# Goats and sheep together?



## NellieA (7 mo ago)

Hey guys, I am starting up a little farm for a friend and although I have goat experience I have little to no sheep experience. We got 3 Barbados hair ewes that are young like 6 months old or less. The sheep are quite wild and are in a small pen so they can get used to humans . I am picking up some young doe goats today that are weaned and 4 months old. My question is are their concerns about them running together with the wilder sheep?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sheep can't have a lot of copper. So you need to look into nutritional differences.


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## NellieA (7 mo ago)

Thanks that’s a good reminder. Yes I know sheep have a lot less tolerance for copper.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

Some people keep sheep with goats, no problem. @Mike at Capra Vista runs sheep with goats. I think @Lil Boogie does too. I've tagged them for you. 🙂


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## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

What kind of goats?

Barbado Blackbelly sheep - I'm very envious. Those are the sheep I wanted to get but could not find here. They are beautiful sheep and almost the opposite colouring of my San Clemente Island goats.

Sheep tend to be more tolerant of parasites so can spread them to your goats whch are much less tolerant.


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## NellieA (7 mo ago)

Lamancha Goats. It’s dead of summer in Utah so I am not super worried about parasites but a really good reminder.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

My older goat prefers to hang with the sheep and my buck and ram were raised together. The group lives together with no issues


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## Boer Mama (10 mo ago)

I brought home 4 sheep last spring and they kept to themselves for a few days, but then basically joined the goat herd. They were on the lower end of the herd dynamics tho, so have way to the goats at grain time. I fed them a bit separate and just made sure plenty of locations to move to.


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## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

I would guess that any issues arising from putting your sheep and goats together will depend more on the upbringing of those individual animals than a general goat-sheep issue. 

I introduced my new sheep slowly to the goats. Three weeks with a shared fence before I let the sheep into the goat pasture. The sheep just wanted to join the herd, while the goats wanted me to take those scary things back where they came from.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

There is a saying in the sheep industry
To improve the health of your sheep get a goat.
I have found this to be true goats self medicate and the sheep copy them 
BUT
They share 
CAE and OPP are basically the same thing But in sheep OPP is not worried about because the symptoms dont appear tell the sheep is very old and we cull before the symptoms apear..
CL is also shared but a sheep's hide is thicker and hair is coarser and isn't as transmissible as in a goat.
So test for all the nasty scary things in both your sheep and goat herds. make sure you have a clean herd.

And last 
WHY Black bellies?
they never tame down. they are so small you get nothing for them at the yards. And they are worse than goats at escaping the fence and have poor flocking instinct and wild. They will drive you crazy trying to get them back in the pen.
I have never seen any one stay with BB's long. they all switch to Katahdin's.or Saint Croy or Royal White.


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## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

fivemoremiles said:


> WHY Black bellies?


Not disagreeing with your observations but answering you question (even if it is meant rhetorically).

Blackbelly sheep are among the prettiest sheep around. They are hair sheep so no shearing to worry about. Their horns can be impressive. Their smaller size can be a bonus if selling for meat is not a concern. 

I admit that an inability to become tame would be a issue, but aside from that, I would love to have a few of these wander around my pasture. 

I have a few St. Croix - Dorper cross sheep. So far I'm happy with them.


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## Spring Creek Farm (11 mo ago)

NellieA said:


> Hey guys, I am starting up a little farm for a friend and although I have goat experience I have little to no sheep experience. We got 3 Barbados hair ewes that are young like 6 months old or less. The sheep are quite wild and are in a small pen so they can get used to humans . I am picking up some young doe goats today that are weaned and 4 months old. My question is are their concerns about them running together with the wilder sheep?


Personally I would keep them separate for awhile until they all get use to their new home, and to you. I think it would be easier to tame them.


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