Sheep and Goat Flashcards
How long ago where goats domesticated? Around what year was this?
Domesticated 8500 to 9000 years ago
In 7000 BC.
What is significant about the domestication time about goats?
They are one of the oldest if not the oldest domesticated livestock species.
Around the same time as pigs.
Goats being domesticated around the same time as pigs means what?
They were domesticated when people were still nomadic and moving from place to place.
What is the wild ancestor of the modern goat?
Bezoar goat.
Where did the bezoar goat originate?
Persia/Asia Minor to Crete. Includes parts of Russia.
(Look at the map. To the right of the European cluster, below Russia, above Africa, to the left of India. A rectangle of area in there. Turkey, Iran, and Syria included!)
What were goats domesticated for?
food, milk, and clothing.
Where were goats brought by European and Asian explorers?
North/South America, New Zealand and Australia
How are our modern day goats similar to our modern day cattle?
There are meat breeds and milk breeds.
If we believe that North America did have any native wild goats, how can we have wild goats now?
We believe that our wild goats come from goats that escaped after being brought over by explorers.
Around how long ago were sheep domesticated? Around what year was this?
Domesticated 6000 to 7000 years ago.
Around 5000 BC.
What two species do we believe are the ancestors of our modern day sheep?
European mouflon and the Asiatic Urial.
What does the timeline of sheep domestication tell us?m
Sheep were also domesticated while people were still nomadic, but were domesticated after goats and pigs.
Describe The range of the undomesticated sheep.
Overlaps over with goat range, but is bigger.
A large circle involving part of Russia, China, Mongolia, India, Iran, turkey, and many Eruopean countries like Italy, Rome, and Ukraine.
Why do we think sheep were domesticated?
For food, milk, and clothing.
What is unique and different about sheep when they were first domesticated compared to now? (Two things)
They grew and matured much slower
Ancient ancestors probably had predominantly hair (Rather than wool)
How did sheep get to the Americas, New Zeland, and Australia?
Through European and Asian explorers.
How are sheep the opposite in domestication in comparison to horses?
Sheep are one of the species that have changed the most biologically from domestication, but very little culturally.
Horses have changed the most culturally with very little biological change.
In sheep, selective breeding and genetic improvement from domestication has caused what three things?
Fast growth
Multiple births
Wool quality.
Remember to look at your demographic charts for numbers!
Okay.
In the US, how is sheep production divided?
Most farms on the east coast (Including NC) are farm flock
Out west, sheep are managed with a range style.
Describe some qualities of a farm flock system.
Smaller amounts of land, intensely managed, smaller amounts of sheep.
Describe some qualities of a range style system.
Big farms, little intervention, Sheep are left alone to do their own thing.
What are the top producing US states in sheep production?
Texas, California, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota.
True or false? The number one animal showed at the NC State fair is sheep.
True!
Why might this be true?
It is pretty easy to raise a sheep on a small amount of rough land and prep them for showing
In other words, sheep can grow and live in pretty rough conditions.
How has the sheep industry changed in NC?
It hasn’t much. Our numbers have stayed fairly stable through the years.
The percentages for the NC market share of the sheep industry in the US is low. Why?
Our sheep farms tend to be smaller. We sell animals at a younger age, which earns less money.
Why are goat number statistics less accurate?
The US is not a major producer of goats. We only recently started recording figures.
What is the main idea between sheep and goat production in NC State??
In the US, sheep production is much bigger and brings in more income than the goat industry.
But in NC, we produce almost double as many goats as sheep. The goat industry brings in much more money than the sheep industry in NC.
Why is the goat inventory high in NC state?
In the early 2000’s. a group of producers lobbied for state legislatures to put aside money for the goat industry.
In terms of goat production, how is NC state different than other states?
They aren’t really. The farms tend to be low-intensity and about the same average size when compared to other states.
Explian the history of goat production in NC state.
State gov approved special funds in 1995 to develop a meat goat industry in NC.
