Sheep Vs. Goat's Vs. Cows

[MarylandFutureFarmGuy]

If you had unlimited land and pasture resources, what would you pick? would you pick all three?


Also, just curious, has anyone raised Alpaca's or Llama's? I hear Alpaca wool is more efficient (AKA warmer in a smaller mass) than sheeps wool, and also they set up a little "privy" area instead of crapping all over the place. I imagine it would sell for more.

 

[BarredBuff]

Cattle...definitely. Cattle are much more efficient with their prefered grzing behavior. The milk gave also is more suited to making dairy products we like. Butter, Whipped Cream, Hard Cheese, and Buttermilk. Plus the annual calf from the milk cow, would be used to grow out for beef. I happen to also enjoy cattle personality better than goats.

 

[Beekissed]

Depends on what you are wanting. Milk? Meat? Or milk and meat? How much pasture are we dealing with?

If I only had, say, 5 acres or less and I just wanted to use it and maybe make a little profit and have some meat, hair sheep would be the best use of the land. They graze like sheep, browse like goats, don't need shearing, are hardy and parasite resistant, birth easily and without much intervention and they bring a good price at market.

Boer goats would be good for this purpose also.

If I had 10 acres, I'd get a milk cow for that acreage and breed her back to beef and foster a beef calf as well. I'd also run a few hair sheep with her for parasite control.

If I only had 5 acres, or less, and needed milk more than meat or wanted both, I'd run Boers and a few milk goats, or hair sheep and a few milk goats.



Unlimited pasture and resources? I'd have cattle and hair sheep together.

 

[Ceilismom]

As it happens, I do have plenty of land and pasture resources. We raise cattle. DH hates sheep. For my part, I don't hate sheep (I have helped a family member work them once, and found working them to be more intuitive than working cattle), but I do see how our neighbors run themselves into the ground looking after their sheep at lambing time. In our area, they require more work to keep them alive and contained. While there is still more work than hours in the day with the cattle, they are hardy and take care of themselves for the most part.

I like the idea of goats, but keeping them out of trouble would require some expenses and lifestyle changes that we're not willing to commit to.

All I know about alpacas is that they are cute and I love to work with their wool. I am content to pay somebody to provide it.

My landlady back in the day kept llamas. I enjoyed seeing them in the pasture, but she once served me a llama roast, and it was the driest, worst-tasting meat I have ever eaten in my life. I have worked with llama wool too, but I like alpaca better.

 

[Denim Deb]

I'd go w/a mini cow breed, whether it would be a pure Jersey or a Jersey cross remains to be seen. I'd get both milk and meat then.

I like my goats, but when they die, I'm not replacing them. I can't bring myself to think about eating one, but I have eaten beef B4 that I knew personally and I prefer cow's milk to goat's milk.

Sheep, I'm allergic to wool, so that's out. Plus I have to deal w/a ram out at my friend's farm and I'm about ready to kill the dumb thing.

I'm not overly fond of llamas, and was attacked by an intact male. He was cute and cuddly as a baby, but the owner couldn't find a vet in the area to snip him. And as he got older, he got nasty.

I have thought of alpalcas. But then again, unless I was planning on selling the wool, I don't know that it would be worth it.

I'm at the stage in my life that I'm not getting any animal unless it serves a purpose, even if that purpose is just to provide manure for the garden. Even though I have the horses, I'm not wanting to use their manure in the garden since it takes so long to compost properly to get rid of the weed seeds. Rabbit poop is so much easier to work w/and I don't have that problem.

 

[MarylandFutureFarmGuy]

That's the great thing about rabbit manure, you can use it immediately.

 

[debe53]

HI...new here...I have llamas, alpacas, goats and sheep, plus a few others... I personally think Americans lean too heavily on cattle. BIG users of resources, and BIG out put of manure and gasses ...different goat breeds have different tasting milk, so that is a big depends on sort of thing. I am a fiber farmer, and make goat milk soaps and many other things from my milk. I prefer llamas to alpacas. there are also a few different types of llamas, heavy wool, lighter wool and pack types ...I have one boy that has fiber that FAR exceeds any alpaca fiber to be found...so one really needs to know what the end goal is for the animals. My Pygora goats have amazing fiber...and give a little milk, but my Nigerian dwarfs give MUCH more milk and it is sweeter...camelids (llamas and alpacas) do not tear up the ground nearly as much as other animals....so research! and know what it is you are planning to accomplish ....

 

[pinkfox]

in that kind of situation with unlimitied funds:

a small herd of Dexter dattle, dexter are a natrually mini breed good for milk and AMAZING meat, veyr self sufficient and reiliant too. thei milk is good for drinking and butter.
a small herd of dairy goats, nubians nigis or lamancha,something high in butter fat for drinking and cheese making.
a small herd of sheltand sheep (butter and wool) and a couple of gelded suri alpaca for wool production. add in a pair of female guard llama as guardinan and wool production.

alpaca are great, adorable, beautiful wool but they take longer for wool to come in and are expensive, they also have a little more specific nees for housing and weather protection. shetland sheep are small, hardy and have highly sought after wool, when blended with alaca it cant bebeat! the llama wool is nice too and a good guard llama in my opinon beats out a guard dog or guard donkey.

but i think unless YOU were interested in spinning id probably pass on the wool animals, while alpaca are expensive, if your not showing ect it can be a hard market to get what your asking for them to make it worth it. and if your not interesting in shearing yourself that money adds up quickly.

i think its definatly a case of go with wha tyou like and will use...if your an avid hand spinnera feild full of fiber animals makes sense...if your looking for meat and milk, some small hardy cows make more sense, and if your a cheese feind and a soap maker, the goatsmake more sense.
personally im one of those "dable into everything" kind of gals.

i would NOT suggest aplaca/llama for a first time fiber animal owner though, they can be tempermental (especially if rased as bottle babies) and are alittle more "delicate" in ertain cimates...they can be serious characters...which can be good or bad...and yes...they SPIT! (and its yucky)

 

[Mickey328]

As the PP's have said, so much would depend on what you need. Personally, if I had the space and resources, I'd have a mini Jersey and breed her annually to a mini Dexter. That way we'd have both milk and meat. I'm not sure if I'd do goats...I've never had goat's milk or meat, so I'd need to get some first to see if we like it. If so, we'd definitely get some. Wouldn't do sheep...nobody in our family cares for the meat and I'm allergic to the wool. Not on the list, but I'd definitely do rabbits. Their poo is, IMO the ultimate fertilizer, and I love rabbit meat.

 

[Icu4dzs]

If you had unlimited land and pasture resources, what would you pick? would you pick all three?


Also, just curious, has anyone raised Alpaca's or Llama's? I hear Alpaca wool is more efficient (AKA warmer in a smaller mass) than sheeps wool, and also they set up a little "privy" area instead of crapping all over the place. I imagine it would sell for more.

Who has such a think as "unlimited land and pasture"?
"Hear o Israel...."