Goats vs Sheep: Which Is Right for You?
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- čas přidán 5. 06. 2024
- A head-to-head analysis of goats and sheep to see which may suite you better. If you are thinking about raising goats or sheep, this video will compare the characteristics of both so that you can make a good decision in your selection. Which are easier to raise? Which may be more profitable? Which make better pets?
If you are looking for goats and sheep for sale in the Northwest Alabama area, contact me 256-668-3014 or check out our website www.rollingofarm.com to see what I currently have available. - Krátké a kreslené filmy
The parable of the sheep and the goats makes much more sense now.
The first thing i always ask people wondering which to get is, "are you a dog person or a cat person?"
If you are a dog person, get sheep. The cat-like wickedness of goats will not amuse you.
If you like cats, get either, but goats will bring you more enjoyment than sheep.
And i cannot stress enough the importance of a handling system for sheep and understanding their borg-like herding trait. So different from goats.
The herding thing does vary by breed. Icelandic Sheep (the one I have experience with) for example, are a lot less prone to clump herding.
Not sure about this... I really don't like cats but I love goats
I also will disagree. Not much of a cat person (don't hate them, but prefer them to live in the barn/outside, my dogs live inside and are obedience trained). But I love my Myotonic goats, and find them personality-wise much more similar to my dogs than any cat I've associated with in just shy of 60 years.
@@marahdolores8930 Yes, goats have been proven to look at humans for help when they can't do something, which is something dogs do. They will also follow you around wherever you go, like dogs do. They're basically vegan dogs :)
Yeah ive had boer goats and found them to be almost dog like they come when called even get the tail wag when given them a scratch
We have dairy goats and sheep as well. You hit the nail on the head with your comparison. As far as personality is concerned with the two animals, it cannot be overstated that sheep act sheepish and goats act goaty.
I have been raising goats since 2016. I love my goats and their unique and individualized personalities. I laughed at the ‘containment’ section of your analysis. I cannot count how many times my neighbors called me at work letting me know my goats escaped. Hahaha. Excellent vid. Thank you.
Living as I do in an inner city apartment this has been very helpful in deciding which animals to keep.
What in the world are you going to do with either of these in an inner city apartment?
We have had both over the 22 years we had livestock, and found goats more enjoyable. Our Nubians required shelter and attention, while our Boers laid out in the snow happily at -40 F. with no problems. Our Boers ate grass happily and taught our Nubians to do so as well, although browse was available and the Nubians always preferred that. Since we live in a clod climate in Alaska the parasite problem was minimal, although we did sometimes develop lice problems when they were in the barn in winter. I never had to use electricity on the goats except to keep the bucks away from the does during "season", and people who had Kikus had to have incredibly high fences to keep them in. The big difference we found was that goats are very smart while sheep are stupid, stupid stupid. Overall, we enjoyed our goats much more than the sheep, although, opposite to your experience, we found the market for sheep to be stronger than that for goat meat.
Of course sheep are dumb. They die to Black berries ffs xD A herbivore dying to its prey...
Sheep are stupid, stupid stupid for sure!
I’ve eaten goat meat once or twice many years ago. I had lots of leg of lamb and truly enjoy it. I’ll have to try goat again before deciding which one I like more.
In my situation, goats would really help open more pasture and silvopasture. But all I’ve heard is that they’re tough to keep in the fences. I’m a few days away from 67 and don’t relish the idea of chasing them down in the brambles and briers. Guess I’ll get sheep first, for meat and pasture improvements. Goats later to clear additional pasture and maybe provide more meat.
@@Skashoon Boer goats are easy to keep fenced in, it's a big difference from other goats. They're heavy and not very jumpy.
Nice post... but you forgot to mention the Nibian - screaming bloody murder all day part. For some reason long ears = screaming goats 😁
Great video, thank you for this...almost died laughing when you said goats have lots of personality
A small addition: if you're planning to do silvopasture; goats will absolutely kill young trees, or even old ones. Sheep (mostly ) won't, a fairly simple fence around young trees is fine (3 posts in a triangle + regular unelectrified fencing) and they will leave older trees alone. Though, sheep will eat leaves and fruits up to about 1.5m, so the canopy can't start any lower.
Also, goats need to be very actively managed on the pasture. I f left for too long, they will eat the grass incl. roots and completely destroy the pasture. "There is nothing like a goat to make a desert"
I feel like you underestimate the sheep; my youth spent chasing away sheep from my grandfathers forests showed them for the menaces they are
We let our sheep into the orchard as natural lawn mowers. They are wonderful at not harming the trees. Like you mentioned they will eat the fruit & leaves from low branches.
