"Udderly" overwhelmed...

[NachoFarm]

I just have to vent. We have two goats, and we're getting three sheep tomorrow and I'm feeling totally out of my league and ill-prepared and in over my head etc. etc. etc. :/

I feel like we're totally winging it and the learning curve for these animals is so steep. Stuff seems to be able to go wrong so quickly and there's so much information out there about EVERYTHING...feeding, worming, housing, breeding!! I feel like I don't know what to do or if what we are doing is wrong and causing them harm...UGH! We want to breed this fall but that is scaring the daylights out of me.

Obviously I can come here to you wonderful people for individual and specific problems but as for making decisions about the above mentioned areas, everyone does it different! I don't even know if my goats have had vaccinations! The woman we got them from handed me a bag of medicines and said "HERE! You may need to inject these into their shoulder at some point." I put the bag in the fridge, too scared to even look at it since.

Alright...I'm done.

 

[boykin2010]

Everyone has gone through these same thoughts once at least... For me, first it was chickens, then it was sheep, then donkey, then turkeys, and then ducks. You are going to make mistakes it is important to learn from them though. '

One thing I can think you will need to be careful of is worms in your sheep. If you are keeping them with your goats then most likely they will exchange worms. That is why people usually keep sheep and goats separated.
I am pretty good when it comes to chickens, and I know a little about sheep. I have only had them for 3.5 years. But, in that time span I have learned SO many different things.

What type of sheep are you getting and what genders?

 

[NachoFarm]

We're getting three Gotland/Finn crosses. Two adult ewes and one is bringing a baby with her who was born on Easter Sunday. Our perimeter fence isn't up yet so they're limited to being with the goats in the portable fence until it goes in, at that point we will be able to separate them for purposes of pasture rotation. Although this temporary situation might now work either as our goats still have their horns and we don't want them to fight. Do you think they will fight?

The chickens I think I have down pat but there's been a lot of mistakes and it makes me nervous to make those kind of mistakes on much bigger (and more expensive) animals. Not to mention being a goat/sheep midwife!

 

[Melwynnd]

Hi,

Don't be so hard on yourself. Like you said, there is TONS of information out there, but really you just need to DO some things to get them down. The fact that you know how much info is available suggests that you have educated yourself and will probably do fine. I would say the most overwelming part of it all is that most of the information deals with the problems you might have, so you don't really hear about the boring times in between where you just go about your business.

I found that it takes about 1-2 weeks to get back to a routine with any new animal. I would definitely suggest keeping the goats and new sheep separated for at least two weeks in case the sheep have and 'bugs' or parasites the goats can catch. This will give everyone a chance to settle down.

Breeding and birth can be scary, but most of the time things go just fine. Still, with a little common sense and some preparation even problem births can be gotten though. I would highly recommend having a birthing kit with a little iodine, some scissors, and OB lube ready before you expect babies. Since you'll have spent some time with your animals before they give birth, you'll know them well enough to be able to tell if there is a problem.

I think you'll do just fine.

Sherry