[stevethejones]

Hello folks,

I have 2/3 acre of grass. We're soon to acquire 3 pygmy goats, we already have 3 hens. I'm thinking of getting Ryeland sheep but wonder if the area is big enough and if so, 1 or 2? I've read that 1 is ok if they have goats as "company" but if the land is big enough I'd have 2. Only for keeping the grass down as all the animals are just for pets really. I don't have access to any other land so couldn't rotate any of it. What shelter would they need? Thanks in advance.

[twizzel]

2/3 of an acre or 2-3 acres ? If the former probably the goats and chickens would be enough. Sheep need sheep for company really, goats are quite high maintenance and very different in terms of feeding and parasite control. I stock 5 sheep to the acre in the summer but in winter it’s more like 1-2 to the acre (our sheep graze a lot of cattle grass fields over winter). Also think about the practicality of sheep- finding a shearer can be nigh on impossible for very small flocks unless you neighbour with a sheep farm. I’d suggest getting the goats first and then seeing how the land fares for 12 months, then think about if it could take sheep too. I suspect it probably couldn’t but you never know.

[SallyintNorth]

Sheep need other sheep. We always say get at least 3, then if one dies the remaining sheep still have another sheep for company. 

Not sure whether pygmy goats eat grass, regular goats are browsers rather than grazers, so will eat shrubs and so on but not really grass. 

Some people say that if you have goats and sheep, to keep them on separate ground, or worm control becomes difficult.  Other people run goats and sheep together! 

Two-thirds of an acre isn't much for sheep the size of Ryelands, even without the goats.  If you still want sheep, I would look into a much smaller breed, like the Ouessant or the Soay.  Three of those might manage on your 2/3 acre.

[Backinwellies]

if it is twothirds of an acre then I would advise against sheep .... you should have 3 as a min as Sally says and that land just wont support 3 plus the goats and hens.

[wildandwooly]

I would tend to agree not enough room for sheep especially with goats and chickens and yes sheep do need other sheep as they are flock animals. I have 5 sheep to an acre but they're all Shetland sheep who are small primitive sheep and don't eat you out of house and home  And that's all I have on that acre as the chickens and ducks are near the house. Shetlands also graze and will eat field stuff other than grass to a small extent. I've been topping mine up with a little bit of extra meadow hay as our season is short where I am. However they're not always on our top acre, we have other land to move them to to allow the pasture to recover and lessen the worm burden on it.