Goats also will strip the bark off your tree as well
"There is nothing like a goat to make a desert"😂
It kind of depends on how good your fences are and how many head you are planing on getting. Goats are good for milk and meat and some have Kashmir But if you don't have good tall fences you are asking for trouble . Sheep are less of a pain and tend not to jump fences. They do have a strong heard mentality so if there is a hole in your fences they all will try to get out at the same time. Keep this in mind it a[[lies to doors as well as Gates. They don't often do single file. Sheep are good for meat and can be milked as well plus there is the wool. The biggest problem is if you only have a few sheep you may have to haul them to get them sheared and wool is not worth much. So that is also something to keep in mind. Both are fairly healthy until they are not. And things can go bad so fast. If you get a large heard of sheep get some kind of sheep dog. It's not a bad ideal to get a guardian animal as well. There are some very good dog breeds that work well and even a few non dogs that will work in a pinch. Donkeys work well. I've heard Llamas do as well but I don't have any experience with them. There is one more thing. Goats are smart. They are like little kids they have very little fear and is not watched can and will look for trouble. Don't be surprised to find them on roofs of buildings they shouldn't be able to get on top of. or on the hood of your car. Most sheep are pretty dumb they tend to panic easily. If you have non working barking dogs keep them away from your sheep. I've worked with both and I like sheep more but would rather have goats. But I will say this sheep have good memories I helped bottle feed some of my mom's sheep one year then was gone for 2 years. The bottle babies wear all grown up and as soon as they saw me they ran over to see if I had anything for them. Wow this got way to Long.
I prefer sheep. Have dorpers. 2 of them. They hang with the horse, but I did have to shear my ram, he had a matted carpet of wool on his topside. I bought cheap shears on Amazon, my farrier held him and he actually looks fairly decent...
@@SuperDobieGirl with just 2 you might want to build or buy a stand for shearing. It will be less work if it has a head stanchin you could put a place to give them grain. Then they will want to jump up on it and will most likely let you shear them. Only bad thing is the wool un carded or picked isn't worth much. You could send it off to be cleaned but its not cheap.
@@FrozenHawkHunter I just shear them IF they don't drop it. But I'll keep a stand in mind. Good idea.
Oh I just toss the wool. It's filthy and there's not much on them.
That's OK. I enjoyed reading your story.
I have both and prefer the goats. Here in the mountains in northern Chile, due to the desert climate, parasites are not a big problem. I have gone through one kidding/lambing season with no losses. All seem to be very hardy animals.
I raise dairy goats for their milk and milk products, and sheep for meat and wool. The goats are more work and more expensive to keep than the sheep, but they are worth it.
Excellent video. Thank you.
awesome input buddy , cheers from usa
bueeena po que le vaya bien en su granjita compadre
I've had both, and found the goats to be much more interactive and interesting. A bunch if characters, they were . . .
High maintenance, and likes to run away? Today I learned I am a goat
An Aunt of mine, willed her 14 goats to me! They took over an abandoned tenant house and ate everything they could reach standing on their hind quarters. They liked to jump up on the engine compartment of my wife's auto and look at their reflections in the car windshield.
In an embarrassing incident, I was transporting 4 goats to an auction when avoiding a tire that fell off a farm truck excited them to stampede. Now, in a Chevy Corvair there is some space and with with the passenger seat removed, there is an adequate stampede path. That is not to say a goat stampede in my right armpit was relaxing, but it does call into question the use of seatbelts to contain stampeding livestock on the highways of America!
me: sitting in an apartment, literally no grass or even open space, not even a balcony
also me: "Goats vs Sheep: Which Is Right for You?"
2022 here we go
This is really a very nice comparative study. The way you presented it is not boring coupled with film clips showing the finer points of your presentation. This is enjoyable.
I was born and raised in Alabama. The wife and I are looking forward to starting up our old farm again, and she wants her some goats. So I’ll keep this channel in mind once we’re looking. 😁
I have absolutely no plan for owning goats or sheep. I stumbled upon this video when I did a search for "goats". Learning about anything is so easy nowadays with almost unlimited amounts of information right at your figures tips.
The reason I'm writing this comment is because I enjoyed this video, plain and simple. I prefer vids that get straight to the point and sticks to the facts, especially comparison vids. Well done. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you. I appreciate the kind words and encouragement.
Well, that makes sheep look much better in my eyes. I am fixing to start sheep and .faze out my cattle.
Nice video. Learn something every day. Subbed, liked, black belled. Us little channels have to stick together, lol.
Thanks!
I watched this to help me understand Jesus' parable of sheep and goats. Here's what I gathered: Goats are are more difficult to contain, they are more sensitive, especially to the elements. Sheep are more meek.
