Sheep vs goat..

[secuono]

In the future I want to get sheep or maybe goats, I cannot decide. Both break/jump/squeeze through fencing, ugh! Mini goats are adorable, but I also love the Ole English Southdown Babydoll sheep.

W/sheep I'd breed to sell, sell wool when possible and meat from any extras that just won't sell or too many rams. Not sure, you can drink their milk, no? We aren't much of milk drinkers, I've heard wonderful things about raw milk, so who knows.

Goats seem to sell all the time for $150 female, $100 males all the time. But I really wouldn't use them for much else. They could be just pets and eat the brush I don't get to and such.

I'm not sure where I would keep the breeding ram, we do have a fenced easement that I could add a shelter to and he could live there. Again why I'm waiting, not sure if the easement is ours, the evil neighbors or is no longer an easement but one of ours actual property.

They will live along side the horses, seems like either will be fine if they leave the horses alone. Which would be closer to the horse's diet? I think sheep cannot have minerals w/copper b/c of overdose or something, was that true for horses too?

The fence we have is 4ft field fencing. I would rather not add or redo the fencing. Already started adding boards along the fence line that divides the backyard and the field. The pony loves to see if he can squeeze his fat butt through this or that, lol. Also not interested in getting a guarding dog, he would be an issue with my dogs and other animals that may get into the field. The Dober likes to patrol the field when I let him out to the backyard. He keeps hawks and other birds he doesn't know from landing. Nearly 5 acres, big barn, lots of trees and shade, mountain and flat valley. Biggest thing that is out there is red and/or gray fox. Horse farms all around, cows in the back, yam farm in the back and the back/left neighbors have mounted fox hunting from time to time. Yep, mounted on real horses with real guns and real 20-30 hound dogs! My mare is always scared furless over them, lol.
Would goats/sheep more readily graze on the hilly and more steep areas? Horses just trot up or down to the flatter areas and make paths.

Right, so my biggest issues are them jumping/escaping and predation. But I'm not sure if foxes go for goats/sheep, maybe their young, though.

Help, insight, ideas?

 

[20kidsonhill]

as far as I know, there is absolutly now value in wool these days. Not saying you should have sheep, just saying I wouldn't expect a market for the wool.

I see fox all the time in our pastures, hasn't been a problem for us.

Goats will go to the highest point to graze. We are having to fence off the highest point of our property to force them to graze the lower points, otherwise they will overgraze one area. So the answer to you question is yes, they will graze the steep areas, not exactly sure about the lambs. Probably more so than a horse.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

The American wool market is increasing! I just read an article today about how there is a higher demand now for American wool and lamb, and there is a desire for everyone to increase their flock numbers! That being said, if you have to pay someone to shear you can kiss your wool profits out the window if you only have a small flock.

As far as escaping goes, sheep are MUCH easier to fence than goats. Field fence is a pretty good fence, and you'll have an even easier time keeping any animal in if you can add a hot wire to it, but you don't have to for sheep. They may stand on the fence though (with their front 2 feet) and cause it to sag. A hot wire would prevent this.

You are right that sheep should not have added copper in their diet, in any form (minerals or grain). Goats would be a better choice if they'll have access to the horses' feed. If they're separate, sheep would be fine.

Sheep are great for grazing hilly areas. If you keep a small flock, you may be able to "rent" a ram for breeding each year. It's really not very nice to keep a single sheep, so if you kept a ram you really should keep either 2 rams or a ram and a wether (castrated male) so they have company. Or, you could always buy a ram lamb each fall and them sell him or put him in the freezer after his services have been provided.

If you want sheep but don't want to deal with shearing, look into hair sheep breeds like Katahdins, Dorpers, etc. They're hardy sheep and don't require yearly shearing.

Good luck to you!

