SHEEP and GOATS

Lamb

< 1 year old; term also used to describe sheep meat from an animal < 1 year

Mutton

meat from a sheep > 1 year

Ewe

female sheep

Ram

male sheep

Wether

castrated male ( sheep)

Lambing

parturition (birth) of sheep

Abattior

slaughter facility for livestock

Ewe lamb

Eweling (female lamb)

Ram Lamb

Ramling (male lamb)

Buck/billy

male goat

Doe

female goat

Kid

< 1 year old

Wether

castrated male (goat)

Nanny

goat with kid “at her side” (nursing kid)

2 requirements to be a Ruminant

1) even numbers of toes

2) 4 chambered stomach

Buckling

male kid

Doeling

female kid

Kidding

giving birth in goats

Sheep and goat numbers decreasing

1) dec. in sheep/goat meat demand

2) dec. in wool demand; inc. in cotton and synthetics

Normal Behavior

• should stay close to flock

• Should crew cud for several hr/day

• Sleep total 4-5 hr/day; lambs 8-10 hr/day

• Very responsive to stimuli; should stand quickly and respond to feeding time

• Stomp when feel threatened

Abnormal Behavior

• Sick sheep are harder to detect compared to other livestock species (like horses or hogs)

• Generally won’t stick with the herd

• Lose appetite

• Won’t stand, or take to long to stand after stimulus introduced

4 chambers of the stomach

rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum

Disadvantages of small ruminants

• Require more management (shearing, hoof trim, tail docking)

• Increased predation

• better fencing (goats tend to try and escape)

• Less product and less demand

Advantages of small ruminants

• More diverse browsers (goats) when compared to cattle, very adaptable

• Multi-species grazing = complementary grazing ( cattle + goats in same pasture)

• Not as impacted by drought

• Great for small farms ( more animals per acre compared to larger ruminants)

• More efficient reproductive outcomes

Fine Wool

Rambouillet and Merinos

• Softer

• small diameter

• more expensive

Long Wool

Cotswold, Lincoln, and Romney breeds

• Bigger diameter

• rougher (scratchier)

• Cheaper

Hair Sheep

• Greater tolerance for heat/humidity

• Greater resistance to internal parasites

• Easier to care for

Dual purpose

used for meat + wool

Goats foot maintenance

• trim their hooves standing

• 1-2x/year if on rough rocky ground

• 3-4x/year if on soft grassy ground

Sheep foot maintenance

• flip the sheep

• ALWAYS trim hind hooves first then front

• 1-2x/year

Anthelmintics

are utilized to help reduce internal parasites; generally provided to sheep/goat in an oral drench and kill parasite adults and eggs. Proper pasture and manure management will also help reduce internal parasites in sheep/goats

Shearing

• removal of fleece (wool) from sheep via shears/clippers

• Shear 1-2x/year

• Flip/tip sheep to shear

Enterotoxemia Type D (aka “overeating disease”)

can happen in lambs or adults on lush, green pastures. Essentially, sheep will overeat and a certain gut bacteria over-reproduce and then produces a toxin that negatively affects the sheep. End up having convulsions and often dying.

Tetanus

results from a bacteria (clostridium tetani) entering the body through an opening in the skin (often after tail docking or castrating) and then produces a toxin that affects the nervous system. Results in still muscles, a locked jaw, and death

Scrapie

• National Scrapie Eradication Program (NSEP) —> provided ID and monitoring of animals

• Cause by prion (transmissible sponiformencephalopathy)

• NO VACCINE

• Clinical Symptoms: Neurological - ataxia, teeth grinding, head pressing, bite legs, scraping basically their wool off

Katahdin

Hampshire

Dorset

Suffolk

Fermentation

Is the breakdown of feedstuff by microbes in an anaerobic (no oxygen) space; break down to volatile fatty acids (VFAs)

Make handling sheep more difficult

1) larger/heavier sheep

2) less docile sheep

3) handling in larger open spaces

Differences between sheep and goats

SHEEP GOATS

• Grazers - Browsers

• More timid/shy - More curious

• tail down - tail up

• no beard - Some have beards

• top lip split (philtrum) - no philtrum

• Easy copper toxicity - Require copper