[Declan]

Is there any (dis)advantages to be had in running a single goat with a couple of sheep. Area is well fenced and watered with a 8x8 shelter nearing completion.  Any implications with the goat nibbling on the ewe mix.

[jameslindsay]

I think goats should always be kept in pairs for company so don't know if the sheep would be the same. I do know that the goat will eat any food that is left lying about. I have 13 goats and they run with my 4 Shetland Ponies without any hassles.

[Declan]

Can you suggest a docile breed for me to start with.

[jameslindsay]

Why do you want a goat? I started off with 2 Pygmy Goats but now have 7 Pygmy's, 2 Toggenburgs, 2 Golden Geurnseys and 2 Old Crosses and all are great and easy to look after. Goats are curious, climbers, escape artists, hungry 24/7 and love human company. All mine are kept purerly as pets.

[Declan]

These are just as pets too. I had 3 zwartable sheep but I lost one to pneumonia- hence the pen for a little shelter. Why do I want goats??
I was on a site during the summer where the chaps effluent treatment system wasn't working and he was in all sorts of trouble with the Environment Agency. Anyway he had 2 goats he got from a vet that were retrieved/rescued/dumped by a goat farmer. I thought they were a fascinating animal. When my ewe died about a month ago I thought of replacing it with another but the thing about the goats is still there.

[jameslindsay]

Fair enough, they are fantastic animals but I would really think about having 2. I also should have said that they need a shelter, Pygmys especially hate the rain and wont even leave their shelter in heavy rain for food!!! The Golden Geurnseys are very quiet goats but quite difficult to find. There is some one on another thread desperately looking to re home several gaots, don't know where you are but this would kill "2 birds with the 1 stone". They are in Fraserborough, North Scotland if I remember.

[Roxy]

I have had goats for many years ......at the moment I have an British Alpine entire billy, an entire pygmy billy, 5 pygmy goats, two Anglo Nubians and a sannan.  I have a pet shetland castrated tup who shares the field with some of the goats and the llama, and he sleeps in the stable with one of the ponies.  He gets bossed by the goats, but seems to get on with them all.

Goats and sheep need good fencing, they are good at escaping, as James said, goats do not like the rain, so need shelter, whereas sheep are not so bothered.  Also remember that if you run sheep and goats together, not to let the sheep get goat feed, as it has copper in, which is not good for sheep. I get round this by feeding sheep mix to make sure there are no accidents.  I know sheep can pass illnesses and diseases on to goats, probably things goats not with the sheep would not get.  I do notice that sheep bare the fields off quicker than the goats would too.
I would keep goats in a pair at least, although I have had a goat on its own, but that was hand reared, and preferred human company. Goats are happier with one of their own kind, although they get on with most other livestock..

[VSS]

Much higher risk of developing anhelmintic (wormer) resistance on the holding where sheep and goats are both kept.
This is a very real threat to the whole sheep industry, smallscale and large farms alike.

[Roxy]

If ever I have a sick goat, the vet always asks if the goats are kept alongside sheep.  I have usually been too involved with the sick goat to ask why he wants to know this, but it is obviously because he thinks he could be dealing with a sheep related illness .....or does not know about goats, and thinks he can deal with sheep illness better.  Or is there another reason he is asking?!!

[jameslindsay]

My goat keeping friends, who are much more expert than me, have often said that vets treat goats like they would sheep but this was because they didn't know enough about goats. They also say that often this is the wrong practice as they are actually not that alike. I am sure some one will correct me if I am wrong.

[little blue]

No James, not that much alike but will share worms and other parasites!
And yes, as Roxy says copper is an issue especially if you supplement their mineral intake (ie use licks)

Our kune kune boar lives with 2 goats, and gets on really well...he and the little one grew up and play together, and during his recent illness they have really mothered him - I'm not trying to humanise, they bleated to let us know, kept him warm, and were most upset to be separated while we nursed him.

Goats will eat all the high-up vegetation rather than graze (allegedly) and will need higher hay racks, feed buckets etc because of how their digestive/ruminant system is made (hence the long neck - related to giraffes & camels remember!) in their cosy shelter.
And somewhere to milk them, if thats what you're planning?

Goats are cantankerous, stubborn, difficult, and great fun!!

[Anke]

Hi I would not keep goat(s) and sheep together in the same field. I have had sheep for about 2 years now and have recently got my goats. Goat management is quite different, especially if you plan to milk them (and if not then why not?). In the British climate goats seem to spend quite a lot of time in their shelter, and as the sheep are mostly out you will need at least two goats, three are better to keep each other company indoors. You will need quite a lot of good quality hay, + added greenery (veg, carrots etc) + lick (out of reach for the sheep). And yes worms + other diseases are shared between goats and sheep. Also goats need straw or similar for bedding, and hay, straw will need a dry/draughty place for storage.

I think with very careful management it could be done, however you would need to have a clear idea about the health status (worms, fluke etc) of your sheep and then the same for any goats that come onto the holding. It seems quite impossible to have that certainty of any animal that you are just bringing onto the holding. And if you do and they don't match you would risk one of your flocks to become much worse as a result...

[ballingall]

We used to keep goats and sheep in the same field. We would only have a maximum of about 5 adult sheep, and generally about 10-12 goats. However, the goats would only be out in the field from about 9am until 6 or 7pm during good weather. And during the winter, they would be out even less only for a bit of exercise occasionally in the worst bits of winter. The goats were always fed in their own shed, and not in the field, and therefore had access to their licks. The sheep were fed in the field.

There was no problem at all, but then, they did tend to very much stick with their own herd. They didn't mix a lot, except for maybe the lambs and kids in the spring.



Beth