 Look similar  Ruminants  Goats have beards  Sheep have foot glands  Male goats have a strong smell  Slight differences in horns and skeleton  Goats are more intelligent, independent and have a better ability to fight and protect themselves.  Goats were first to be domesticated  Goats skins were once used for bottles  Sheep and goats are used for food and fiber  Both were used to plant seed by trampling them into the ground.

 Raised for food and Clothing  Goats domesticated 9000 years ago  Sheep domesticated 8000 years ago  Sheep originated in Asia and Europe  Goats originated in Mediterranean area and Asia  Brought to America 400 years ago  Australia and New Zealand lead in producers of sheep  New Zealand people consume around 60 pounds of sheep per year.  The world consumption is around 3 pounds per year  China and India are the leading producers of Goats  These two countries produce 460 million head  North America only produces 2.5 million; numbers have declined due to lower returns, predators, high risks, high wages, and uncertain prices.  Goat numbers have increased in the 2000’s  USA ranks 27 th in sheep numbers. The largest sheep numbers are in Texas

Food Lamb – meat from a young sheep less than one year old. Mutton – is meat from a sheep that is more than one year old. Mutton has a strong flavor – less desirable. Goat Meat – Chevron Milk – from goats (not common from sheep), has small particles known has globules. Milk products – cheese (Roquefort)

 Clothing:  Wool – soft cloth of sheep  Mohair and Cashmere – from specific goats  Sheep yield 5-15 pounds per shearing  Hides are used for leather products called – Chammy

 More suitable for range land  Excellent scavengers  Sheep more efficient in converting feed to meat than cattle  Dual purpose animal producing meat and fiber  Yield fast returns – 8 months to raise  Sheep and goats can be pastured together  Goats eat browse (woody plants)  Sheep graze on short grass and some broadleaf plants  Don’t have a huge waste disposal problem  Don’t need elaborate facilities

 Price of wool is low and unstable  Synthetic fibers has hurt the industry  Consumption of lamb is low  Susceptible to disease and parasites  Susceptible to attack from predators

 Ruminants  Cloven hoofs (divided)  Classified in the Bovidae family  Sheep are more economically important than goats in the USA

 Goats:  Goats range from 20 (dwarf) to 150 pounds  Goat height feet  Goats live 8-10 years  Sheep:  Sheep range from pounds  Wool on a large sheep weighs 15 pounds  Sheep live 7-13 years

 Lamb – young sheep or either sex and less than one year old  Ewe – female sheep any age  Ram – male sheep kept for breeding not castrated  Wether – castrated male sheep or goat before maturity  Nanny – doe or female goat  Buck or Billy – male goat not castrated  Kid – young goat under a year of age

 Breeding season for goats is regulated by the climate and season.  Hot climates – goats mate year round  In climates away from the equator goats mate typically in late summer and fall  Goats (does) are breed to have their young at two years of age  Process of giving birth in goats – kidding  Kids weigh around 5 pounds  Goats typically have 2-3 kids per litter  Gestation period for a goat is 151 days  Gestation period for a sheep is 148 days  Estrus cycle for goats are 18 – 19 days  Estrus cycle for sheep is days  Heat period for sheep is 30 hours (no visible signs)  Goats require very little shelter

 If eaten should be muscular, health, strong and sound.

 Over 200 breeds of domestic sheep are in existence today. ¾ of the sheep raised come from these sheep listed - Suffolk, Dorset, Hampshire, Rambouillet, Polypay, and Columbia. North America includes – Oxford, Southdown, Corriedale, Montadale, Shropshire, Cheviot, and Katahdin.

 Over 300 breeds of domestic goats are known. Domestic goats are in five groups.  Angora – Used for angora fiber  Dairy – 1.8% of world supply of milk. Average doe produces 5 pounds per day (for 10 months)  Meat – Spanish goat and boar goat – don’t compete for grass, but rather prefer browsing.  Cashmere – finest animal fiber used. 3 times the insulating value of wool.  Pygmy – used for research and pets

 80 % Meat and 20 % Fiber - Wool  Selection – important for production goals  Production Systems:  Farm Flock – most popular method  Purebred Flock – Pure Blood lines, lots of labor  Range Band Method – a band of sheep with it’s own herder  Confinement Method – becoming popular. Less parasites, land needed, less death.

 Ewes reach puberty at 8-10 months  Rams reach puberty at 5-7 months  Ewes give birth at 24 months  Giving birth in sheep is called – lambing  Ewe Management  Care at lambing / orphan lambs  Docking – 3-10 days  Castration – 3-10 days  Nutritional needs – all six nutrients  Feeding – concentrates verse roughages (do better on these)

 Prevention key to successful practices - Sanitation

 Sheep need housing  Fencing – woven wire  Equipment – loading chutes, crates  Exercise tracks  Showing animals – Fitting and Showing  Goats have a leash  Sheep are shown without equipment