Farmers moved from tobacco to goat rearing.
Explain the history of sheep production in NC state.
Farmers that used to do tobacco wanted something else. They convinced legislators to give a one time payment and a recurring payment with the argument that sheep could be raised on nearly any terrain.
Sheep breeds differ greatly in what trait?
Their gregariousness!
In terms of sheep and goat, what is gregariousness?
The desire to flock and stick together.
How is goat and sheep behavior different?
They have similar behaviors, but the degree in which they engage in the behavior is soooooo different.
Are goats gregarious?
To a degree! They tend to be far less gregarious than sheep.
Throughout their life time, how does a sheep’s gregariousness change?
When sheep are young, they are not as gregarious. As they get older, they start to care more about being with the group.
How can a sheep’s gregariousness be a benefit and a detriment?
If you want to move all of the sheep somewhere, you only really have to move a couple.
However, If you want to isolate a sheep, it will be very difficult.
Describe sheep peak order.
Sheep do have peak orders, but very little energy or activity is actually dedicated to establishing and maintaining it.
In a sheep peaking order, who is generally on top?
The oldest or biggest ewe is generally dominant.
What behavior is typical in a sheep peaking order?
Dominant sheep usually push subordinate ones out of the way.
Sheep often will not let a new animal join the flock.
Older ewes generally avoid new ewes. New ewes will run after them trying to join the herd.
Do sheep fight to establish peak order?
Not normally. Sheep like to bluff. They will posture and act like they might charge, but it tends to resolve without any fight.
How does goat social behavior work?
Goats establish peck orders and unlike sheep, they are strictly enforced.
What determines where a goat is on the social pecking order?
Generally horn size.
Describe dominant and submissive behavior in goats.
Dominant animals will lower their heads and pretend to rush subordinates
subordinate animals will run away.
Describe fighting behavior in goats.
Animals that want to challenge lower their heads and a “jousting match” will ensue.
Goats do a lot more actual fighting and interaction than sheep.
How are sheep and goat similar to cattle?
They will posture and use body language to try and intimidate before they fight.
They might not make contact at all if one of them backs down.
If all of that doesn’t work, they fight.
True or false? Because they are different, sheep and goat will avoid each other in the same pasture.
False! Sheep and goat will interact and will often fight in the same pasture.
How do goats charge?
When goats charge, they rear their heads up and meet their opponent mid air.
How do sheep charge?
They charge with lowered heads.
How many noises do sheep and goat make (generlization)
Only a couple
Dr. Flowers says close to three.
In distress, what noise do sheep and goats make?
A “bleat”
What might cause a bleat?
Distress from hunger, separation…ect.
Describe the noise do does and ewes make to their young.
A “Rumble”
A low murmuring sound.
How might sheep and goat express aggression?
A Snort
Describe submissive posture in goats and sheep/
Lowered head with a head shake.
Describe some aggressive or defensive behaviors.
Stamping the front legs, twisting the horns at an object.
Describe the difference in human social behavior between sheep and goats.
Goats tend to be very curious. They may approach and initiate contact with humans.
Sheep tend to be more skittish and will generally avoid contact
What are the two types of sheep productions?
Farm flocks and range production.
Describe farm flock production style.
Small numbers of ewes reared on a small acreage of land
Very intensively managed- Involves rotating rams, lambing facilities, daily/weekly activates.
Where are you most likely to find farm flock production?
Most of the south east and mid west.
Describe range style production.
Large number of ewes on a large acreage.
Minimal management. Generally only involves moving them from range to range.
Sheep are only handled a few times per year.
Follows the principle of “Survival of the fittest” Some sheep will die.
Where might you find range production style?
Out west.
Which produces the the majority of our sheep, range style or farm flock? How much?
Range production is most of the sheep production. About 75%
Give an overview of a sheep’s management calendar.
Breeding season is between August/September and December/February.
During this time, a sheep may go into puberty and begin its estrous cycles. It will go into estrus and be bred.
