Goats vs Sheep

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Goats vs Sheep
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hedgewitch

Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Posts: 5834
Location: Daft wench GHQ

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 10:11 am Post subject:

Mary-Jane wrote:

hedgewitch wrote:

Ooooh - pretty sheep! They look interesting

What - in a well educated, widely travelled and a lot to say for themselves sort of way? Or just that they're not white, woolly and dim looking...?

Actually, they looked like they could tell a good story or two....

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 10:14 am Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Right, so it's a bit like sex tourism then? They go away, get themselves up the duff and return home?

We brought the gentleman caller here, rather than sending the girls away.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 10:16 am Post subject:
Interesting, so how many beasties on 3 acres, I don't want to buy any feed in at all (unless I have to)

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 10:19 am Post subject:

I emilaed Highland Droovers last night (they sell Hebrideans, meat and livestock) this is what they said:

"Hebrideans are very easy to keep and good fun. The only real problems are if the ground is good, a few feet issues and if flies are plentiful, flystrike in the summer. But this is the same as all breeds and if anything hebrideans are less prone to foot problems and flies.
Without seeing your field I would be unable to comment on there suitability and optimum numbers. Having too much rich grass might be as big a problem as too little. I imagine you would have lots of very good grass in Essex. Our abattoir does not do halal, but I can only recommend the flavour of hebrideans, it is the best lamb I have ever tasted."

www.highlanddrovers.co.uk

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 10:23 am Post subject:

judith wrote:

We brought the gentleman caller here, rather than sending the girls away.

We were given a ram (called Rambo) by our neighbours as a house/paddock warming present. He spend 10 months of the year in Brokeback Paddock with his 'special friend' Sammy-One-Bollock, then for a few weeka (i.e. now) we bung him in the girlies. We go for later lambing than the commercial sheep farmers around here - March/April which suits us just fine. Everyone else tends to go for January/February here though.

We currently have 35 sheep in total on 5 acres - but we wouldn't/couldn't increase that any more really. Some will then be going for slaughter as the new lambs are born.

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 10:24 am Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Interesting, so how many beasties on 3 acres, I don't want to buy any feed in at all (unless I have to)

I think it's something like 9 per acre for sheep, although that might be with wintering. In which case 15 should be OK. Plus, if you eat them all when the food runs out...

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 10:26 am Post subject:

Mary-Jane wrote:

We currently have 35 sheep in total on 5 acres - but we wouldn't/couldn't increase that any more really. Some will then be going for slaughter as the new lambs are born.

D?on't you have to give the land a "sheep free" period to avoid disease build up etc?

Stacey

Joined: 18 Jul 2005
Posts: 8380
Location: Kernow

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 10:37 am Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Stacey wrote:

Depends what you want them for

Meat

In that case don't bother with goats - they're a pain in the @arse

Sheep are much less hassle. Not that I don't love my goat - I do but they require much more input than the sheep IMVHO. Though we do have 2 very pretty castrated billy's looking for a new home - they're British Guernseys though so no good for meat.

We have a ram and he just runs with the girls and they lamb when they feel like it. We don't keep any of the lambs so inbreeding sin't a problem.

moonwind

Joined: 10 Sep 2006
Posts: 1140

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 12:20 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Interesting, so how many beasties on 3 acres, I don't want to buy any feed in at all (unless I have to)

Land Management and Overgrazing

At certain times of year the grass does not have the nutrients in that animals need to maintain good health.

Mineral buckets should always be available.

To say you do not wish to buy feed in for such times is a bit like saying that YOU and your family CAN live by eating dry bread and water, living or surviving is something we choose but animals are reliant on us to make their choices.

I am not into halal products personally, but how your animals are killed would be up to you.

The only way you'll live and learn is to have a go for yourself.

Andy B

Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 3920
Location: Brum

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 12:29 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Jonnyboy wrote:

We're thinking about a goat. But being on hand to milk it daily is something we need to think very carefully about.

We don't want to milk anything

My relies have got Jacobs they dont milk them, they just keep the grass and stuff down.

moonwind

Joined: 10 Sep 2006
Posts: 1140

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 12:33 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Interesting, so how many beasties on 3 acres, I don't want to buy any feed in at all (unless I have to)

grazing livestock ratio's

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 12:39 pm Post subject:

moonwind wrote:

To say you do not wish to buy feed in for such times is a bit like saying that YOU and your family CAN live by eating dry bread and water, living or surviving is something we choose but animals are reliant on us to make their choices.

Hmm, as a complete novice I've posted asking a series of questions about sheep and how to raise them I think I admitted quite early on that I know bugger all about keeping them (or any other livestock). I had NO idea on whether sheep actually need other feed inputs if they have sufficient grazing, I think it's rather a large jump from my questions to talking about a dry bread and water diet.

One of the main reasons that we've never kept any animals is that I'm very wary of taking on the responsibility for another animals life and welfare so believe me I'm not intending to allow the animals to merely "survive", I'd hope I can allow them to thrive and if for any reason I can't I will most definitely cease to keep livestock.

NeathChris

Joined: 09 Feb 2006
Posts: 1387
Location: Neath, South Wales

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 12:58 pm Post subject:

Southdown sheep! Very easy to do docile, dont need much feeding and stock well on small acreage, ours are very fat off hill grass, even leave the gate open sometimes and they dont wander. Sperb fleshy meat with a lovely juicy succuelent sweet taste, and they look great. Ideal smallholder sheep. They are one of the oldest breeds and helped create many other breeds, including the suffolk.

Heres my brother with his ram,

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 1:12 pm Post subject:
They sound good too, thanks Chris

katie

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 713
Location: midlands

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 2:58 pm Post subject:
Ooh yes, Southdown's are lovely. Like teddybears!

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