Do you find that parasites are harder to deal with in goats than in sheep? I’ve had goats for a few years and this year i bought 10 new boer/boer cross this year and ive had nothing but issues with parasites, they are on a few acres of pasture with no shrubs so they are forced to graze (i feed round bales and grain in the winter)
Sheep or Goats?
I've been planning my escape from urban America for almost two years. I've said goodby to my old career and recently finished truck driving school. I know it's too late in my life to learn all I need to raise cattle and horses ... so I'm sticking with chickens and turkeys. ( :baby04: :shrug: :baby04: )
QUESTIONS:
1.) How do you decide on raising goats or sheep? (I'm thinking I'll have something like 5-to-10 at the most.)
2.) Does sheep's milk make better cheese and butter?
3.) Goats seem so tricky that they're a lot harder to keep fenced. True?
4.) That brings up the question ... which is more labor intensive?
I've read that goat droppings and their old bedding are very good for the organic composting garden. Sheep droppings too?
5.) And last, which cost more to raise?
I'd go for meat/hair breeds of either sheep or goats. My dream "Hobby Farm will be between 12 and 40 acres. Can you offer a few suggestions for a tenderfoot just getting started?
QUESTIONS:
1.) How do you decide on raising goats or sheep? (I'm thinking I'll have something like 5-to-10 at the most.)
2.) Does sheep's milk make better cheese and butter?
3.) Goats seem so tricky that they're a lot harder to keep fenced. True?
4.) That brings up the question ... which is more labor intensive?
I've read that goat droppings and their old bedding are very good for the organic composting garden. Sheep droppings too?
5.) And last, which cost more to raise?
I'd go for meat/hair breeds of either sheep or goats. My dream "Hobby Farm will be between 12 and 40 acres. Can you offer a few suggestions for a tenderfoot just getting started?
41 - 58 of 58 Posts
Healthy Boers are generally parasite resistant.Do you find that parasites are harder to deal with in goats than in sheep? I’ve had goats for a few years and this year i bought 10 new boer/boer cross this year and ive had nothing but issues with parasites, they are on a few acres of pasture with no shrubs so they are forced to graze (i feed round bales and grain in the winter)
I think your issue is with appropriate feed.
Unless you rotate your pastures, you're essentially dry-lotting your goats, and they're not getting what they need to thrive.
Goats are not grazing animals: they browse. Weeds, trees, tall plants, these are the things goats love. We feed high quality hay over the Winter months (I'm talking alfalfa/clover hay).
Your original goats probably did well for a while because there wasn't much pressure on your few acres. Once you brought in the Boers, the worm load increased as the available feed decreased.
You need to evaluate the feed situation and bring it into line with the reality of your farm.
Good luck!
I disagree. Boers here have terrible issues with parasites, and hoof problems. They also get pneumonia quite easily here, due to our wet, crappy weather. Part of that comes from the fact that Boer goats are originally from Africa, where it is dry.
If dry lotted, as Pony mentioned, or rotated, they seem to do ok for the 4-H kids.
If you want truly parasite resistant, with few or no hoof issues, you should look into Kiko goats. They are from New Zealand, where the weather is much wetter. They do quite well here, but don't have the "meaty" look of the Boers.
There is a gal here that runs her Kikos with little or no intervention to the herd. They are allowed to run on her acreage,
breed at will, no worming and little supplemental feed unless absolutely necessary. Of course, she has a couple hundred acres. They kid in the field year round. I don't know what her mortality rate is, but every year she auctions off any extras she has. Gets high dollar for them as well.
When I briefly considered raising meat goats, I did a lot of research. My findings were that Kikos would work better here for someone who wanted less labor intensive meat goats.
If dry lotted, as Pony mentioned, or rotated, they seem to do ok for the 4-H kids.
If you want truly parasite resistant, with few or no hoof issues, you should look into Kiko goats. They are from New Zealand, where the weather is much wetter. They do quite well here, but don't have the "meaty" look of the Boers.
There is a gal here that runs her Kikos with little or no intervention to the herd. They are allowed to run on her acreage,
breed at will, no worming and little supplemental feed unless absolutely necessary. Of course, she has a couple hundred acres. They kid in the field year round. I don't know what her mortality rate is, but every year she auctions off any extras she has. Gets high dollar for them as well.
When I briefly considered raising meat goats, I did a lot of research. My findings were that Kikos would work better here for someone who wanted less labor intensive meat goats.