Gestation will begin and breeding season will end.
Lambing occurs outside of breeding season.
Lactation, then weaning, then a period of anestrus if we are out of breeding season.
Breeding season will start again the cycle continues.
How does sheep and goat management style differ?
Sheep cycles and management tends to be very strict. Goats are not.
Most goats do not have a breeding season and people breed them whenever.
What breed was created at NC States campus?
The polled dorset sheep!
Describe the polled Dorset.
Created in the 50’s, it is a species that does not have horns.
It is not a seasonal breeder! This can be a big advantage.
Every polled dorset originates back to one of our rams.
In sheep, when does puberty occur?
Between 5-12 months of age.
Why is the puberty range for sheep so wide?
Breed and the season of birth influence age at puberty.
This means, when the animal is born in relation to when breeding season starts affects when they can hit puberty.
An animal can not go into puberty outside of breeding season!!
Large breeds of sheep tend to be _____ at puberty than smaller breeds.
older.
Who has a longer breeding season, larger breeds or smaller breeds?
Large breeds.
Sheep can not go into ____ outside of breeding season. What is this called?
heat. Anestrus.
Reminder, when is breeding season?
August/September through December/February.
What kind of breeders are sheep?
Short day breeders.
Sheep are short day breeders, what does this mean?
Their breeding season starts when the days get shorter.
Through the breeding season, the days go from the longest days to the shortest days in terms of sunlight.
Describe hormonally how a light and dark effect us.
As day length decreases, melatonin is produced.
In the light, serotonin is produced.
In the darkness, melatonin is produced.
In sheep, what stimulates reproductive activity?
melatonin! As the days get shorter and the darkness increases, sheep start to go into estrus.
This is why the are called short day breeders.
Hormonally, describe how sheep are short day breeders.
Days get short, Darkness increases, and melatonin increases.
The melatonin stimulates reproductive activity.
LH and FSH are created as melatonin increases.
Can you breed a sheep out of season?
Technically yes, give them a pill of melatonin in their feed. Or keep them out of the sunlight.
Describe how most goats and polled Dorset breed.
No breeding season and can be bred relatively all year.
What is the caveat to our year-long breeders?
If these animals are bred in teh window as if they were seasonal, they tend to be more fertile.
What is more common in sheep and goats, AI or natural service? Why?
Natural mating is much much more common.
AI is very difficult in these animals. You cant feel what you are doing because the parts are smaller.
What are the male to female ratios in farm conditions.
1:40
What are the male to female ratios in range conditions?
1:30
Why are more rams required in range conditions?
The animals are not as intensely managed and the males are not in the very best shape.
You need more rams to compensate for the lowered efficiency.
What is the estrous cycle length for sheep?
16-18 days! This is different. Pay attention
How long is estrus in sheep?
24 to 36 hours.
How are sheep affected by the month within the breeding season?
If you don’t breed a ewe, the cycle length fluctuates. Near the end of the breeding season, the cycle will be longer.
In the middle, when the days are shortest and darkest, her cycle will be shorter.
Describe male rotation in sheep.
Male 1 for days 1-4
Male 2 for days 5-8
Male 3 for days 9-12
Male 1 for days 13-16
Male 2 for days 17-20
Male 3 for days 21-24
Each male breeds for about three or four days. Then are cycled back in after about 9 days off.
True or false. Considering male to female ratio, if you have a small flock of 30, you only need 1 male.
False! You want multiple.
Why might you want multiple males even in a small flock?
As insurance. In case one is unfertile or not doing the job
How is breeding beef cattle and breeding sheep similar?
The males get paint vests. When they mount a female, it smears paint. If there are two marks of paint, one of the males is not properly breeding.
How long is a goats estrous cycle?
21 days. The normal
How long is estrus in goats?
24 to 36 hours.
How long is gestation in sheep?
147-150 days.
About 5 months.
How might gestation be affected by twins or triplets?
Gestation may be a bit longer. The ewe will deliver late.
