How to Raise Sheep and Goats Together

Goats and sheep are compatible, running in the same pastures and sleeping in the same barn. As long as the sheep are polled (lacking horns) and goats disbudded (removed horns), sheep and goats can be kept together, says the University of Maryland Extension. Even though both species are generally docile, you don't want either species to have built-in weapons. Crossbreeding is rare and unproven. You can't defy genetics: goats possess 60 chromosomes while sheep have only 54.

Things You'll Need

  • Barn
  • Fencing
  • Deworming medicine
  • Dosing syringe
  • Mineral salts
  • Hoof trimmer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Graze the sheep and goats together in the same pasture. They will not compete for the same food. Sheep are grazers, preferring broad-leaved plants and grass, while goats are browsers, preferring brush, trees and shrubs.

    • 2

      Fence the goats and sheep in the same pen. Many different kinds of fencing will contain sheep and goats and keep predators out, but woven or net wire is most recommended. Because goats like to climb, the corners of fences should not have diagonal bracing for posts.

    • 3

      Provide shelter for both species at all times, as they seek it for different reasons: goats when it's raining or cold and sheep when the sun is high on a hot day.

    • 4

      Worm the sheep and goats orally with a dosing syringe containing a long tube. Goats will need higher doses of worming medicine than sheep.

    • 5

      Supplement the goats' and sheep's diets with trace-mineralized salt, but because sheep and goats have different mineral requirements, this part of their diets must be fed separately. For example, goats need copper minerals, but sheep can't tolerate it. Give your goats copper boluses (they attach to the inside of the body, slowly delivering copper at a predetermined rate) or add copper sulfate to their drinking water in a separate bowl made unavailable to the sheep.

    • 6

      Trim the goats' and sheep's hooves. While trimming goat hooves, you can simply lift up their feet. It is easier to trim a sheep's hooves while the sheep is tipped up on its behind.