Keeping Sheep and Goats Together

Sheep and goats are two smaller livestock species that are easy for new homesteaders to learn to care for and have smaller space requirements than larger livestock. Sheep and goats are both ruminants and even look somewhat similar, especially from a distance. But ask anyone who keeps sheep and goats together, that is where their similarities end. Keeping these two species together may sound simple but they have vastly different needs to manage. Here is a comprehensive guide on what you need to know to successfully keep sheep and goats together.

Browsers vs. Grazers

The first problem to tackle when keeping sheep together with goats is that they are two different types of herbivores. Sheep are grazers and are designed to eat grass. Sheep eat with their head to the ground. They can eat small trees and shrubs but the bulk of their diet is grass. Goats, on the other hand, are browsers. Browsers are biologically designed to forage on woody vines, shrubs, and tree leaves. Goats tend not to eat from the ground if given the choice and prefer to reach up for their food.

The difference in diet manifests in multiple ways. Goats are not animals who will happily thrive on pasture unless the pasture includes blackberries and woody weeds. They are excellent blackberry and thistle eaters. Many goats have no choice but to eat pasture like a grazer, but that is not their preference. Goats can also happily eat hay, like sheep, but prefer to do so if they are fed off the ground in hay mangers. Many goats refuse to eat hay on the ground. When feeding sheep and goats together, be sure to have high quality hay available at a level the goats need. Just putting hay in a large bucket can solve the problem. Hay bags, often seen in horse stalls, can also be used if a manger is not available.

Sheep on the left, and goats on the right are sharing a meal being fed from a muck bucket.

What height your goat is fed at has actual biological repercussions. Parasites are often found amongst pasture grasses, which the grazing animal consumes, and the parasite continues its life cycle in the digestive and intestinal tracts. Sheep can be overwhelmed by internal parasites but have evolved to carry small parasite loads. In fact, some sheep breeds are quite parasite hardy. Goats, however, have not evolved to carry parasite loads because they forage up high, away from the parasites on the grasses. Grazing goats often have high worm loads that can make them sick or die. This isn’t to say that you can’t graze your goat, you must just be sure that their nutritional needs are met with goat minerals and that their worm load is managed.

The Copper Problem

All animals need trace amounts of copper, however, the amount needed varies by species. Goats need higher amounts of copper to stay healthy and worm resistant. In fact, many goat owners struggle with getting enough copper in their goat’s diet, and supplemental minerals may not be enough. Copper boluses are often used. The copper rods in the bolus pill are slowly absorbed into the digestive tract, giving the goat the copper they need. Goats also need daily access to loose minerals, a mineral lick, or a mineral block with supplemental copper. Click here to read about rehabbing a copper deficient goat.

Sheep, on the other hand, are copper sensitive and small doses of copper can be lethal. Getting enough copper in one species while simultaneously preventing copper toxicity in the other species can be difficult.

Icelandic sheep, such as Ruth here, can handle higher copper levels.

The Copper Solution

There are several tactics you can use to conquer the copper problem of housing sheep and goats together.

• Keep sheep breeds that are more copper tolerant. Some sheep breeds are more tolerant to dietary copper than others. Icelandic and Katahdin are two breeds commonly found on homestead farms that are more tolerant of copper. This isn’t to say that they can handle a full goat dose of copper but they can tolerate higher levels. There have even been studies proving that Icelandic sheep benefit from a higher copper diet than most sheep. Gotland and Finssheep are also more tolerant. Texal sheep is the more intolerant sheep breed. The popular Suffolk breed is also very intolerant of high copper.

• Keep minerals separate. All animals need daily access to supplemental salt and minerals, but this does not have to be free choice. At Mossygoat Farm, we keep horses, goats, and sheep together with the occasional cow or two. All animals have access to an iodized salt lick at all times. Horses are fed daily with a vitamin/mineral supplement and grain, or a ration balancer. The sheep and goats have free choice access to a sheep mineral tub. The goats are given a copper bolus about every 8 months and daily they are separated and given access to a goat specific mineral blend. If you keep dairy goats, minerals can be given with their milking ration.

Fencing and Shelter

Sheep and goats also have different needs for fencing and shelter. Sheep are fairly easy to keep contained and do not usually challenge fences. Goats, on the other hand, are very hard on fences. They jump, do not mind being shocked, and will always find the weak point in your fence. You can read more about the various needs of fencing livestock here.

Sheep are so well insulated with their wool that snow will often not melt off of them. Soay/Jacob cross sheep at Mossygoat Farm

Sheep carry their shelter around with them in the form of their thick wool. Wool naturally provides warmth and sheds rain, keeping the sheep safe without shelter, even in harsh conditions. The only time a sheep truly needs a barn is if they are birthing in cold weather. Sheep do benefit from a safe place to escape the sun, but trees or a simple shade shelter will suffice.

How much of shelter a goat needs will depend on the breed of goat. Meat goats, such as Boer and Kiko, are often fairly hardy and will happily be out in the rain. Dairy goats need a safe barn in cold or harsh weather. Many dairy goats will refuse to go outside in the rain or snow. Dairy goats will also need a clean milking area near where they are housed.

The fencing and shelter needs of sheep and goats are slightly different but catering to the goat in this instance will solve any problems.

Keeping Rams and Bucks and the Question of Horns

Sheep rams and goat bucks, due to being uncastrated, are often kept separate from the main herd of ewes and does. Both rams and bucks are prone to fighting other males. The good news is that they safely can be housed together and can provide each other with companionship when they otherwise might need to live alone. Wethers of either species can also be kept with uncastrated males.

Sheep and goats have different fighting styles. Sheep tend to head butt directly. Goats tend to jump up before head butting so that the direction of the force is more downward. Because of the difference in the two fighting styles, horned versus hornless is not generally a safety issue. Horned sheep can usually be kept safely with hornless goats.

Image Credit: Unsplash @plloyd

Keeping sheep and goats together is not problematic if each species’ needs are taken into consideration. The fence will need to be goat proof, a good shelter will need to be in place, the free access feed needs to be sheep copper safe, and everyone will need proper nutrition. If it sounds overwhelming, it may be at first. But keeping sheep and goats together will get easier as you get more comfortable with their specific needs.

Happy Wildsteading!