What is done in the last 2-6 weeks before lambing? Why?
Ewes are given supplemental energy.
Remember, fetuses grow the most in the last 1/3 of gestation.
Why is the timing of lambing good?
Following the breeding season, they should lamb around when the spring grasses are coming in! Good for their nutrition.
What is a management technique common before lambing?
Shearing before lambing.
Why might we shear the ewe before she gives birth?
Cleaner environment for nursing.
Encourages ewes to seek shelter more actively in bad weather. This is good for the young, the mom, and the farmer.
What is a misconception about shearing sheep?
That we do it to keep them cool.
We do it for health and for wool.
Explain some lambing problems. What’s the biggest one?
While ewes and does can experience dystocia problems, The bigger problem is getting ewes to accept lambs.
Especially when twins or triplets are born
What is a good way to tell if a mother is going to be a good mom? Why?
If the mom is carrying twins, gives birth to one, and then goes back to the same place to birth the second one, she will likely be a good mom.
Her instincts told her to birth in the same place. This way, she doesn’t have to run back and forth to take care of two.
If a mom does this, she will likely accept both.
What is typically done after a ewe or does gives birth?
The lamb/kid and mother are moved to claiming pens.
Why not just have the mom give birth in the claiming pens?
Sheep are social animals, its better for her to be around other sheep when she lambs. You don’t want to stress her during delivery by separating her from the flock.
Describe the claiming pens.
Very small pens where the ewe and lamb spend time together.
This is to facilitate bonding between the ewes/does and their lambs/kids.
Describe the movement that happens after birth.
Gives birth with flock, moved to claiming pens for a couple of days. Moved to a maternity pasture for a couple of days, then go back to regular pasture.
How many nipples do sheep have?
Two.
In sheep, what do we call cross-fostering?
Grafting!
Why might we want to graft?
If an ewe doesn’t accept a lamb
If the lamb is not getting enough milk.
The ewe had triplets. (Remember, they only have two nipples)
What are the two grafting techniques?
Slime graft
Wet graft.
What is a slime graft?
You take fetal fluids from the graft ewe and rub it on the lamb.
How might you slime graft?
You can only do this if you want to foster a lamb on to a ewe that is lambing.
When she births, you smear the fluids on the one you want adopted and then give it to her.
What is a wet graft?
Immerse the biological lamb and the lamb to be grafted in the same solution so that they smell the same.
Why might you wet graft?
If one mom has triplets, and another mom that has already given birth only had one. You would want to even it out.
Which grafting technique is more effective?
Slime graft!
If a slime graft is more effective than a wet graft, why do wet grafts?
You can do a wet graft at any time.
A slime graft requires one of the moms to be birthing.
How many nipples do sheep and goat have?
Two
How long do goats and sheep lactate for?
3-5 months.
WHat happens to the mamas body while lactating.
She will lose weight during lactation.
How should management change during lactation? Why?
The ewes and does diet of forage should be supplemented with grain or concentrate.
You dont want her to lose too much weight!
How shoudl the diet change during lactation?
Give supplemental feed with hay or grain or put them on higher grade pasture when lactating.
What is the first thing you want when a lamb is born?
For them to nurse!
If a lamb or kid wont nurse, what do you do? Why?
You tube it! To hopefully give it enough energy to start trying to nurse.
If an animal wont nurse, and tubing doesn’t work, what do you do?
You give them a bottle and stroke the throat to show them to swallow. After a couple days they should figure it out.
What should you do with lambs and kids that are weaned early? What is considered early?
Weaning early is around 50 days.
You should creep-feed the lambs!
What is creep feeding?
Providing supplemental feed for the young lambs to increase weight gain and reduce the amount of milk it needs to drink.
How does creep feeding work?
It is a feeding trough that has a gap that only young can pass through. Allows the younger ones to bulk up without the adults getting to the food.
Why might you wean an animal early?
There is a high demand for early weaned lambs.
Why is creep feeding a must if you wean early?
