How does raising sheep for meat compare to that of raising goats?

[lady chicken whisperer]

I hope you realize that sheep cannot just live on hay and grass alone. Sheep cannot gain enough weight just on hay, it gives the appearance of weight gain but its not. You have to feed them grain just like all the other animals in the world, specially if you want them for meat. I have been rasing black faced suffolks for years, always showed them at the fair. I would think that would be your best bet for meat?

Sheep go through a lot more feed than goats do. So if your looking for something less expensive.....id stick with the goats.

 

[greyfields]

I raise sheep and lambs completely grass fed (as well as my beef). They do gain over winter. But, I do finish them in May/June and then Sept/Oct to conicide with the flush. They don't receive any grains.

In the winter I give them a smidge of supplemental forage (alfalfa hay or pellets). But, not very much. Our grass grows pretty much year around here, so they're never short of something to nibble on.

The goats do pretty well on hay alone. But I do give them alfalfa pellets as well, since I'm not marketing them as grass fed. Goats will require more grain/concentrate than sheep ever will, unless you are somehwere which has very cold winters.

 

[cgjsmith]

sheep can have problems wit too much copper as well.Some have a higher tolerence then others. Other then that i find my babydolls are just easier to handle then my pigmies. Once you catch them and flip them they hardly move. Crystal

 

[ksacres]

It is really going to depend on what your end goals are. If you want to do a grass fed operation for strictly meat, it is going to take longer than if you feed grains to supplement. Both sheep and goats being finished for meat will benefit and gain faster on grain. More caloric feeds/grains=faster gains

 

[Varisha]

I don't have an anwser for you but wanted to give a breed of sheep for you to look at.. I'm hoping to get some in a few years.

icelandic sheep

 

[BarbK]

Something to consider with sheep is they need sheared. There are very few people who shear and it takes awhile to learn. However there are a few breeds that are called hair sheep that do not need to be sheared. Their fiber falls off. You might want to look into them. One breed is the Katahdin(sp?).

 

[ksacres]

Katahdins and Dorpers are the most common hair sheep. Check out http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/ though I don't agree with all the information they have, some is a bit outdated, like what you would find in livestock raising boods written 30 yrs ago.

 

[tberggren]

Quote:
Yes this is the breeds I was thinking of trying to go with. (have to locate some first)

About their diet not being mainly grass/hay, I was under the assumption that a large part of the problem with commercial meats is the fact that they have such a high grain diet to get them fatten up in a short period of time. Which is why I was leaning toward a mostly grass/hay diet.

How much land does it take to feed one sheep. I remember years ago it was said that it takes two acres for a horse, so there should be some sort of same thing for sheep I would assume.

If a lamb is born in the Spring and raised on pasture, when would it be ready to slaughter?

We do have winters here, so if they have to go through the winter, then they would have to have supplemental feed, any idea's what that would be?

I hope this isn't to many questions at once. ;o)

 

[ksacres]

How much land you need depends entirely on where you are located. Here in Wyoming, I would be hard pressed to finish anything with just the grass on my property, and I have 40 acres. You can contact your local extension office or co-op and find out what the recommendations are for your area.

What do you mean by problems with commercial meat? Specific issues that you may have would be addressed in different ways.

"Grass fed" is a niche market, like "organic" is a niche market. It's not necessarily better, but some people prefer it.

Personally, I feel that corn fed animals have a better flavor. Are you planning to eat the meat, or just sell to others? I don't like the way sheep tastes, so I would never plan to raise them to eat myself. Goat, I find, is slightly better (to my palate) than sheep, but I'm still not a fan.

 

[greyfields]

Grass fed is certainly better! Once you've had it, you will find grain finished meats insipid.

I recall the first time in England I kept asking my wife why the beef tasted like Elk. I came to learn later than a very large percentage of beef in England is still grass fed and it actually tastes of what beef is meant to taste like. I really can't go back!

And the same is true for lamb. :0