would separate your bucks and rams from the combined ewes because even though they can't normally produce offspring, the males can bother the females of the other species when the females come in estrus. We had an ungelded guardian llama try to breed our dairy does. Luckily, I caught him before he injured the does and whisked him down for gelding. Divide the pen into two parts and put the goats in one side and the sheep in the other.

 

[secuono]

I am personally wondering if she is technically a Chimera since she was born with a brother who shows no sheep features.

Does anyone here have any parentage testing services that they have used and would recommend?

NeoGen

Sheep Parentage (160 SNP) Global | Genomics

More than 150 single nucleotide polymorphisms are utilized in parentage verification for pedigree conformation and animal registration programs. Combine genetic testing with a well run breeding porgram to ensure the most accurate pedigrees.

www.neogen.com

 

[mysunwolf]

I was going to mention this--the differences you see look to me like you might have some hermaphroditism going on. It is more common in polled lines, but happens once in a blue moon to any animal. That might explain a lot of the "oddness" that's showing up in your "goat."

If she is the one laying down on the right, she has goat horns starting and Saanen ears. I can't really see much difference between the 3 of them that would make me think she is not a goat. If the kid is a doe but looks bucky it might be a hermaphrodite - they have both male and female sex organs and are sterile.

Since you are sending her to market, I wouldn't worry about it. I would separate your bucks and rams from the combined ewes because even though they can't normally produce offspring, the males can bother the females of the other species when the females come in estrus. We had an ungelded guardian llama try to breed our dairy does. Luckily, I caught him before he injured the does and whisked him down for gelding. Divide the pen into two parts and put the goats in one side and the sheep in the other.

 

[Nommie Bringeruvda Noms]

Not sure where you've looked, for the dna/ parentage tests, but: https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/parentage-genetic-marker-report-goat

 

[Amelia]

Thank you for all the links! I have not had much luck finding a test that will work for her and I have been talking to some labs but I will take a look at the ones posted here! Thank you!

 

[Kay4pets]

Hello!
My Mom has been raising goats and sheep for almost 30 years, in the same fields but they tend to do their own things. Nothing like this has happened before, here. Pure bred Kathadin sheep and pure bred Nubians and Saanens tend to have different interests and they never mingled much before this past year.
Despite her efforts to keep him away it seems that her Katahdin ram and one of her Saanens got together while the ram was with the sheep?
This year's kids brought "Lammie" into the world... Born with a completely Saanen (looking) brother Lammie looks like a sheep, hence the name.
She's wearing a sweater in the photo, she's always cold, but she has Katahdin fleece on her body and even looks physically different than her brother and Mother.
Has anyone ever had this cross before? Any advice would be appreciated!
View attachment 89772

Good evening, I have 7 Nigerian Dwarfs and 2 meat goats. I have only been doing goats for 2 years and I have never crossed anything like that. Out of this batch of goat I will be having some baby goats soon
Very excited

 

[Amelia]

Definitely a goat. You can check the shape of the tail for a more definitive look. Goats have a kind of deep pocket under the tail and heavy attachments on the sides and often are able to hold their tails totally perpendicular from their spines for great lengths of time. Sheep cannot. I don't feel like the wattles would have come through on a mix either. As has been discussed, most crosses that do occur (rare in the first place) are aborted in utero due to chromosomal abnormalities.

Actually, her tail, which again my Mom has been raising purebred animals for 30 years so she is very aware of how to identify the correct features; Lammie's goat tail can't curl up or raise like her mother's or brother's or goat sire, but works like the sheep sire... She carries is and uses it only in the direction sheep can. It only lifts halfway and shakes only side to side in a downward position, like a castrated tail. We haven't had luck finding testing that is affordable for her that would answer any questions yet (cause yeah, I am not going to dump a bunch into meat but I am certain that she is more than just a goat and science is neat but expensive) every goat feature she has is corrupted by sheep kinesiology. She's not "definitely a goat" or I would not be here.