making a profit on raising goats and sheep? (small scale)

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have quite a few wether dairy boys. They are cheap here in spring and easy to come by. I bottle raised most of them so they are friendly. They are good eater. There's plenty of breeds to choose from, I have sable saanan, alpine, toggenburg, and la mancha. Most are mellow, though some can get big.

There's also the dwarf breeds like Nigerian and pygmy. They can be skiddish if they weren't handled when young, but if they are tame they are nice feisty goats. I find them harder to keep in a fence. They are very good at figuring ways of getting out and are good jumpers.

I haven't tried any meat breeds.

 

[Zoomie]

You asked about pet breeds. Really... it depends on your goals. I have had some really lovely Angora goats. BUT you have to shear them. Are you up for that? They are a terrific breed, very mellow and laid back, sweet and gentle, all they want to do is eat and grow hair. They are not for everyone however.

I raise Nubians and all my kids are raised by hand so they all love people and would make great pets. However Nubians are big goats (usually) and that does not work for everyone. On the other hand there are Nigerian goats, another dairy breed, but tiny. Frankly I do not have a single milk bucket on the farm that would fit under one. They are just not for me.

You have to decide what it is you want out of the goat/sheep/cow. ANY of them can be a great pet. MOST of them have some drawback or other. I don't think there are any perfect animals; they all are what they are and you have to decide what fits with your operation.

 

[Minky]

Hi there, I hope I can join in the conversation. I also live in Canada, Im on 27 acres and would like to get 2-3 goats this spring. They would be given the job to clear the scrub/weeds/saplings (we have lots of mixed forest with about 5 acres cleared, and another 2 that is newly cleared and not seeded yet). So I would be looking for cute goats (I like floppy eared/ multi-coloured goats)- I dont mind if they are small or big breeds, and they can be different breeds too. I DONT want to have to milk anyone.
They need to be winter hardy (Ontario, so snow from Dec to March at least). Also, they would be kept in a barn with/near chickens..... (and maybe one pig that would be there for 3 months til sent to the butcher)

 

[PirateGirl]

I'm jumping in as well to hear from more experienced people. I've done some preliminary research into raising goats, sheep, beef cattle, and yaks. Based on what I've read in the past, it sounds like on a small scale it will be hard to turn a profit with goats and/or sheep with goats potentially being more profitable than sheep. I want to suggest to the OP to look into this one factor that weighs heavily in my personal decision making. That is to look at your local zoning and land use regulations. Zoning will often specify how many of each type of animal you can have per acre. Then look at the size of your land. How many sheep can you have on your lot vs how many cows vs how many goat etc. With that number of that type of animal, what is your potential profit for the year? You may find that the same amount of land may be significantly more or less profitable with one type of animal over another.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

okay i have been doing some research, and the land we have is pretty much bush/trees with a little bit of pasture, or in other words not the best land for horses or cows but great for goats (not sure about sheep) but now am reading and they say the meat market needs more producers for goat meat, (i live in the Canadian prairies)

but right now it would cost way to much to ever try raising goats in our horse pasture (again its like 6-8 acres) and with woven wire fences we guess it would be well over $5000 to fence and that is just the fence not all the time and labor it would take to re-fence it,

so am now thinking to make a smaller area (maybe 2 acres) to make a goat paddock or area, and try raising just a few and see how it goes (i may not even like raising goats)

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Better idea. Goat fencing is expensive.

Goats, either you love them or they drive you bananas.

Running too many goats on a pasture and you can end up with a big worm problem. Something I have learned.

 

[Kusanar]

okay i have been doing some research, and the land we have is pretty much bush/trees with a little bit of pasture, or in other words not the best land for horses or cows but great for goats (not sure about sheep) but now am reading and they say the meat market needs more producers for goat meat, (i live in the Canadian prairies)

but right now it would cost way to much to ever try raising goats in our horse pasture (again its like 6-8 acres) and with woven wire fences we guess it would be well over $5000 to fence and that is just the fence not all the time and labor it would take to re-fence it,

so am now thinking to make a smaller area (maybe 2 acres) to make a goat paddock or area, and try raising just a few and see how it goes (i may not even like raising goats)

Fencing materials must be a little more expensive there than here, we are doing my 10 acre farm in woven wire and it's only going to be around $2500 in materials.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

okay i have been doing some research, and the land we have is pretty much bush/trees with a little bit of pasture, or in other words not the best land for horses or cows but great for goats (not sure about sheep) but now am reading and they say the meat market needs more producers for goat meat, (i live in the Canadian prairies)

but right now it would cost way to much to ever try raising goats in our horse pasture (again its like 6-8 acres) and with woven wire fences we guess it would be well over $5000 to fence and that is just the fence not all the time and labor it would take to re-fence it,

so am now thinking to make a smaller area (maybe 2 acres) to make a goat paddock or area, and try raising just a few and see how it goes (i may not even like raising goats)

You say you live on the prairies. That alone could be a huge factor with what you are interested in. There can be niche markets is you happen to be close to a big city. If you have only a few animals, it won't be such a huge deal. But if you plan to increase you herd/flock...you have to have a reliable buyer to sell to. Or possibly be near an auction mart that caters to small livestock if you go the sheep/goat route. In Manitoba, goats and sheep tend to be shipped east to Ontario. Saskatchewan has the SKSA where both can be marketed. In Alberta, depending on where you live, they have a slaughter facility.

I raise Katahdin sheep, a meat breed. They shed, and don't require shearing because they shed. It's difficult to get anyone in my area to sheer a smaller amount of sheep. I was fortunate to know some other sheep people (they may have goats) who sheer their own. The fellow that bought my sheep also bought goats. I've helped load them (wow, horns...lol!))

I'd agree that trying a small amount of whatever species you decide on is a good idea. That'd be much cheaper in case you don't like them. As far as the worms, our cold helps immensely in that regard. It doesn't mean you can ignore that aspect, but we have a great advantage.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I should also note, that whichever type of livestock you decide to raise, you will be required to obtain a premise id number, and you will also be required to use the RFID tags for said livestock and they must be tagged etc prior to selling. This is a requirement by law IF you weren't already aware. (Perhaps you are)

 

[itsasmallfarm]

You say you live on the prairies. That alone could be a huge factor with what you are interested in. There can be niche markets is you happen to be close to a big city. If you have only a few animals, it won't be such a huge deal. But if you plan to increase you herd/flock...you have to have a reliable buyer to sell to. Or possibly be near an auction mart that caters to small livestock if you go the sheep/goat route. In Manitoba, goats and sheep tend to be shipped east to Ontario. Saskatchewan has the SKSA where both can be marketed. In Alberta, depending on where you live, they have a slaughter facility.

I raise Katahdin sheep, a meat breed. They shed, and don't require shearing because they shed. It's difficult to get anyone in my area to sheer a smaller amount of sheep. I was fortunate to know some other sheep people (they may have goats) who sheer their own. The fellow that bought my sheep also bought goats. I've helped load them (wow, horns...lol!))

I'd agree that trying a small amount of whatever species you decide on is a good idea. That'd be much cheaper in case you don't like them. As far as the worms, our cold helps immensely in that regard. It doesn't mean you can ignore that aspect, but we have a great advantage.

am in Saskatchewan, we have friends who raise sheep for market and say its just not possible to make profit with a small flock. not sure about goats though.