Thank you for the speedy reply, last summer as soon as the were running low on grass i would open up a new pasture, typically half acre-acre. Some of the goats i bought were kept inside full time at least over winter where as i have around 3-4acres they are on now. I know i need to switch hay as im just feeding grass hay with a bit of timothy mixed in but its been stored outside all year, its not mouldy just not great, im gonna switch to a alfalfa mix but i need to build a new building to store small squares in.Healthy Boers are generally parasite resistant.
I think your issue is with appropriate feed.
Unless you rotate your pastures, you're essentially dry-lotting your goats, and they're not getting what they need to thrive.
Goats are not grazing animals: they browse. Weeds, trees, tall plants, these are the things goats love. We feed high quality hay over the Winter months (I'm talking alfalfa/clover hay).
Your original goats probably did well for a while because there wasn't much pressure on your few acres. Once you brought in the Boers, the worm load increased as the available feed decreased.
You need to evaluate the feed situation and bring it into line with the reality of your farm.
Good luck!
my original goats havnt lost any weight thankfully, maybe a couple pounds over the winter but i feel like they are around
There little to no foraging to be done at my place, its either grass, rock or mature trees. I have 3-4 more acres to fence off this year as they eat what they have open down but thats why i was wondering if sheep might be better for me. If goats need foraging and i have none im probably better of getting an animal better for grazing.
Thanks for the reply!I disagree. Boers here have terrible issues with parasites, and hoof problems. They also get pneumonia quite easily here, due to our wet, crappy weather. Part of that comes from the fact that Boer goats are originally from Africa, where it is dry.
If dry lotted, as Pony mentioned, or rotated, they seem to do ok for the 4-H kids.
If you want truly parasite resistant, with few or no hoof issues, you should look into Kiko goats. They are from New Zealand, where the weather is much wetter. They do quite well here, but don't have the "meaty" look of the Boers.
There is a gal here that runs her Kikos with little or no intervention to the herd. They are allowed to run on her acreage,
breed at will, no worming and little supplemental feed unless absolutely necessary. Of course, she has a couple hundred acres. They kid in the field year round. I don't know what her mortality rate is, but every year she auctions off any extras she has. Gets high dollar for them as well.
When I briefly considered raising meat goats, I did a lot of research. My findings were that Kikos would work better here for someone who wanted less labor intensive meat goats.
i just quickly looked online and theres little to no kikos availablein my province (im Canadian) most of the goats in my area are boers or nubian, i only have 11 acres and ive already fenced off 3-4 acres with another 3-4 that would be good for grazing, most of my property has a lot of granite rocks sticking out and most of my property i cant even drive fence posts into. It is quite wet at my place in the spring.
Hair sheep are certainly sturdy animals. I prefer katahdins, as they have solid personalities. A little boring, to be honest. But they have parasite resistance, less wool in their hair, and good tasting meat.
They graze more than browse, but they will browse. They also get along swimmingly with my Nubian goats.
They graze more than browse, but they will browse. They also get along swimmingly with my Nubian goats.
The only experience I have with sheep is my single Blackbelly hair sheep. She was another "I thought I want to raise sheep" deal. Got her as a bottle baby, she just had a birthday this month. She is 10 years old!
Spoiled rotten pet sheep. But, I have only wormed her once in her entire life and her feet are hard as rocks. I have to sharpen my hoof clippers after each foot when I trim her feet.
I have heard they are tasty, but have no clue. Not eating an animal that lived in my house, wore diapers and onesies and slept on my lap.
Spoiled rotten pet sheep. But, I have only wormed her once in her entire life and her feet are hard as rocks. I have to sharpen my hoof clippers after each foot when I trim her feet.
I have heard they are tasty, but have no clue. Not eating an animal that lived in my house, wore diapers and onesies and slept on my lap.
Ok thanks for the info, ive been looking into them but ill have to see how they do at the sales barn. They seem to be popular enough around here.Hair sheep are certainly sturdy animals. I prefer katahdins, as they have solid personalities. A little boring, to be honest. But they have parasite resistance, less wool in their hair, and good tasting meat.
They graze more than browse, but they will browse. They also get along swimmingly with my Nubian goats.
