Sheep as a Companion

[Matt73]

So I'll be weaning Levi mid September most likely (4 months) or may wait until October. The problem is is that I only have his mom and a 2 year old filly (Willow). So I've been debating on what to do for a weaning buddy. I've thought about a gelding, a colt that's the same age, goats, sheep, etc. Levi will almost certainly be gelded (probably at 6 months), so there may even be the possibility of him being turned out with Lex and Willow a few months after gelding...one happy family, hopefully

What is your opinion on a lamb/sheep as a companion for weaning?

 

[Jill]

NO experience with sheep, but wanted to throw out goats in case they're worth your consideration

 

[user 488]

Hey Matt! I had a sheep for 12 years. Two problems......they would eat her wool and when they got to playing they got too rough and tried to chase her and I couldn't allow that. I put the sheep in her own pasture. Didn't want to see her get hurt!

 

[JMS Miniatures]

No experience with sheep either. Goats are great!

 

[Minimor]

I have a friend who has only one Mini, and her mare has a sheep for company--an old ewe. The mare is very attached to that ewe. My friend wanted to breed her mare so I took a young stallion over there. I was concerned that he might bother the sheep--he was scared of her to start with of course, because he'd never seen a sheep before, but I was afraid once he got used to her he might pick on her. They kept the sheep in an adjoining corral for a little while then let her back in with the horses. There's been no problem--the stallion pays no attention to the sheep and has no interest in bothering her.

I do have some others that I would really hesitate to put in with a sheep, or a goat--some of them are not too tolerant and even as weanlings I think they would have been too much for a sheep.

 

[billiethekid40]

thread

I thought I'd read something about this relatively recently... Please read this thread before making a decision as it looks like sheep may not be a very good companion, especially for a young and playful weanling.

 

[ohmt]

Last winter I had a stallion with a young ewe and the fawn I had rescued the summer before. I actually did not put the fawn in there-i just couldn't keep him out and wanted to keep human interaction to a minimum so left him. They shared hay just fine and cuddled together in their small barn. Even when the fawn figured out he could easily clear the fence he would always go back to the stallion and sheep

I now have that ewe with my mares and foals and they do great. They eat together and the foals sleep around her.

 

[ohmt]

Wanted to say also that my male sheep can not be put with other animals as he has a butting problem, but my ewe is very docile and has never offered to harm anything. She is also a new england baby doll and really small.

 

[Mr.T]

the problem with sheep and horses together is that you HAVE to watch that they eat ALL of the grain separately because it is VERY bad for them to eat each others grain. It's worst for one way than the other I just don't remember which was worst.

 

[cretahillsgal]

Was my first thought also. Sheep and goats are not supposed to eat horse feed and vice versa. Can have bad results.

 

[Eagle]

I keep my goats and sheep far away from my minis bc they kept giving them flees

Even though we do shear the sheep it seems to be quite a constant problem and I don't want my minis to get them. YUCK

 

[bullockcorner]

I've had both sheep and goats, but never with my minis. Not that it wouldn't work....However, I don't care for sheep due to their "wool problem". The lanolin in wool is greasy and stinks. And, if you don't shear them, the wool gets way too hot for them, and it gets nasty. And, trust me, shearing sheep is a whole lot different and takes different shears than clipping horses!!

Also, in my experience, seems like sheep are MUCH more likely to "butt" than goats.

Finally, as someone mentioned, depending what you feed your sheep/goats, if it has any kind of "medicine" , such as rumensin (sp?), it can be VERY harmful to horses. So in summary - my opinion - I'd just get another mini for companion to add to your "chip" collection!

Best of luck with whatever you do.

 

[Matt73]

Thanks all

Looks like I may have to invest in a gelding... I did know about the feed thing, but that wouldn't have been an issue since everyone gets their grain (ration balancer) in their stalls. I may look into "borrowing"/leasing a gelding from someone for 6 months or so.

 

[Matt73]

Is there another mini farm close that might also need to wean a little guy? Just an idea.

Weaning takes such a short time, perhaps if you introduced them on weaning day or a little before, things would go smoothly. It certainly isn't a long period of time, and since you feed in stalls, I would think it really wouldn't be much of an issue.

.

I'll look into it. Thanks

 

[Minimor]

Sheep cannot have copper. My friends lost a number of sheep one winter--the company mixing their mineral supplement for some reason added copper to a batch--several sheep died from it, a few others survived but were left with residual problems and were poor do-ers afterward.

So, as long as you make sure your horse feed doesn't contain copper, there's no problem having them eat together with the sheep. In the case of my friend having the ewe in with the horses, her horse gets oats only, so if the sheep does happen to eat some of it there is no harm done. The mare gets a mineral supplement but that is fed to her separately & the sheep doesn't have any opportunity to eat it.

 

[midnight star stables]

I have a weaner colt too, wish we were closer! I just figured I'd keep him in adjacent paddock until he could be gelded? Not sure if that is much help...

 

[Mareish Mom]

Yes, copper is a problem for sheep. But your horses need it! It's not only in their grain but also in any good mineral block. However, the latest news is that goats actually need a diet almost exactly like that of a horse, not a sheep. They can have the same grain and mineral block as the horses. Since I got my mini and put her with my big fat horse my two goats have moved in with them. They make a cute little herd and everybody is happy! Goats are very smart and it's easy to teach them not to butt if you raise them up from weanlings.