goats and sheep question answered. thanks!!

[Goattalker]

It is not the getting along that worries me, although it isn't really fair to ask a Pygmy to fight for food, or territory with a full grown ewe. The Pygmy won't stand a chance. It is the food issue that worries me. If you provide the minerals a goat needs, you are putting your sheep at risk. Can it be done, absolutely, especially if you have LOTS of room for the little goats to get away from the bigger animals.

Don-what kind of minerals are you providing for your goats? What kind of grain? Are your goats breeding animals?

 

[Felicia]

Quote:
Did they feed them the same food? I feed my sheep and goats separately, so that they get their nutritional needs. They have been very good, and growing healthy and strong. I really think it depends on if you're willing to do a little bit of extra work to make sure you don't feed them the same thing and get the right kind food for the sheep, and the right kind of food for the goats.

Oh, and my pygmy doe does just fine with getting the food with my huge Romney ewe in there with her.

 

[Goattalker]

One these gals fed their sheep and goats separately, one found the sheep were getting through a fence and eating the goat minerals. There is a treatment for copper overload (gypsom), check with your vet if you suspect the problem.

 

[Zgoatlady]

Hi,
Please dont do it, I have dairy goats and have talked to a lot of sheep people, most of them around here dont care if the sheep have CL.
Well the goat people do, it can wipe everything out.
The people who had sheep told me no big deal (a vet included) because the sheep are for meat.
sorrry

 

[zatsdeb]

Quote:
My goats are bigger than my sheep. they are boer and saanan, and the feed is locked up in the barn out of everyone's reach!!! I do not own any pygmy goats.
they are also dehorned and some poled, so no horns, except my pure blooded boer, and she has nice horns close to her head and turned back nicely.
my billy goat has his own fort knox pen, he is really strong and stinky and only comes out to do his job.

The sheep will mostly be in the front because it is mostly grass, the goats are in the back cause the field is alfalfa, and weeds, and grass.. plus we have 4 pastures fenced in , and 1 very large pasture fenced in. 5 total.
we have 7 goats, all kidding this spring. already had 2 sets of twins, the back pasture is for all the goats.
I have 4 barns, 1 in each pasture. all with doors, and stalls. my DH likes building them.
I really am not worried about them running together 24-7. I just wanted to know if anyone ran them together, if they got along.
I thank you for your help sheep people!!!

 

[Goattalker]

Yep, a lot of sheep have ORF, which is sheep CL.

 

[Goattalker]

Goats can NOT have alfalfa unless it is dried, you can bloat and kill them in a heart beat.

 

[bheila]

The problem I see with running your sheep and goats together is how do you make sure they all get the right supplements they need? How can you possible make sure your goats get the minerals they need when the copper is so toxic to the sheep. I know that you can feed them their grain/feed separately but what about the minerals? It seems like it would be a pain in the butt. Trust me I would love to have a couple of sheep but this is the reason I haven't gotten any.

 

[zatsdeb]

my goats have been grazing that field and the other 4, for 4 years now, they are very healthy. the alfalfa is sparse, the grass and weeds are mixed in very nicely.

our next door neighbor has the same pasture and has his goats grazing it for over 4 years with no problems.

as I said, I have 5 separate pastures, the goats and sheep will be running together at times, not all the time.

all I wanted to know is if they would get along.

we take good care of our animals, they are on a good worming schedule, and vaccinations, my DH used to raise his sheep and goats together 50 years ago and didn't have any problems.

 

[username taken]

I have my goats, and I've also got a heap of sheep of all sorts, merinos, poll dorsets, white suffolk and crossbreds. And now damaras. I was keeping them separate from the goats but it has started to be slightly difficult and I am wanting to kick them all out to pasture for the winter, all boys together, all girls together.

So what I did was make up a free standing frame (you can wire it to the fence if you want it more stable), it holds my mineral blocks which the goats need but the sheep arent allowed to have. It can also hold a bowl if you prefer loose minerals. Basically the way it works there is a small platform, the goat either has to climb/jump up there (for the little ones) or the big ones just stand with their feet up there, and they can reach the minerals.

The sheep dont jump up there, although now I have added the damaras to the mix and they are browsers, things could be slightly more interesting lol The rest of the mineral blocks just lie on the ground, since they are formulated for both sheep and goats. Its just the high copper one that goes in the stand.

My grain/pellets is easy enough, the goats are dominant over the sheep so I put the goat feed out into a trough first, the goats chase the sheep away, then I put the sheep feed out in a trough on the other side of the paddock. Sometimes I will close a gate between them if I have slow eaters, until they are done.

We graze sheep on alfalfa (we call it lucerne) all the time - I mean the growing plant, not alfalfa hay. It is safe as long as you fill their bellies up with cereal or grass hay before putting them on the paddock.