Thats good to know thank you. My parents had sheep when i was a kid (over 20 years ago) i feel like they didnt have the parasite issues ive had. I believe they had over 50 sheep on one or two acres. The 4 goats ive had for years i only deworm when i need to, and i went like 2 years without having to. This year ive had to deworm at least 3 times, using 2 types of dewormers each time. I had one goat with bottle jaw and just recently lost one that i couldnt get weight back on. I think ive finally got it under control and everyones gained a pound or two the last week. Im lucky having all the granite rock around i typically only have to trim hooves once or twice a yearThe only experience I have with sheep is my single Blackbelly hair sheep. She was another "I thought I want to raise sheep" deal. Got her as a bottle baby, she just had a birthday this month. She is 10 years old!
Spoiled rotten pet sheep. But, I have only wormed her once in her entire life and her feet are hard as rocks. I have to sharpen my hoof clippers after each foot when I trim her feet.
I have heard they are tasty, but have no clue. Not eating an animal that lived in my house, wore diapers and onesies and slept on my lap.
yes, I have had many issues with parasites with the goats, but more so with coccida. For years. I have lost many, many head of animals due to parasites.Do you find that parasites are harder to deal with in goats than in sheep? I’ve had goats for a few years and this year i bought 10 new boer/boer cross this year and ive had nothing but issues with parasites, they are on a few acres of pasture with no shrubs so they are forced to graze (i feed round bales and grain in the winter)
I will refrain on commenting to worms in the sheep as since I have had them only a few years and they are on practically unlimited pasture and woods with plenty of browse. I will say though, the sheep are hands down some of the healthiest looking animals I have seen. They just look so unstressed and filled out. Even when they were nursing lambs. And I didn't give them a single pellet of grain last year while they were raising lambs. It was all on pasture. Both the sheep AND goats can be found 99% of the time in the middle of the pasture. Now, the goats might be eating weeds and small saplings that will forever try and take over the pastures, but I have watched them eating the grass for the majority of the time I have spent with them.
one would assume that winter is the hardest time of year, but for me, it's 100% spring. The rain, the mud, the warming day temps with cooler night temps. All lead to the biggest worm and coccida bloom for the year. At least in the winter (a colder one anyway) worms DIE. It's why kidding in December/January is safer if you can get them in some shelter for the first day or 3. Or luck out on some beautiful weather. It gives the kids a chance to be old enough to survive the worms/coccida and the does the stress of not having such young kids nursing (or weaned) by that time. win/win.
Or wait till june/july to kid during the (for here) summer drought that we have been getting the last few years it seems like. Goats and sheep have their best years during drought years. lol. The only upside to no rain I guess.
This winters been a warm one for us, we hardly got any really really cold days, we had 2 days that were -40 and the rest of the winter was 14f. Almost all of our snow was gone by last week and we only have an inch rn. Most of my barnyard is lowland, but i have everyone up on high ground right now so they are nice and dry, ill lock them in a pasture that they havnt been on since august once the water drains away and let the chickens help clean up the worms where theyve been all winter. Im planning to breed in march/april and ill hopefully have the kids at 80lbs for easter 2024. Im really leaning towards getting sheep once i get my goats back up to snuff, i was just hoping that if there was a real reason for me not to get them someone would say “hey they explode randomly” or something like that.yes, I have had many issues with parasites with the goats, but more so with coccida. For years. I have lost many, many head of animals due to parasites.
I will refrain on commenting to worms in the sheep as since I have had them only a few years and they are on practically unlimited pasture and woods with plenty of browse. I will say though, the sheep are hands down some of the healthiest looking animals I have seen. They just look so unstressed and filled out. Even when they were nursing lambs. And I didn't give them a single pellet of grain last year while they were raising lambs. It was all on pasture. Both the sheep AND goats can be found 99% of the time in the middle of the pasture. Now, the goats might be eating weeds and small saplings that will forever try and take over the pastures, but I have watched them eating the grass for the majority of the time I have spent with them.
one would assume that winter is the hardest time of year, but for me, it's 100% spring. The rain, the mud, the warming day temps with cooler night temps. All lead to the biggest worm and coccida bloom for the year. At least in the winter (a colder one anyway) worms DIE. It's why kidding in December/January is safer if you can get them in some shelter for the first day or 3. Or luck out on some beautiful weather. It gives the kids a chance to be old enough to survive the worms/coccida and the does the stress of not having such young kids nursing (or weaned) by that time. win/win.
