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So you are wondering why are sheep more popular animals to farm than goats? Well, there are some major drawbacks to raising goats versus sheep.
Even the best goats are really, and I mean really irritating to have and grow. They are very unpleasant, both with its behavior and its odor. They smell really horrible.
If you would like to find more about those two animals, their differences and why we suggest you to always, or almost always chose sheep over goats, continue reading our article.
Goats
Goats (Capra) are a genus within the Bovidae family that lives in the hilly areas of Eurasia and northern Africa. The most well-known species of this genus are the Capricorn, the Scurvy goat and, of course, the domestic goat with its original form, the wild goat.
There is an agreement that goats are close relatives of sheep. Occasionally, they, together with the Berber sheep, merge into one common lineage. But sheep goats are distinguished by their typical beard and convex head shape.
Goats have long been referred to as “cows for poor” because of their poor milkiness, less efficiency in meat production and lower daily growth. Goats are grazed and kept in poor pastures or inaccessible terrain and are destined to destroy forest communities, especially young plantations.
They are also very curious animals, so it is very difficult to keep them under control. They break almost all fences or jump over them and escape. They are also very sensitive to stress as well as some diseases like broom, limp, and brucellosis.
Goats are much more restless than sheep, more curious and active. You will have a lot more work to do with them.
The goat is ruminant and feeds only on coarse-grained food. Proper and sufficient nutrition can significantly emphasize the genetic potential of the animal, as well as the level of their production. In comparison to cows and sheep, goats use a number of different plants in their feed, so cattle use only 17 different plants, 20 sheep and goats as many as 90. Goats can destroy the plant cover of entire areas and thus contribute to desertification, since they eat almost all the herbs, along with the roots.
In addition to destroying fences, they are very difficult to keep in herds, they die easily in various accidents because they love exploring, so they often fall from heights or run under something (car). Also, they often die from severe anemia caused by heavy stomach worm loads. So they have to be wormed often.
Nevertheless, some breeds of goats, under good nutritional conditions, have extremely high milk production and are therefore more efficient than cows, as they can provide 15 to 20 times more milk than their body weight. Changes in consumer habits, goat meat are increasingly in demand on the market and are kept with specialty and tradition and served on special occasions. In addition, in countries with particularly high temperatures, goats are used as a “cleaner” of bushes, shrubs, poppies, and weeds, thus effectively reducing the risk of fire.
As you can see, goats are by no means worthless animals, but they are much more demanding than sheep. Now let’s see what we think about sheep.
Sheep
Sheep farming is a very widespread branch of livestock farming and sheep can be found on all continents except Antarctica. The importance of sheep farming varies by country and is particularly important in poorer countries with extensive agricultural production. Sheep, as well as cattle and goats, belong to the ruminant group and its main characteristics are modesty, durability, resilience and the ability to be used for various production purposes. They consume low-quality voluminous feeds and turn them into high-quality products such as meat, milk, wool, and fur.
Intensive human influence and selection on specific traits result in breeds that specialize in the production of meat, milk, wool, fur or combined traits.
Feeding should be organized to allow maximum production, good nutrient utilization and ensure economical production. Sheep are grazing animals so graze is the most favorable forage in feeding sheep, and in economic terms, it is also the cheapest. The higher the proportion of pasture in the meal, the lower the cost of feeding.
Meat is the most important sheep product and in sheep production, most of the income is made through sheep or lamb meat.
Milk is an important product of sheep and is most commonly used in the form of cheese, while raw is rarely consumed. Sheep’s milk is also an economically important product.
Sheep are unique in wool and at first glance recognizable. Wool is a characteristic product of sheep, but its economic importance is also variable and varies from country to country. Not long ago, wool was also a major product of sheep, but increased demand for lamb and synthetic fibers led to a decline in the importance of this sheep product.
Conclusion why are sheep more popular animals to farm than goats?
As you can see, both offer similar products, but sheep are easier and cheaper to farm then goats, which are very curious animals and that alone can often lead to their premature death.
