# goats or sheep?



## meganwf (Jul 5, 2005)

I don't want to start an argument, just curious from the fiber perspective on which animal you would rather have as a source of fleece: a primitive type sheep like Shetland or Pygora goats? I'm looking to get a four-footed creature that will give me some fiber while helping to keep the state park from encroaching into our yard -- so good at eating brush/meadow/grass and dependable fiber to blend with the angora rabbit I hope to get this fall. Any thoughts?

Thanks so much!


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## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

I'd go with Shetland, personally.

A couple things to consider: Sheep graze much like cattle - they like low grass/whatever. Goats browse and *need* brush/roughage for their stomachs to work properly. Way different feeding habits and needs. Also, if you want a critter to clear brush or other vegetation, keep in mind that you do *not* want stick-tights and other burrs in the fiber!


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

My Icelandics eat trees.  Seriously, I have small trees (the kind you can bend over to the ground just by pushing on them with your foot) and they LOVE the leaves - they will actually walk down a tree, pushing it under their bellies and scooting forward a little at a time until they've cleared the whole thing. I have no brush left in my pastures!

The soft inner wool of an Icelandic would blend nicely with angora, too, I would think. They're skittish though (most primitive breeds are) and take a good while to tame down. I do have a nice ewe who will come and eat alfalfa pellets from my hand ... sometimes. I'm working on her. 

Oh, another feature of the Icelandics is that they'll shed wool annually so if you haven't got a shearer, you can roo them. Good shearers are hard to come by.

Good fences are imperative for either goats or sheep - very tight, especially at the bottom, and preferably with holes too small to stick heads through. My husband just informed me that we should stick to ONLY horned sheep because the polled ones keep sticking their heads through the page wire & loosening the fences and he's tired of the repairs!

Good luck! I'm sure you'll hear even more opinions here ...


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## Cloverbud (Sep 4, 2006)

Uhmm...


Both!!:happy:

I like my goaties!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I think I would go with the sheep. You don't get much fiber from a Pygora.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Another vote for the shetland.

Frazzle, you'd be surprised how a horned animal can get there head stuck places (first one horn, then the head sideways to allow the other horn to move through the fence). And with horns, it is harder to pull their heads back through. Your husband will have more fence repairs with horned goats.

Somewhere I have a picture of our old milking red devon ox (with massive horns) with his head stuck in the milking gate. Never thought it was possible


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

Horns and fences an be prevented bay taping a piece of garden hose across the horns. 
Thats what he do for our goats when they have the desire and can fit through fences.

After a fiber goats horns get big enough they wont fit through anything!

Personally, I like both fiber sheep and goats. I like blending my longwool with mohair.

As for pygora, you can get a nice amount of fiber for personal use but they come in 3 fleece types.

I would blend a Cashmere type pygora with angora rabbit, that would make a fine, soft dleicate feeling yarn. 
A mohair type pygora fiber with my longwool sheep fiber. That would give a stronger thicker yarn thats heavier but still soft as heck and bouncy.
Thats how I would spin them.


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## Liese (Dec 12, 2005)

I would just like to point out that no matter which way you went, one isn't enough - imagine being all by yourself without anyone of your own kind around - very lonely indeed! So 2 is a must but 3 is better. Browse takes longer to rejuvenate than grass so you'll need to have adequate area to leave alone to recover - this applies to grass too about 60-90 days in the dry of summer vs months for bushes, trees & vines. Of course you could also bring them these things but that's more work and they're happier working for their meals. I find bored goats are the ones beating up the fence, gates etc. The care of both sheep & goats is pretty extensive - deworming & parasite control, hoof trimming, shearing and then the health issues that creep up now and then. This isn't everyday of course but it'll keep you busier than the books would lead you to believe. And trying to find a farm sitter when you want to take a holiday is another matter. Don't want to be discouraging but I'd say my goats and sheep are a bigger commitment then my 2 legged kid was 

eta: also price out how much fencing will cost ... you may decide that buying raw fleece or even roving would actually save you money in the long run by the time the fences are up and the shelters built.


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## flannelberry (Jul 14, 2005)

Ditto Frazzle....

I will never have polled sheep (no horns) or goats again, I don't think. 

As I said on the sheep board, I also have Icelandics and wouldn't have anything else. Mine are tough and very affectionate, easy to handle etc. Frazzle and I have both shorn ourselves and it's not too bad at all.

They eat down a large area much more quickly than you can believe and you'll want tob e sure you can afford supplements of hay.

Don't even consider getting less than three though. They'll be very lonely and you'll hear about it or have them escaping. That goes for anything. I'd never have less than three goats or sheep- they're made to be with others. They don't all have to be the same - you could get a shetland, an Icelandic and something else.


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## Meg Z (Jun 8, 2004)

I always hear how sheep eat grass, and goats eat browse. My sheep never read the books. They eat every weed or bit of brush in a new pasture, racing each other to get to them. When that's all gone, they will reluctantly eat the grass. They'd rather have last year's hay than this year's fresh grass.:shrug: You might expect that from the primitive breeds, but my flock is mixed, with several different 'modern' breeds in there, as well as some primitive.

So get what you like to spin. 

Meg


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## MTDeb (Feb 20, 2003)

As far as the fiber goes, It's really a matter of what kind of fiber you want. Sheep produce wool. Goats produce cashmere or mohair (angora goats). I kind of like a mix, myself, hehe. 

