Sheep%20and%20Goats

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Sheep and Goats
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Sheep Goat Overview

• Both originated in Europe and the cooler
  regions on Asia.
• Both are important ruminants in temperate and
  tropical agriculture.
• Provide fibers, milk, meat, and hides.
• Versatile and efficient, especially for
• developing countries.
• Sheep numbers have declined in the
• U.S. (less than 0.2 of total farm revenue in
  U.S.)

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Ovis aries Sheep

• New Zealand, Australia, and Saudi Arabia -
  highest per capita consumption of lamb, and goat
  meat.
• U.S. consumes lt 1 lb./person of lamb (boneless
  wt. basis).
• China, Australia, India, Iran and Sudan
  leading sheep producing countries.
• Suffolk

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Sheep and Goats

• Sheep Ovis aries
• Tail down
• Grazers close to soil (short tender grasses and
  clovers)
• Distant and aloof
• Distinct philtrum
• Curved horns

• Goats Carpa Hircus
• Tail up (unless sick)
• Natural browsers on top of plants (twigs, vine,
  shrubs)
• Curious and independent
• Distinct odor as they mature
• Straight horns

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Grazing

• Cattle, sheep, goats are often grazed together
  because they utilize different plants
• Goats graze browse (tender
• twigs leaves from brush
• trees) and some forbs
• (broad-leafed plants)
• Sheep graze short grasses
• and some forbs
• Cattle graze tall grasses and
• some forbs
• Dorset

Cheviot
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U. S. Sheep Industry

• 56 mil. in 1942 6 mil. in 2004
• U. S. relies on imports to supply limited
  demand for lamb.
• Most U. S. sheep growers have small flocks (50
  or fewer) and raise sheep as a secondary
  enterprise.
• About 23 of sheep born in western U.S. are
  lost before they are marketed (predators and
  weather are main problems).

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Reasons for Decline in SheepIndustry

• Less demand for wool.
• Declining demand for lamb in consumer
• diets.
• Increased difficulty in obtaining/keeping
• reliable herders to manage flocks.
• Increased competition for public-owned
• rangeland.
• Predators.

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Attributes of Sheep (Ewe) Milk

• Sheep milk is highly
• nutritious, more than cow milk. Vitamins A,
  B, and E, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and
  magnesium
• Sheep milk almost four times the price of cow
  milk
• Specialized dairy breeds 400-1,100 lbs milk/
  lactation.
• Ewes are milked once or twice per day.

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Sheep Cheese

• Most of the sheep milk produced in the world is
  made into cheese.
• Feta (Greece, Italy, and France), Ricotta and
  Pecorino Romano (Italy) and Roquefort (France)
• The U.S. annually imports
• 75 million pounds of cheese made from sheep
• milk.
• Fresh sheep milk is rarely consumed

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Sheep Breeds

• Meat Breeds or Medium wool
• Mainly used for meat production
• Are predominant in the U.S.
• Include Dorset, Suffolk, and
• Hampshire
• Fine Wool Breeds
• Highest quality Merino from Spain and
  Rambouillet from France, predominant breed in
  Australia is the Merino
• Long wool
• Hair breeds

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Sheep Reproduction

• Breeding season occurs mainly in the fall.
• Estrous cycle 16 to 17 days
• Gestation length 147 days (varies).
• Recommended breeding age 1 yr.
• Multiple births are highly desirable
  (twinning).
• Weaned at 3 to 4 months
• Other important economic traits include growth
  rate, wool production, and carcass merit (quality
  grade and yield grade).

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Jaw Defects are Highly Heritable
Brachygnathism parrot mouth
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Sheep Management

• Clostridium diseases (vaccines)
• Enterotoxemia (Type D) (Overeating Disease/ pulpy
  kidney disease) - Clostridium perfringins type D
• Vaccine Type CD - T toxoid vaccinate ewes 1
  month before lambing and 6, 10 wks lambs
• Hemorrhagic enteritis, bloody scours -
  Clostridium perfringins type C
• Tetanus - Clostridium tetani vaccinate ewes 1
  month before lambing/ tx with antitoxin during
  castration and tail docking
• Scours (E. coli) watery mouth in 2-4 day
  old lamb (Hygiene)
• Prevention Lambing barn sanitation and creating
  a clean, dry environment for newborn lambs
• Footrot Bacteroides nodosus (animal's hoof)
  and Fusobacterium necrophorum (normal inhabitant
  of soil manure)
• hoof trimming, vaccination, foot bathing and
  soaking. Zinc sulfate is considered to be the
  most effective foot rot treatment. Footrot is
  highly contagious.
• Soremouth (lambs) contagious ecthyma, scabby
  mouth, pustular dermatitis, orf (most common
  skin disease in sheep and goats), zoonotic
• Pox virus, vaccine (previously exposed herd)
• Parasites

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Sheep Management

• Management. Practices
• Feeding
• Extra feed before lambing 0.5-1.0 lb (per fetus)
  grain/day
• Creep feeding introduce young lambs to solids
• Tail docking, castration of males
• Elastrator (pg 493) 3 -7 days old

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Goats Capra hircus
Toggenburg)

• Concentrated
• primarily in India, and
• China (other contributing
• countries include Pakistan,
• Sudan, and Bangladesh).
• Texas ranks 2nd
• in the U.S. for total
• number of goats.

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Goat milk

• Goat milk is also
• used to feed many
• other animals (most mammals
• including wild animals) usually
• they are bottle feed.
• Goats will fairly easily adopt
• lambs and a goat will even jump
• up on bale of hay to allow a foal
• to nurse.

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Importance of Goat Industry

• Most are found in developing countries
• Supply meat and milk
• Major by-product skins
• Almost all of the dairy
• goats in the U.S. are found
• in small herds

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Goat Reproduction Characteristics

• Gestation Length 150 days
• Estrous cycle 17 to 21 days
• Age at puberty 120 days to over 1 yr.
• Breeding age 9 months
• Breeding season late summer, early fall, or
  winter
• Adult size
• 130 lb avg. for Does
• 160 lb avg. for Bucks

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Meat Goats

• Origin South Africa, Middle East, and
• Australia.
• Boer goat superior growth rate and lean
• meat yield.
• Ethnic consumer market has the highest
• demand for goat meat

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Goats

• Meat Breeds Boer Goat
• White with brown head from
• South Africa
• Milk breeds Nubian,
• Toggenburg, Saanen,
• Oberhasli, Lamanche,
• Alpine
• Heavy milk producers per
• body size vs. cattle
• production per body size
• Hair breeds for Mohair
• (Angora) and Cashmere