Sheep with goats - questions!

[chubbydog811]

I am looking into getting a small flock of a meat type sheep in the spring (no more than 4 ewes, and possibly a ram).
I am planning on keeping them separate from the goats because of the copper issue, but was wondering - would it hurt to keep one sheep with one of my dairy does for the winter? Is there anything special I would have to do? I already know the goat mineral would have to be out of reach/off limits to the sheep, sheep needs different grain, ect. Any reason that this would be a horrible idea?

A little background as to why I'm thinking on this - I have a Saanen doe (some of you might remember) that got tetanus about a month or so ago. She is fully recovered, but since she was separated from the other 3 milking does, I can't put any of them in the stall with her at night. They are fine on the pasture, but when they come in at night, the other does try to beat on her. I know this is normal behavior, and in any other case, I would just let them duke it out, BUT I am trying to avoid the doe that had tetanus from being too stressed out. She is currently in a stall at night by herself, but is starting to seem lonely now that she's feeling better. I was thinking that a small sheep might be a good friend for her. From my experience with sheep, they generally aren't super aggressive, and the doe I am needing a friend for has no interest in fighting with anyone. I put hay out in the pasture this morning - 4 piles so each doe could have her own pile - and poor Precious just walked away and watched them instead of fighting to get back to the piles.

Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, knowing that this may be a permanent friendship, which breed would you guys think would be a good breed? The ewe would be a pet only.

Thanks

 

[20kidsonhill]

I have never seen any of our sheep try to be mean to our goats, The goats can certainly be mean, We have sheep from May until August on the farm. We don't house them together, but we often exercise them together, or let them out in a corral together to have a bigger space for a few hours a day. They seem to do fine.

I would question isolation the first 30 days for a new lamb, Sore mouth is fairly common in sheep and if it breaks will more than likely break in a lamb from the stress of being at a new farm. then you would have it in your main barn and in your goats. Ask the seller about sore mouth.

 

[DKRabbitry]

My aunt has a BFL Ram that is meaner than snot to everyone (even the llamas!) so he is always kept seperate. But all her other sheep (ewes, lambs & 1 wether) are in with her goats and they do really well. Overall I think the goats are more of the bullies (save for that one ram), and the sheep are just sort of there unless they have lambs, then they can get a little protective.
I think that, if you want a sheep, it would work well. If you would rather just get another goat, I think you could find another more submissive goat and that would probably work too.

 

[chubbydog811]

Thanks 20kids - that is definitely important to think about if I go through with a pet sheep for Precious! I hadn't thought disease wise what precautions I should take.

DK - I know the rams can tend to be pushier, for lack of better words. That's why I'm thinking a ewe for my goat. I would rather not get her another goat if I don't have to - I have seen many goats go from the picked on to picking on just from moving farms. Precious is VERY submissive, and I can't risk her getting hurt. She is my herd favorite, and gets extra spoiled because of it. Like I said, she wont even fight back when food is involved. She just walks away. I have never actually seen her head butt another goat, and I would like to keep it that way if possible!.
I thought about moving one of my older dairy kids in with her, but I need that kid to show the younger kids the normal eating routine, so I can't take her just yet (she's teaching the bottle kids )

Thanks again for the input! Feel free to keep posting advantages/disadvantages on this subject...Trying to weigh out if it would be worth it or not.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I keep sheep and goats together. They all eat the same hay, and some parts of the year the goats eat sheep feed. If they look like they're copper deficient, I'll bolus the goats. When my doe is in milk, I feed her in the barn while I milk, so it's easy to feed her goat grain and not worry about the sheep getting it. During breeding season I try to keep everyone separate if possible. Just keep an eye out for rams harassing does and/or bucks harassing ewes. Sometimes they'll attempt to breed each other, and that's why I prefer to keep them separate.

 

[chubbydog811]

I keep sheep and goats together. They all eat the same hay, and some parts of the year the goats eat sheep feed. If they look like they're copper deficient, I'll bolus the goats. When my doe is in milk, I feed her in the barn while I milk, so it's easy to feed her goat grain and not worry about the sheep getting it. During breeding season I try to keep everyone separate if possible. Just keep an eye out for rams harassing does and/or bucks harassing ewes. Sometimes they'll attempt to breed each other, and that's why I prefer to keep them separate.

Good to know, Thanks!!
An intact male isn't going to be an issue- I hand breed the goats, so the bucks are kept separately (I don't have enough time for guessing on when which animal will kid or surprise kids. I like having a good idea!). I'll have the sheep/goats separate when I get as far as finding a small flock of sheep, but the one pet ewe for Precious wont have to worry about a male harassing her.
Like you, I feed the milking does on the stand as well, so I'm not too worried about the grain.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

I have my 2 Katahdin sheep live with my four goats. They get along well. Up until this year, I feed them grain in seperate feeding areas and feed them goat and sheep feed. But this fall, I opted to bolus the goats and feed the goats and sheep the same feed.

 

[melody]

I had, until recently 2 sheep and 2 nigerian dwarf goats. They all pastured together and, had the sheep been less bullying in small quarters to those little guys, they would have slept together too. I saw very sweet behavior between the species as well. The goats ate the alfalfa and hay that had fallen on the backs of the sheep every day. Lots of nuzzling too. PS still have the goats who are quite content on their own.

 

[doxiemoxie]

I have two dorper cross ewes with three pygmy and nigerian cross does. The sheep are much larger but definitely at the bottom of the herd pecking order. You'll probably be fine keeping them in whatever mix you want. You'll just need to watch the group dynamics to make sure they get along. Depending on your soil and forage copper availability you may get away just using sheep mineral. Your county ag extension agent should be able to help you with that. I separate the goats from the sheep and give mineral with the grain (and fruit and veggies) about 4 or 5 days a week. I think they are eating more mineral this way and they are doing fine!

 

[Hillsvale]

my sheep and goats sleep in the barn seperate sides... the sheep get ewe chow and free choice minerals, goats get goat ration and their minerals are mixed right in with their feed. During the day they share pasture.