Breed has a lot to do with it too. The so called 'primitives' sheep breeds tend to have a more goat like personality.
A really excellent video. Note the comments: lots of knowledgeable people and nobodies arguing with the basic facts as presented.
New Zealand is actually a temperate climate with 24-51 inches of rain per year and they even get snow. That's why the Kiko goat does better in the Eastern half of the US.
Have learned something
Sorry but goats don't just have personality, they have PERSONALITY!!!! And if you are a first time goat owner without livestock experience they WILL make you cry! So if you are testing the homesteading life get sheep, chicken, rabbits, but not goats. And if you HAVE to have a goat get a mellow adult goat, do NOT get BABY GOATS (nothing worst that uncontained personality!). And remember goats are herd animals, so you have to get at least two, and that means TWICE the personality!
For the record: I love my Nigerian Dwarf goats!
My husband and I are considering having goats or sheep or both. This video helps a lot as it gives me more information to use in our area which is no where near Alabama
I live in Western Oregon and I have 5 sheep and they head to the barn every day at about noon time , and when the sun sinks low, it's routine for them to do that they get up they start out in the very back of the pasture then they come forward to the front of the pasture they come through the backyard going to the apple orchard and then back to the barnyard , my sheep are very friendly and just plain sweet
main problem is thieves.
in my country thieves steal goats if they find it alone without any owner
Profit: don't forget "value added" income streams from both! Milk, cheese, fermented drinks, fudges, fiber...
Great video thanks. I love my Icelandic sheep. They are very hardy & easy keepers. As for personality they have a ton of it also. They follow me around & want to get pet all the time. If they get out of the paddock they come wait for me on the back deck. They can be milked after lambing in the spring, plus get great quality wool & meat. I live in Maine & the sheep always want to be outside even in winter or heavy rain. They have free access to the barn but often find them outside except during the summer months they prefer the barn / shade of the woods during the heat of afternoons.
Hello Carol! What u said interested me, am I guessing correctly, u said ur sheep “can” be milked, but u don’t milk them for ur consumption? Knowledge is key, I want to learn and know, I’ve been leaning towards goats because more people say that they r easier to milk, I have never eaten goat meat , but have sheep, I like sheep meat, I like the fact that sheep’s do not get into mischief as goats do (or as much per u saying they got out, but awesome they came to ur porch) if u don’t milk them for ur own consumption, have u before? I don’t know if u have had goats or ever milked one, if so, could u give me a comparison between the two? Which is easier, taste different or same, would I need to shave around the utter??? Really interested and hope u respond! Thank u and have a wonderful day
@@joybickerstaff194 Hi, yes I find sheep so much easier to keep than goats. The Icelandic sheep are a more primitive breed of sheep that were originally used as triple proposed; wool, meat & milk.
Some lines also serve as leader sheep. Icelandic sheep are different than most breeds of sheep in their diet hardiness, tend to be both browsers & grazers, plus their temperaments. This breed doesn't herd as well as other sheep breeds & not as flightly / timid. Some rams can be aggressive.
Icelandic sheep are still raised the same way as ages ago. In early spring the sheep in all the farmers in Nordic countries are turned loose to free range along the countryside on their own. So the breed wasn't developed to be herd & watched over.
You can read more info on the breed:
afs.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/icelandic//#content
As for my experience with the Icelandic sheep:
• I've only used my sheep for wool products & meat. The meat is absolutely delicious. The wool makes wonderful warm sweaters & blankets.
• I haven't milked them yet. I'm training the ewes to the milk stand this winter for hopes of milking them in the spring after lambing.
You can only milk the sheep for 3-4 months but you can freeze the milk for later use.
I personally love their stronger temperaments. Any smaller threats to the herd are easily dealt with by the sheep on their own such as foxes & eagles. Larger threats of course you have to protect them from injury. Our previous ram protected the herd from free roaming dogs until I could get out to the pasture to help. Another more timid breed of sheep would've obtained injuries.
As for the temperament in handling the breed. I find them very easy & trustworthy if handled by building trust & respect. They don't get flighty & scared running in all directions when working with them. I can walk over to them place a halter on them & tie them up to do any maintenance. No chasing or corralling required which I prefer.
This breed doesn't require any grain. During the winter & pregnancy traditionally they were supplemented with kelp. Now you can supplement with minerals.
They are very hardy animals that rarely get sick, over loaded with parasites, or hoof issues. They can do well with less than ideal pasture if you have plenty for them to browse on.
The lambs don't require their tails to docked. If you use them to milk you don't need to shave / trim wool around the utters.
