[nchen7]

So we currently have 3 goats - 2 does and a buckling. My bf loves the goats, but he doesn't want to mow the lawn anymore...so he's now wanting to get a sheep. the issue is my role is to keep livestock (he does plants), so i'll be the one who say yay or nay on the decision.

We're in Barbados so the only breed availabe is Black Belly Sheep.

My questions are:

1. would we be able to just get one and it can have our goats as their "flock"?
2. i don't know much about sheep...are they about the same (taking care wise) as goats? i know they can't have copper, but feed, minerals, etc...similar?
3. should i get an ewe or wether? i don't want a ram...

and lastly, but most importantly

4. are they as addictive as goats? because i don't need another livestock addiction! lol

 

[ksalvagno]

I believe as long as the sheep don't get copper, it shouldn't be a problem. I would think the 1 sheep should be fine with the goats. Start with a wether, then if you really don't like him, you can always put him in the freezer.

 

[Jessica84]

Ohhh you dont want my 2cent on sheep, I dislike the suckers. Now why not the goats for the lawn. No grass is not their #1 choice but if you dont feed them hay they are not stupid animals they will eat to live. When my back yard starts to get tall I just open the gate and they come in and eat it then I kick them out, but the lawn is the only green thing around here right now lol

 

[nchen7]

Ohhh you dont want my 2cent on sheep, I dislike the suckers. Now why not the goats for the lawn. No grass is not their #1 choice but if you dont feed them hay they are not stupid animals they will eat to live. When my back yard starts to get tall I just open the gate and they come in and eat it then I kick them out, but the lawn is the only green thing around here right now lol

LOL!! i don't want a sheep either....but the problem is the area my bf wants the grass mowed has bananas around. if you leave goats around the bananas, they will just gorge themselves on those and leave everything else to grow.

if it were up to me, i'd have more goats!!! totally addicted to those little things!

 

[5goatgirls]

It depends on the addictive part. We added two sheep last year to help out my remaining two goat girls. We added another one this Spring. We do intend on adding two more goats. Goats to me are so much quicker to form a bond with their owners. Depending on how the sheep are handled from birth depends on whether they will be friendly or not. I have two that were handled a lot by humans and have no problems with me coming right up to them. The third one has no trust with us and will quickly walk away unless she is getting treats then I might be able to scratch her head or neck. I like the sheep and am glad we got them but I love my goats (I have had them for over 10 years). The sheep we have are hair sheep.

 

[Sensible]

The sheep will be better at grazing, as you suspect, they are just much dumber than goats. I'm not into talking animal movies at all, but the way that they portrayed the sheep in the movie Babe, captured their intelligence level very well. A ewe can be put in the freezer if you decide that you don't like her also, but if you do, she can always give you a lamb or two ever year to do the same.

 

[nchen7]

sounds good you all. i read all the posts out to my bf and i'm letting my bf make the decision. i think we're going to hold off for now, as we don't have enough housing for everyone, but we're hoping to get something bigger over the summer, so maybe we'll get one then. guess he'll just have to suck it up and keep weedwacking for now!

 

[KW Farms]

If you aren't looking to raise them, I personally would rather just mow the lawn then keep a single sheep. :laugh:

My questions are:

1. would we be able to just get one and it can have our goats as their "flock"?

Yes, that would probably be just fine.

2. i don't know much about sheep...are they about the same (taking care wise) as goats? i know they can't have copper, but feed, minerals, etc...similar?

Yes, they're fairly similar as far as care goes. One issue you'll have keeping them together is figuring out how to keep the sheep out of the goat minerals.

3. should i get an ewe or wether? i don't want a ram...

I'd go with a ewe that way you could breed if you ever wanted, but probably just go with whatever your preference. A wether or ewe will work fine.

4. are they as addictive as goats? because i don't need another livestock addiction! lol

They're a bit addictive yes, but I haven't found them to be as addicting as my goats.

 

[Maggie]

1. would we be able to just get one and it can have our goats as their "flock"?

I think this would depend a lot on your goats too. A few years ago we had a stray sheep come to the farm and could not locate the owners. We thought we could just keep it with our 3 goats and it would be fine... and it may have if our goats didn't absolutely despise the poor thing and beat on it every chance they got! We ended up giving it to a local petting zoo. I am not sure if all sheep are like it, but boy was it a dumb animal!

 

[Little-Bits-N-Pieces]

You don't want sheep, my 2 cents is they SUCK! They are smelly,greasy , annoying, loud animals. I hate sheep....
Hope I helped!:ROFL:

 

[nchen7]

LOL!!!!!!! read all of these to the bf, and he's decided he's goign to continue weed wacking!!!

thank you all for your input!!!