They each have different behavior and care needs too. Unless you have really good, high fences, goats are going to be EVERYWHERE, in your garden, in your flower beds, eating your trees, on top of your vehicles, on the porch, in the house. One day my pygora was walking around a 2 x 4 that's at the top of the fence that goes around my garden that is supposed to keep the critters out! :nono: They're so cute though!


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## Liese (Dec 12, 2005)

MTDeb said:


> As far as the fiber goes, It's really a matter of what kind of fiber you want. Sheep produce wool. Goats produce cashmere or mohair (angora goats). I kind of like a mix, myself, hehe.
> 
> They each have different behavior and care needs too. Unless you have really good, high fences, goats are going to be EVERYWHERE, in your garden, in your flower beds, eating your trees, on top of your vehicles, on the porch, in the house. One day my pygora was walking around a 2 x 4 that's at the top of the fence that goes around my garden that is supposed to keep the critters out! :nono: They're so cute though!


 Deb could be talking about my sheep - well except for the high beam walking. Yeah goat kids on the hood of the car are sooo cute:rotfl:


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## meganwf (Jul 5, 2005)

Thanks so much for all the great advice and feedback (as usual). I hopefully will be able to take a sheep care class this fall so that will help me decide as well as getting through the different fleeces I have bought so that I can see if I have a favorite. I have lots of time to figure it out but I hear you loud and clear on the need for at least three of the critters and good fencing. Ditto on the need to have someone care for them while away. It is a daunting obligation so I'm taking it slow. 

I have pictures of what used to be a meadow that I would like to have brought under some semblance of control, I don't know if that would be helpful or not but basically brambles everywhere! You need some serious armor on to walk the "paths" that my husband mowed. I would like to use the meadow in a more productive way -- so it is either buy a tractor with a tiller and plant flowers -- or get some goats or sheep and pigs to do it in exchange for meat and/or fiber and the satisfaction (and trials!) of doing it in a homesteading type fashion. 

Plus I would feel so proud to someday be wearing something I made from my own critters. Oh, and I really want a farm dog.


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## fiberfaerie (Apr 14, 2008)

Flanelberry, 
Frazzle and I have both shorn ourselves and it's not too bad at all.

got pics of you and frzzle "shorn"!!?
sorry, couldn't help my self the image is hilarious
Glenda


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## Meg Z (Jun 8, 2004)

meganwf said:


> I have pictures of what used to be a meadow that I would like to have brought under some semblance of control, I don't know if that would be helpful or not but basically brambles everywhere! You need some serious armor on to walk the "paths" that my husband mowed. I would like to use the meadow in a more productive way -- so it is either buy a tractor with a tiller and plant flowers -- or get some goats or sheep and pigs to do it in exchange for meat and/or fiber and the satisfaction (and trials!) of doing it in a homesteading type fashion.
> 
> Plus I would feel so proud to someday be wearing something I made from my own critters. Oh, and I really want a farm dog.


My sheep llloooooveeeeee briars and brambles. However, if your meadow is really bad, you might want to consider a two-fold attack on it. One year to raise a couple freezer pigs on it, while you figure out what fiber animals you want, then those. That takes off the pressure of choosing until you have more of idea of what you really want, and gets that piece of ground under some control. It'll also give you a good test on if you want more pigs later, and since they would be freezer pigs and not breeding stock, it's a short-term committment on them.

Who says you have to jump into the deep end feet first? You can wade in to your comfortable depth from the shallow end. 

Meg


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Do you know anyone who has goats? Maybe you could borrow one or two as a sort of test drive. Same with sheep, borrow for a year or six months. It might give you an idea of what it will be like.


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## flannelberry (Jul 14, 2005)

fiberfaerie said:


> got pics of you and frzzle "shorn"!!?
> sorry, couldn't help my self the image is hilarious
> Glenda



Ok - I am at my desk laughing and no one but you and I know why!


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## flannelberry (Jul 14, 2005)

What about 4H in your area? There could be a 4H kid who needs some space to raise something.

I'd agree with Meg but my friend is raising pigs and no thanks (for me)! Are they always so stinky?!!!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

come on now! I love my piggers and if their place is big enough, they don't stink except in their designated potty area.

We had 6 pigs on 2 acres and have weeds 4' high all over in there. They really root up the ground the first warm month in spring, but not so much over the summer


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## flannelberry (Jul 14, 2005)

Can you train them to a potty area? She has four and I'd love to share that information. I think they're hilarious and adorable but she's not loving them!

If you have some tips I'll pass them on.


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## meganwf (Jul 5, 2005)

>>Ok - I am at my desk laughing and no one but you and I know why!<<

HHhhmm... now I'm really curious!

But seriously, I just today remembered that I heard from a friend who heard from a farmer who heard from another farmer... about a lady who needs temporary forage area for her goats. So if it is true I might talk to her about how that would work. I did talk to the local 4h but if you have never borrowed or rented goats before to someone who has never had them before a lot of issues come up. So right now I think I'll pursue that angle or rent a brush hog for the weekend to make room for some pigs to raise next year. Then I'll have an area that I can seed for sheep pasture -- should I like the class that I'll take -- or plant sunflowers and pumpkins! Either way, wading in is a great idea.

Meanwhile I just ordered a pvc niddy noddy from someone close by so that I can set my next skein of yarn AND she said I could come visit her angora bunnies! Thanks!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

flannelberry said:


> Can you train them to a potty area?


Don;t let appearance confuse you, pigs are naturally intelligent & clean animals. (the mud they roll in is to protect them from sunburn and insects). 

Given enough room, they'll choose their own potty area.


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