1. Sheep & Goat Production

2. Sheep Facts Raised for wool, lamb and mutton 5.4 million sheep in U.S.
Decreasing
Do not eat much
Synthetic fibers replacing wool
85,000 sheep in WI
Texas is #1 with 1.3 million sheep
Average person in the U.S. eats less than 1 lb lamb and mutton per year

3. Goat Facts Raised for mohair, cashmere, milk and chevon (meat)
3 million goats in U.S.
Texas is #1 overall
65,000 goats in WI
Increasing
Milk goats (WI #1 with 45,000)

4. Sheep & Goat Terms Sheep Goat Adult Male Ram Buck/Billy Adult Female
Ewe
Doe/Nanny
Young
Lamb
Kid
Giving Birth
Lambing
Kidding
Group
Flock/Herd
Band
Castrated Male
Wether
Wether

5. Sheep Production Ewes should lamb by 2 years of age
Average 2 lambs per pregnancy
Lambing Systems
Spring Lambs
Easier for ewes to be bred
Fall Lambs
Lambs born before December 25th
Higher lamb prices
Market lambs between lbs

6. Sheep Production Spring Lambs Fall Lambs Breed Ewes September July
Lambing
February
December
Market Lambs
August
June

7. Sheep Production Lamb Management Handling Sheep Labor intensive
Assist with lambing
Make sure ewe accepts lamb
Handling Sheep
Do not handle by wool – causes bruising
Catch sheep by their neck
Move sheep with one hand under the jaw and the other hand under the tail

8. Goat Production
Dairy, mohair and cashmere does should kid once per year
Meat does should kid twice per year