Or wait till june/july to kid during the (for here) summer drought that we have been getting the last few years it seems like. Goats and sheep have their best years during drought years. lol. The only upside to no rain I guess.
you should be good to go then. Good luck!This winters been a warm one for us, we hardly got any really really cold days, we had 2 days that were -40 and the rest of the winter was 14f. Almost all of our snow was gone by last week and we only have an inch rn. Most of my barnyard is lowland, but i have everyone up on high ground right now so they are nice and dry, ill lock them in a pasture that they havnt been on since august once the water drains away and let the chickens help clean up the worms where theyve been all winter. Im planning to breed in march/april and ill hopefully have the kids at 80lbs for easter 2024. Im really leaning towards getting sheep once i get my goats back up to snuff, i was just hoping that if there was a real reason for me not to get them someone would say “hey they explode randomly” or something like that.
Homesteady types tend to avoid wool sheep like the plague. Then turn right around and buy weed barrier and landscape fabric for their gardens. Wool is the best mulch you will ever use.
Shearing sheep is a royal pain in the patootie. I prefer hair sheep.Homesteady types tend to avoid wool sheep like the plague. Then turn right around and buy weed barrier and landscape fabric for their gardens. Wool is the best mulch you will ever use.
For garden mulch, I'm certainly not going to buy expensive petroleum based weed barriers and Landscape fabric. Plenty of organic material here on the farm, including spent straw, manure, hay, and other organic materials.
A new person jumping in on this thread here, but I'm wondering what province you live in? Depending on how far you're willing to travel, Kiko's and Kiko/Boer crosses are readily available here in central Alberta.Thanks for the reply!
i just quickly looked online and theres little to no kikos availablein my province (im Canadian) most of the goats in my area are boers or nubian, i only have 11 acres and ive already fenced off 3-4 acres with another 3-4 that would be good for grazing, most of my property has a lot of granite rocks sticking out and most of my property i cant even drive fence posts into. It is quite wet at my place in the spring.
try dexters much easier than sheep for the new farmer then move onto kathadins!I've been planning my escape from urban America for almost two years. I've said goodby to my old career and recently finished truck driving school. I know it's too late in my life to learn all I need to raise cattle and horses ... so I'm sticking with chickens and turkeys. ( :baby04: 🤷 :baby04: )
QUESTIONS:
1.) How do you decide on raising goats or sheep? (I'm thinking I'll have something like 5-to-10 at the most.)
2.) Does sheep's milk make better cheese and butter?
3.) Goats seem so tricky that they're a lot harder to keep fenced. True?
4.) That brings up the question ... which is more labor intensive?
I've read that goat droppings and their old bedding are very good for the organic composting garden. Sheep droppings too?
5.) And last, which cost more to raise?
I'd go for meat/hair breeds of either sheep or goats. My dream "Hobby Farm will be between 12 and 40 acres. Can you offer a few suggestions for a tenderfoot just getting started?
What about the difference between the ways they eat your pasture?
Goats are browsers: I had some pygmy pet goats when my daughter was young.
They did eat back the brush, but they were escape artists.
And their hooves seemed to tear up the grassland bad.
I never had sheep, but don't they eat low to the ground?
But not tear out the roots like horses?
I thought I read/heard this somewhere...
Thanks.
~KK
Goats are browsers: I had some pygmy pet goats when my daughter was young.
They did eat back the brush, but they were escape artists.
And their hooves seemed to tear up the grassland bad.
I never had sheep, but don't they eat low to the ground?
But not tear out the roots like horses?
I thought I read/heard this somewhere...
Thanks.
~KK
Yes, goats are browsers. But they're not snobs. They will gladly destroy your favorite fruit trees by girdling the bark. Fencing in trees protects them.What about the difference between the ways they eat your pasture?
Goats are browsers: I had some pygmy pet goats when my daughter was young.
They did eat back the brush, but they were escape artists.
And their hooves seemed to tear up the grassland bad.
I never had sheep, but don't they eat low to the ground?
But not tear out the roots like horses?
I thought I read/heard this somewhere...
Thanks.
~KK
Hair sheep both graze and browse. They don't eat too close to the ground, and certainly nowhere near as close as horses. SMH.... horses will destroy a pasture, and it takes years to get that grass re-established. Don't ask how, but I know.
I have had pygmies and Nigies. Both are escape artists! But my full-size adult Nubians have a geometry that precludes fence jumping - with the exception of one particularly amorous buck, who cleared the fence. That's when we got hot wire.
41 - 58 of 58 Posts
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