 

[secuono]

I choose the babydoll for several reasons, their size, dual purpose and their personality. I'm learning how to trim my own horse's hooves, so learning how to shear, even w/some bad hair days, is fine with me.
I've only found 2 farms with this breed, I'm not sure if either would have a ram to borrow. How would you introduce him to the ewes, for how long? Wouldn't catching a strange ram be hard?
The wool is just an extra, but I'm sure some people will buy it. I'm also hoping to make pelts from my rabbits, even though they will only fetch a small price. I'm thinking of making blankets out of them like I saw one lady do.
At what height would they bend the fence, I'm guessing they are trying to get the plants on the other side or above the fence? If I trim them back, will they not bother the fence? I could put up a wood board where they lean on to help the fence last longer.
The only food the horses get is the grass they graze on and then hay in the dead months. Aren't there feeds for horses w/no copper and such? I gave my horses rolled oats, when I could find/get them, when there was a bit of drought. Sheep can have that, no?
I want to avoid hot wire, my pony is bound to get caught and really F himself over w/it. He's a total nut when it comes to borders...lol.

 

[elevan]

I believe that your sheep's milk question has not been answered yet.

You can milk sheep. You can drink it - but I believe that most make cheese from the milk.

 

[Beekissed]

Sheep will flock better, which makes them more unlikely to "squeeze through or jump over fencing". A good loose mineral for all livestock that can work for sheep as well is kelp meal and coarse salt free choice.

 

[kstaven]

I believe that your sheep's milk question has not been answered yet.

You can milk sheep. You can drink it - but I believe that most make cheese from the milk.

Most sheep breeds are very low volume milk producers so you would need to milk many to get a small round of cheese. Not worth it in most cases.

I want to avoid hot wire, my pony is bound to get caught and really F himself over w/it. He's a total nut when it comes to borders...lol.

If this is the case I would worry about your pony running sheep or goats to death.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

kstaven brings up a good point about the pony. Some ponies or other equines (like donkeys or even horses) will think it's great fun to chase (and/or bite) your sheep (or goats, or cattle), and it can be very dangerous. Not only is it not fair to the sheep to be chased, they can panic and run into fences or other objects in their panic and really hurt themselves.

The sheep will most likely stand on the fence if they're waiting for food, kind of like a "Hurry up!!" thing. They may not hurt it, but just bend it a little. You can always see how they do and then go from there if you need to make changes.

Feeding a whole grain (by that, I mean an actual grain and not a feed blend) would be fine for the sheep. Babydoll southdowns and standard southdowns are pretty easy keepers, so they probably won't need much in addition to the pasture or hay unless they're raising lambs.

And yes, you can milk sheep but it won't be worth it if you're milking the babydoll southdowns because they're going to be difficult to milk and won't produce much. If you think you want to go with dairy animals you may want to consider a different breed or just go with goats, which are (in general) MUCH easier to milk and produce more than a sheep....unless you're specifically wanting sheep milk.

Introducing the ram wouldn't be hard. Usually rams are MORE than willing to go meet new ewes. You'd want to keep him in with the ewes for at least 2, preferrably 3 heat cycles (a heat cycle is 17 days) in case they don't get bred on the first try. Catching him should be no harder than catching your ewes. It would be good to have some sort of small pen inside the pasture (perhaps a feeding area?) so you can close them in when you need to work with them.

 

[secuono]

I believe that your sheep's milk question has not been answered yet.

You can milk sheep. You can drink it - but I believe that most make cheese from the milk.

Most sheep breeds are very low volume milk producers so you would need to milk many to get a small round of cheese. Not worth it in most cases.

I want to avoid hot wire, my pony is bound to get caught and really F himself over w/it. He's a total nut when it comes to borders...lol.

If this is the case I would worry about your pony running sheep or goats to death.

He doesn't go after other animals. If they give him space, he will just sniff them over, maybe nibble some wool and then go back to grazing.

We also don't drink milk often. Even half gal cartons never see their half full days.

 

[Ms. Research]

I've been back and forth regarding the sheep that I want on my Livestock Adventure. I'm now considering Baby Dolls because of the wool. I think I can handle learning to shear the few that I will have. And a small profit is just that. Profit to be put back into the Livestock Adventure. My base is self sufficient. And I strive to be that. Not anti-social, just self sufficient.

Goats will be used for milk. Sheep for meat and wool. Chickens for eggs. I think with a small project that we will be going into, will be able to justify the livestock costs.