Goats and Sheep as Pets

by Susan Schoenian
Date created or last updated: 19-Dec-2006


Goats and sheep are increasingly being kept as pets or companions. They are easy to handle and respond well to human attention. This fact sheet provides basic guidelines for their selection and care.

Selection
As with any pet, you should not get goats or sheep on an impulse. Do your research and make informed decisions. Make sure your zoning regulations and/or housing development allows you to keep farm animals. Ask yourself if you have the time to take care of goats or sheep and make sure you have a plan if you go out of town. Think about what you will do if they don’t work out as pets. Sometimes, it can be difficult to find other people to adopt sheep or goats as pets.

Any breed of goat or sheep can be raised as a pet or companion. It is usually a matter of personal preference. Many people prefer the miniature breeds of goats for pets (e.g. Nigerian Dwarf, Pygmy). There are a few miniature breeds of sheep. Hair sheep are a good choice since they don’t require shearing or docking. Their coats contain a mixture of hair and wool that is shed annually. Since goats and sheep are herding animals, it is usually best to have two.

For pets, females (ewes and does) and wethers (castrated males) are preferred to intact males. Rams and bucks (billie goats) will get larger and be more aggressive than females and wethers. Male goats have a offensive odor during the mating season (fall). Rams like to butt and should not be trusted. While most sheep do not have horns, almost all goats are born with horns. Polled sheep and disbudded goats usually make better pets than horned animals. Horned animals can get their heads stuck in fences and feeders, and they will use their horns as weapons against other animals or people. It is best not to mix polled and horned animals. Otherwise, it’s okay to keep sheep and goats together.

Goat and Sheep Terms A female sheep is called a ewe or yoe (slang). A female goat is called a doe or nanny (slang). A male sheep is called a ram or buck (slang). A male goat is called a buck or billy (slang). A castrated male sheep or goat is called a wether. Baby goats are called kids. Baby sheep are called lambs. When a doe has babies, it’s called kidding. When a ewe has babies, it’s called lambing. A naturally hornless animal is polled. Disbudding is when the horn bud is removed to prevent growth of the horn.

Fencing/Containment
There are many different kinds of fencing that will contain goats and sheep. Keep in mind that goats are known for their ability to find “holes” in fences. Equally as important as containing goats and sheep is keeping predators out. Goats and sheep are prey animals and very vulnerable to attacks by predators, such as dogs and coyotes. If you or your neighbors have pet dogs, you need to make sure the dogs do not pose a risk to your goats or sheep. Most pet dogs possess a natural predatory instinct. Even if dogs do not attack a sheep or goat, they can cause tremendous stress and trauma.

The most common type of fencing for goats and sheep is woven or net wire. Woven wire consists of horizontal lines of smooth wire held apart by vertical wires called “stays." High-tensile, smooth wire, electric fences are popular on goat and sheep farms, but less practical for small enclosures. A split-rail or board fence can be used for goats and sheep if the boards are covered with a mesh wire or electric wires are placed between the boards. Barbed wire fences are generally not recommended. If goats and sheep are tethered (staked out) for grazing, they will be extremely vulnerable to predators. They may also get tangled in their line. For this reason, tethering is not recommended unless you are there to watch over the animal the whole time it is grazing.

Shelter and exercise space
Ideally, you should have a pasture (or two) for your goats or sheep. An acre of pasture is usually enough for a couple of goats or sheep. If pasture is not available, the goats and sheep can be kept in a pen or lot. The exercise yard should be at least 50 square feet.

Goats and sheep should have protection from extreme weather conditions. Their shelter does not need to be fancy or expensive. It just needs to provide a way for them to get out of the rain, snow, or wind. Goats do not like to get wet and will seek shelter quicker than sheep and other livestock. The shelter should be kept dry to prevent hoof or other disease problems.

Health care
If fed and managed properly, most sheep and goats maintain good health. The most common health problem that goats and sheep may experience is internal parasites or “worms.” Worm eggs in their feces hatch and develop into infective larvae, which get onto the grass. Goats and sheep get infected with worm larvae when they graze pasture or eat off the ground. It’s okay for goats and sheep to have some worms in their systems (it’s natural), but too many worms can make the goat or sheep sick or cause its death.

The worm parasite that causes the most health problems is called the barber pole worm. It is a blood sucking worm that causes anemia (blood loss) and death. You can tell if your goat or sheep has too many barber pole worms by examining the color of its lower eyelid. If it is pale (pinkish-white or white), you should deworm your goat or sheep. Young animals (less than 12 months of age) are particularly susceptible to parasites and may require one or more treatments (called dewormings). Older animals develop immunity to parasites and may not require much deworming. The drugs used to kill worms are called anthelmintics. Ideally, you should use drugs that are approved for goats or sheep. If the drug’s label does not include goats or sheep, you need to get a veterinarian’s approval to use the product.

Goats usually need higher doses of worming medicine than sheep and other livestock. In most cases, worming medicine should be given orally. You should buy a dosing syringe for this purpose. The dosing syringe will have a long nozzle that will allow you to deposit the medicine over the animal’s tongue into its throat. The syringe can also be used to give other medicine orally.

