Housing Buck with Rams

We have Shetland sheep, and years ago, they were with the goats at various times. They pretty much ignored each other for the most part. However, Shetlands and NDs are about the same size and both pretty mellow. I'm not sure I'd want a 300# ram with my NDs. The other challenge is that most sheep don't need as much copper as goats, so you need to have a way for the goats to get their free choice mineral with copper. This is not as clear cut, however, as some texts make it appear. Some sheep do need more copper than others. Shetlands are one example. Having goat minerals available to them a few times a year is not a problem, but some other breeds of sheep are more prone to copper toxicity.

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Deborah Niemann-Boehle May 22, 2015 at 10:03pm

We have Shetland sheep, and years ago, they were with the goats at various times. They pretty much ignored each other for the most part. However, Shetlands and NDs are about the same size and both pretty mellow. I'm not sure I'd want a 300# ram with my NDs. The other challenge is that most sheep don't need as much copper as goats, so you need to have a way for the goats to get their free choice mineral with copper. This is not as clear cut, however, as some texts make it appear. Some sheep do need more copper than others. Shetlands are one example. Having goat minerals available to them a few times a year is not a problem, but some other breeds of sheep are more prone to copper toxicity.

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