Goats vs Sheep

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Goats vs Sheep
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tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45431
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: 45431
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: 45431
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!

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 06 6:50 pm Post subject:
Aren't goats buggers for eating things - like trees, for instance?

hardworkinghippy

Joined: 01 Jan 2005
Posts: 1110
Location: Bourrou South West France

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 06 1:19 am Post subject:

Lovely ram Chris !!

Yes - goats are bloomin' awful to fence and to keep out of trouble.

You fall in love with them and they break your heart and get you into a lot of trouble. They've got a lot more character than sheep, they are much more interesting than sheep, they don't panic like sheep. Having goats is a bit like having gifted pretentious children.

Tahir, go for sheep. You'll always have a market for them, you can ask other people to look after them for a few days (goats pine for you) and you'll be able to leave your land clear for a while when they're in the freezer.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45431
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 06 10:12 am Post subject:
Looks like sheep win hands down. Had a good long chat with Gervase last night, looks like we'll be starting with some store lambs next spring, thanks guys

NeathChris

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

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 06 10:18 am Post subject:
But go on and tell us which breed?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45431
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 06 10:26 am Post subject:
Whatever's available locally next year. The year after Hebridean and Southdown maybe?

Anna-marie

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 980
Location: West Wales

Posted: Sat Dec 16, 06 7:35 am Post subject:

Mary-Jane wrote:

No doubt Gervase will wax lyrical on this later (his fiddling with molten metal in the workshop at the present moment) but I know what his first word will be...

"SHEEEEEEEEEEP!"

However, Anna-Marie will say quite the opposite

Oh, no, I won't

I keep both goats and sheep.

It is true that goats like to escape, but I have tricked mine into thinking that they can escape at any time they like.
I have left a gap by the gate between their paddock and the next one, so that they think that they are escaping, when in fact they are just going in the direction I am allowing them to!!

Generally, sheep will lamb quite easily, whereas goats tend to have more difficult labours, and will scream a lot

Goats don't necessarily need milking. Like any animal, they can be allowed to "dry up".

Both will need supplementary feeding if the grass is too poor. I give mine a generic smallholder mix in the winter and the goats also have an organic goat feed. They also have ad-lib hay in the winter.

A mineral lick is available all year round, as is a salt-lick. Goats and sheep will only take what is needed. They seem to know exactly when they need an extra mineral intake.

Both will need a fresh supply of water.

Goats need shelter all year round, as they like to escape from the rain, including each and every light summer shower that we have

Sheep and goats need their feet trimming. It is best to do this monthly, otherwise the horn tends to grow under, making trimming more difficult.

Fly-strike is more prone in sheep, but liver-fluke can be a problem to both, especially in wet land. (As in Wales

)

Speak to your vet about vaccinations!! Also against coccidiosis.

Don't forget to worm regularly!! Worms are host-specific, so it is best for the land if it is grazed by different species. ie, horses can eat sheep worms, sheep can eat cattle worms, cattle can eat horse worms, etc, etc, without being affected. But all animals carry a worm burden, despite regular worming, and the land will become more heavily infested, with the worms being re-eaten by the sheep, thus increasing their worm burden.

I am not sure exactly why, but some farmers recommend moving sheep every fourteen days.

I am lucky in that I have managed to split my land into four paddocks, so rotate my animals through three of them. Except for the goats, who have their own paddock year-round. (Plus the one that they "escape" into

)

When kept together, goats are at greater risk of contracting coccidiosis from sheep, making vaccination even more important in a mixed herd.

Sheep do, of course, need shearing, but this is not always as difficult as it looks! As a first-time shearer (with a bad back

), I borrowed electric shears that I plugged into my generator, put a halter on my sheep and tied them up.

I left them standing on their feet while I sheared them, only turning them upside down (with assistance

) to do their bellies. The generator ran out of petrol as I was shearing my ram, so I tidied up his "skirt", and finished him off the next day. I was on my own, and he is much too heavy for me to turn, so I lay on my back to do his belly and "bits". It took me ages to do all of his creases and wrinkly bits

but he stood absolutely stock still (probably in shock

), until I had finished him. It was his first time being shorn, too

I have only small flocks of both sheep (one ram, six ewes) and goats (two rescued angoras, one Boer wether, three breeding Boer girls), and like any species (including humans

), they are much easier to handle when socialised at a young age.

Yes, Tahir, sheep are much easier to keep than goats, but they don't get up to quite so many antics!

Keeping any animal is never going to be "easy" one hundred per cent of the time, but should always be rewarding, whether in terms of companionship, entertainment or providing you with food and clothing.

Enjoy your sheep, Tahir, and don't forget, you will only get out what you are prepared to put in.

Now, if you should fancy a couple of Dexters, instead............

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