If you are cutting nursing time so much, you have to let them creep feed to gain some weight.
(Think, normal nursing time is about 90-130 days. You are weaning at 50)
When might a lamb or a kid start to use the creep feed.
Around after the first 30 days. This is when the milk quality start to go down and the lamb may start to creepfeed.
To successfully get the lamb or kid to creep feed when must you put in the creep feeder?
At least a week before expecting the lamb to use it.
Why do you need to put the creep feeder in early?
Sheep have a flocking instinct and are scared of new things.
The flocking instinct develops with age. If you put creep feeders in early, before the instinct develops, the lamb is more likely to break from the herd and go eat.
Other than weaning early, when might you want to put in a creep feeder?
In flocks with a high percentage of twins and triplets. You want everyone to get plenty to eat.
When are creep feeders most effective?
When they are put in when lambs are 7-10 days. `
When is weaning age?
It can be as early as 40 days or as late as 5-6 months.
This late would be the same as lactation length.
When is lactation terminated?
After weaning.
What is weaning dependent on?
Variable depending on the market or product produced.
What is the weight goal for a market lamb?
90-120 pounds when it is between 90-120 days.
You want about 1 pound per age.
How does market and puberty work?
Lambs and kids are sent to market before puberty!!
Latest sent to market is like 4 months.
What is adult sheep meat called? Baby sheep meat?
Mutton. Lamb.
How can you know if a body is lamb meat or mutton meat?
Look at its break joint. Its near the knee caps.
On adult animals, this join calcifies.
If the animal is still a lamb, it will still be cartilage.
if a sheep is slaughtered at 120 days, will it be lamb or mutton meat?
It could be either at this age. CHeck the break joint.
Describe a market sheep lifespan under farm flock
A lamb is born, they nurse and creep feed, and then weaning coincides with market.
They go to market directly after weaning.
Describe a market sheep life span under range style management
Lamb is born, nurses, gets weaned, moved to a feedlot, gets up to weight, and is sold to market
Why are farm flock lambs able to go straight to market after weaning?
This is because with the intense hands-on management that comes with farm flock, lambs gain about a pound a day.
Why cant range style lambs go straight to market after weaning?
Your lambs don’t gain that much weight because management is hands off. They are going to hit puberty soon, so you need to get them up to weight fast!
So, they eat concentrate at a feedlot and then go to market.
When can ewes and does be rebred? What is the normal ratio?
can be rebred as soon as 30 days after lambing.
Normal interval is 40-70 days.
Why might you wait until 40-70 days to rebred?
Give the mama a rest. Let fertility increase.
Remember that fertility increases as time since birth increases.
Describe how being a seasonal breeder will affect ewes and does when rebreeding.
If they lamb during the nonbreeding season, they will not begin to resume breeding until the next breeding season.
They can not go into estrus during off season.
Rebreeding is dependant upon when the ewe/doe lambs relative to breeding season.
What is the biggest challenge when raising sheep and goats? Why?
Parasites! They can live in a pasture for a long time and build up a resistance to the medicines.
What are the three main challenges with sheep and goats?
Predators, foot rot, parasites.
How can predators be mitigated?
Good fencing and guard dogs.
How can foot rot be avoided and treated?
Trimming feet and foot baths.
How do you trim feet?
you want the foot to end up flat. You square off the toes, scalp out the middle and make everything even. Trim up the sides.
How did we used to deal with parasites? We did we chnage?
We used to deworm regularly and switch which type we used regularly.
This accelerated the rate in which parasites mutated and developed ristance.
How do we deal with parasites now?
We now use dewormers sparingly. We do a test and only treat those that have a heavy load.
Best way to manage parasites?
only deworming when needed and a rotation of dewormers.
How are sheep castrated?
With bloodless bands.
Why must castration happen with bands?
If you got blood stuck in the wool, it would attract flystrike.
Why do we dock tails in sheep?
To avoid flystrike.
How do we dock tails in sheep.
Bands. The same as we castrate.