If you're new to owning sheep I suggest you go out to various farms & meet the different breeds. I love Icelandic sheep but know their temperaments aren't for everyone.
@@carolhudson1732 Wonderful info, thank you Carol!
From the Philippines thank you so much
very helpfull from Kenya... i love this...
Great video, loved the insight from having both goats and sheep. I cracked up when you mentioned the personality differences because my goats have quite big personalities.
Thank you for the overview! The information was simple concise and pleasant to listen to. C:
Great information. Good to here from someone who raises both.
Greetings from New Hampshire! Thanks for this video. Very informative. We have debating for a little while now which direction to go with our farm. Looking forward to checking out more of your content. Blessings to you and your family. 🙏❤️🙏 Have a Merry Christmas!
I agree with the way you diversified and have both and we got sheep this year and next year we will get goats. Super excited about both adventures thanks for the great video
It's good to see goats gaining a foothold in the US. In most regions around the world, especially Africa where I'm from, goat meat is preferred over lamb, and by a huge margin. We attribute it's flavor to the different herbs goats feed on, and we love it.
I think most of the issues with goats has to do with climate. In states like Arizona there work fine, but in more humid and cold states you need more hardier breeds of goats adapted to that sort of enviroment. Check on irish goat, or the many breeds of goats from the Alps for example.
Thats what they do in Québe's Easter townships, they use the Swiss Saanen goats from the Swiss alps for their goat cheese production..its actually just across the lines from Vermont.
Swiss Oberhasli was my best mellowest and quietest dairy goat. Excellent mother with plenty of milk. I also had a French Alpine that was fine, produced even more milk but rather aggressive to all the other ones.
I would never recommend a Nubian because they are so noisy and disturb the whole neighborhood. Regardless of how much milk they produce, Nubians are not worth keeping due to their noisy nature.
@@richardmang2558 Of all the breeds of dairy goats I've had, over the last forty years, Oberhasli's were my favorites. They have better temperaments than Alpines, and in my opinion their milk also tasted much better. You are right that Nubians are noisy, though if a person lives where that's not a problem, they can be a good goat to have. They do have excellent quality milk. I wouldn't keep Alpines again because of their temperaments, wouldn't keep Toggenburgs because of their milk taste.
What a great breakdown. Thank you!
Greeting from Somalia thank you for the information I liked very much next time we need to c more the animals during explanation one more time thank you
We have our donkey to help protect against coyotes and the like
Great knowledge, may it spread
Somali here, and loved every bit of your insight. Thanks 🇸🇴
This video was super helpful and informative, thank you so much!
Thanks for the info. We are trying to decide between the two.
you can probably bid on land clearing of brush for people needing it if you grab goats. more options to use goats rather then sheep.
Excellent advice. Thank you for the info.
I bought two baby goats and I feed them with feeders. They consume a lot of milk per day. And also can't stay alone. In the evening putting them in the box is a challenge because they'll explore every corner to try and escape. When they do they start making noise, a few times they managed to escape in the middle of the night and I had to go out and put them back in. As they're growing up they need more milk. They're 3 months the old now and I've already spent on the milk as much as it would have cost me to buy a mother goat. After 3rd month I'll stop their milk as they already do eat leaves and browse all day. Still at their feeding times they want milk and they'll start making noise if I don't give them. If you're buying baby goats to raise as pets. Please do yourself a favor and don't get baby goats. They're almost as hard to look after as a human baby, except you won't have to change the diaper. A few months ago I was reading lots of CZcams comments about people advising against baby goats as pets, but I decided to go ahead and try it anyways. It's a challenge. But at the same time gives me a sense of accomplishment. Currently I'm not employed and have lots of free time. Or this won't have worked out well.
Thank you this is sooo informative as my husband and I continue to decide which way to go. We hsve little to know experience, so I feel as if I just finished a Harvard course. Lol thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
I've heard that sheep see fences as their safe place; Goats see fences as a challenge.
(No experience with sheep, but this is definitely true for goats. One time a friend and I spent 2+ hours preparing fencing only to have her bucks immediately take two flying leaps right out 😂🤦♀️)
You are not wrong.
@@rollingofarm 😂
Goats are a pain in the butt, sometimes literally but can be fun Sheep are boring comparitavely. I've got mostly woods so I have goats. As things get converted to pasture(and I get older), I may convert to sheep. My fence was down to 4,000 volts and the goats started walking right through it. Got it back up over 8,000 volts and closed up my high tensile wire spacing a little and that keeps them in.
