Goats and Sheep

[airotciv]

I'm getting 2 sheep next month, they will be about 3 months old. My nieghbor has a goat (2 years old) that is lonely. He is in his 70's and can't take care of anymore, so he asked me if I wanted the goat, knowing I was getting the sheep. Question is, will the goat be ok with just the sheep or am I going to have to get another goat? Don't want the goat to be unhappy. Thanks

[hoofinitnorth]

Are any of them horned?

[Minelson]

The sheep is better than nothing. Another goat would be better...The goats need different minerals than sheep no matter what the package says...(Sheep/Goat) Goats need a lot of copper...sheep need very little copper.

[Bricheze]

Sheep can also overdose on copper... my goats seem to hate sheep, maybe they would be different if it was their only pen mate

[Backfourty,MI.]

I would see how they all get along before I got another pn or another goat but goats & sheep have to have different minerals. Copper in to high of doses for sheep is like a poison to them. You can always copper bolus the goat so you know it gets enough copper.

[HomegrownAcres]

The goat and sheep should do fine together, if the copper issue is addressed; much better than the goat being alone. They are all herd animals and need companions.

The first time I read the OP, I thought, "Someone has a 70 yr old goat?"

Brian
Homegrown Acres
HomegrownAcres.com

[Minelson]

Originally Posted by HomegrownAcres

The goat and sheep should do fine together, if the copper issue is addressed; much better than the goat being alone. They are all herd animals and need companions.

The first time I read the OP, I thought, "Someone has a 70 yr old goat?"

Brian
Homegrown Acres
HomegrownAcres.com

I know! me tooo...I had to read it again more carefully. lol

[airotciv]

Originally Posted by Minelson

I know! me tooo...I had to read it again more carefully. lol

LOL Sorry about that. No, the goats not 70 years old. The copper is one of the issues we need to address. But I think that can be worked out. The neighbor has 2 other people that want the goat for the freezer. Thats why he asked me if I would take her. I have grown fond of her, since I babysit her when they our gone. So thanks for the advice, I hope it works out ok. For Lilly (goat) its better than the freezer.

[shepardsgate]

I've managed to keep goats and sheep together just fine, and the way to easily handle the different mineral requirements is to just always feed the goat (s) separately -- even if just on hay, you can easily give them a loose mineral ration or make them 'treat balls' of loose minerals, oats and a bit of molasses to bind it.

I never had a problem that way, and often kept them in separate pastures depending on the season/who was milking/etc.. Sometimes I'd simply swap their pastures every few weeks, the goats clean up the taller browse, the sheep the lower.

definitely have to be careful about horns -- more so the goat, my sheep never hurt anyone with theirs because theirs are curled and I disbudded all my goats.

[airotciv]

The goat does have horns. Her horns curl back over her head. She has never been agressive towards anyone. I hope it stays that way. But after this weekend I'm glad she had horns. Neighbor left a gate open and Lilly got out and of course she headed for the main road. Had to grab her by the horns to keep her from going out into the road. My concern is will she hurt the sheep with them. As for the minerals I really like the idea of Treat Balls, I figured I'd just feed them separately. When I had horses I feed them all separate, it was just easier. All had different amounts of grain. If I didn't the fat horses just got fatter and the thin ones stayed thin.

[Bricheze]

My goats head butt the sheep all the time (it is really quite fun to watch, because goats that are half the size of the sheep scare the crap out of them!) they don't have horns... but I don't think they would do much damage if they did? Unless if they knew how to use them.

[hoofinitnorth]

If the horns are flat on all the animals, curving back away from the head and not forward again, they probably won't be a problem for *head butting*. BUT, if the animals ram one another in the side or try to throw one another by getting underneath to the soft belly and ramming up, that is a bad thing. Horns also can cause entrapment injuries in fences, gates, troughs, trees, etc.

[Carolyn]

animals that butt other animals can cause miscarriages--not a funny thing at all! I get rid of an "assertive animal" that on a regular basis butts other animal. But I have had bad experiences with goats that butt. I have had a few miscarriages--so I got rid of the assertive ones. Then I had a wether that was in with a buck--they butted heads, etc bucky behavior until the wether broke the bucks neck. So we thought it was a freak accident--until he hit and broke a nice milkers neck also-not registered, but nice heavy milker--only bred every other year, had waiting lists for both her bucks and does. this was a breeding I had been waiting for many years. the buck (wether killed) was grandson to another very heavy every other year milker Cold Comfort and H Homestead breeding. Lost 4 beautiful does--she was about to kid. Not a good thing. Watch and be careful with the butting thing--it can be a disaster.

[airotciv]

Her horns curl over the top of her head like a helmet. So, I wasn't to worried that she would gore one of the sheep, but ramming, is what I was worried about. If she ends up being aggressive, she will end up in the freezer. But she has never been aggressive with anyone or thing, thats why she is not in the freezer. My neighbor raised goats for the purpose of eating them. Lilly was spared because she is very non aggressive, loves people. When I babysit her I have never had any problems with her. So I hope she stays the same and everything goes well.