Likewise with the electric fence. I prefer high tensile wire to netting for that reason alone. It can be adjusted in height much easier too. (Plus it’s a lot less money)
It's a very nice comparison my friend, I come from a family of farmers and maybe one day I wish to leave this busy life and move back to my farm land. I will subscribe to your channel and learn more and hopefully guide myself as well. Thanks for sharing good stuff here. Good luck
Great video, informative, concise, and to the point
Thanks
thank you for the tips!! who would have ever thought sheep are tougher than goats? i dont think goats would like all the snow and cold of winters and cold and rain of springs here in the UPPER PENINSULA of MICHIGAN,, thank you for the video
Thanks for the info .. from Rogersville. AL..
I agree I have sheep and goats together and the sheep are by far harder than the goats
Happy New. Year 2022 . Thank you , Gob bless .amen 🇺🇸
This is very informative! Thank you
In terms of creating an enterprise and a working profitable farm sheep are the obvious answer. Here in the uk you’ll hardly find big goat flocks
Great summary! Danka!
Thanks for posting this informative video 👍🏼; I'm not sure which one I would prefer as a farmer.
Very expertly explained!..thanks! (Thailand )
very good info for someone like me doing research.
Thanks for the knowledge.
Thanks for the information…🙏
I love sheep and goats…♥️♥️😞
Very helpful info. Thank you. 👏
Thank you!!
Great video! Lots of good information. I'm trying to decide what type of animals to have on my mini "farm" in your experience with sheep, what animal to acres ratio would you recommend? I'm guessing my climate is similar to yours. I am in middle Tennessee.
Very helpful, thanks
Very helpful, Thanks 🤠
I've been wanting to get smaller farm animals... the wife has Lupus & I have Lone Star Tick Disease so neither of us can eat beef! (MISS my steaks!!) I have 57 acres of which about 13 acres are pasture so either one would be okay! My main problem (southern OH) would be coyotes and bobcats!
Simple answer is to get a Kangal Livestock Guardian dog. They can kill wolves! 2 of them would tear through a pack of coyotes in no time.
Great video! Thank you!! ~jc
very good and brief comparison
Thanks
great video, great info
Awesome video, very helpful
I didn't put up fencing for my goats. I put screw in dog teachers 20 feet apart that was connected with a heavy Guage twisted wire. The goat was leashed with a 6-8 foot chain and hooked to the wire . I could " walk this across the area I wanted them to feed. Since I was outside working when they were out and we carried on a conversation all day. They were on overgrown lawn and up next to bushes that I wanted trimmed. I never had problems with twisting , getting chains wrapped around because I positioned them out of harms way. I am sure you could do this with sheep if you didn't have a flock. I only had 4 goats to put out. I took out small kids but only when I had time to watch them.
Excellent video
I have 🐐 but I'd also like sheep 🐑
That was a good video thank you
Very informative.
The goat personality varies by breed (as I am sure the sheep probably does as well). I keep mostly (90% of my herd) Myotonic goats, two Nubians, and a few crosses. (I have kept Pygmy, Nigerian Dwarf, Boer, Nubian, Spanish, Alpine, & Toggenberg in the past.) Hands-down, Myotonic (fainters) are my preferred breed of goat. They are somewhat more parasite resistant, they are calm, quiet (Nubians otoh, are incredibly noisy!), docile/tame easily, are easier to keep in fencing, and don't climb anything over a foot off the ground. They are great mothers - I have only had 3 fainters require help birthing since 2006, and comparatively few kids required bottle feeding. And if you keep polled genetics in your herd, you stand a 50/50 shot of not needing to disbud.
Getting the right breed for YOU matters a lot! There are different breeds for very good reason.
(I know people that now only want KuneKune or Guinea Hogs because of their temperaments and handling over other larger breeds, despite getting less meat in the fall.)
To goat owners: contain your goats ! When I was a kid, the neighbor's goat constantly got out. It chewed the bark on our cherry tree and eventually killed it. No joke, and we all hated goats for years. Now I have my own sheep and goats, all well contained, and I love them.
Great video!
Amazing content
very informative ,thank you so much
Thanks
good video, thank you
very helpful.
A very good video , I suscribe , greetings from the Northeast of México
Thanks
Great video.
Great information
Glad you think so!
Kiko goats are great parasite resistance and love staying out as well.
I never trimmed a goats foot
Thank you
at first glance in the video I said to myself " wow I didn't know Will Ferrell raised livestock" lol
Good video. I guess the goats taking care of heavy browse comes with costs. Pasture already cleared isn't that hard to take care of once its established.
Thank you!
thank you
I learned a lot
Thank you very much
Love this video
Thanks Glenn
Very helpful.
Thanks
Great video
Thanks!
Thanks!