Another common parasite of goats and sheep is coccidia. Coccidia is a single-cell protozoa that causes diarrhea and weight loss. Coccidia damage the lining of the small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed, and can permanently stunt an animal’s growth. Young lambs and kids are most vulnerable. Adult goats and sheep have built up immunity and are seldom overcome by symptoms. Each species of animal is affected by a different species of coccidia. The drugs which kill stomach worms are different from the ones that kill coccidia. The drugs which treat coccidiosis are also different from the ones that prevent coccidiosis. Consult a veterinarian for treatment recommendations. Coccidiostats (Bovatec®, Rumensin®, and Deccox®) are products which slow down the development of coccidia. They can be included in the feed, mineral, or water to prevent clinical disease. However, they are toxic to horses, ponies, and donkeys.

Goats and sheep should be vaccinated annually for clostridial diseases: overeating disease and tetanus. The vaccine commonly used is called CD-T (toxoid). The first time a goat or sheep is vaccinated it will require two injections, 2 to 4 weeks apart. CD-T vaccinations are not difficult to give. The vaccine is injected under the skin. If you want your goats or sheep vaccinated for rabies, a veterinarian will need to do this for you.

Occasionally, pet goats and sheep get sick. When a sheep or goat is not feeling well, it may isolate itself and stop eating. It will probably hang its head down. Its ears and tail may droop. Teeth grinding is a sign of pain. Pain can sometimes be alleviated with aspirin. Normal body temperature for a goat or sheep is 102-103°F, so anything above this is indicative of a fever and infection. Infections are usually treated with antibiotics. Non-infectious causes of diarrhea can be treated with probiotics (e.g. plain yogurt), Kaopectate, or Pepto-Bismol. You should never give Immodium because it paralyzes the digestive tract. Many digestive upsets can be treated with antacids. Consult a veterinarian if your goat or sheep does not respond to treatment or you’re not sure what to do.

Hoof care
Goats and sheep usually need to have their hooves trimmed. Some goats and sheep require hoof trimming every few months, while others only need their hooves trimmed once a year (sometimes less). The purpose of hoof trimming is to remove excess hoof growth, so that the animal will walk normally and not be at unnecessary risk for footrot or other hoof problems. You should purchase a proper pair of hoof or foot paring shears for trimming goat and sheep hooves.

You can trim a goat’s hooves while it is standing simply by lifting up its feet. It is easier to trim a sheep’s hooves while the sheep is tipped on its rump. When trimming hooves, avoid cutting off large chunks of hoof. Stop trimming when the hoof is pink. This means you are getting close to the blood supply. When you are finished, the nail, sole, and heel should be parallel with the growth bands around the outside of the hoof.

Shearing
Most sheep and Angora goats require shearing at least once per year. Shearing is usually done by a trained professional using electric clippers (shears). It's possible to buy your own clippers and learn to shear your own animals. For pets, it’s best to choose goats and sheep that don’t require shearing.

Feeding
When feeding pet goats and sheep, the important thing to realize is that goats and sheep are ruminant livestock. Their stomachs are composed of four parts and are designed to eat forage: grass, clover, weeds, hay, briars, and shrubs. Sheep are grazers and prefer to eat weeds, grass, and clover, whereas goats are browsers. They will eat grass, but they prefer to eat woody plants, shrubs, trees, and leaves. Goats and sheep will eat plants that many other livestock refuse. They may also eat plants you don’t want them to.

A goat or sheep’s nutritional requirements depend upon its size (weight), age, and stage of production. A mature goat or sheep that is not in the last month of pregnancy or nursing babies does not have very high nutritional requirements. It only needs to consume approximately 2 percent of its body weight per day in dry feed. In other words, 3 lbs. of hay would meet the needs of a 150 lb. animal. Protein requirements are only 8 to 10 percent.

For much of the year, pasture or browse will meet all the nutritional requirements of mature pet goats and sheep. If sufficient pasture is not available due to drought or winter -- goats and sheep can be fed hay. Unless it’s extremely poor quality, a grass hay is usually all that’s needed to meet the maintenance requirements of a mature goat or sheep. Alfalfa hay is not necessary nor recommended for pet sheep and goats, other than as a treat.

Grain should only be fed to mature pet goats or sheep as a treat or training tool. Some grain can be substituted for hay, but only if the hay part of the diet is restricted and the grain is introduced to the diet slowly. Feeding too much grain can cause many health problems in goats and sheep (e.g. overeating disease, acidosis, polioencephalomalacia, and urinary calculi). When feeding grain, you should purchase 100% nutritionally balanced goat and sheep feeds, and these feeds should not be mixed with other feed products. Sheep have a low tolerance for copper in their diet and should not be fed feeds that have been formulated for other animals, including goats.

If you breed your goats or sheep, their nutritional requirements will change according to their stage and level of production. Lambs and kids (< 12 months of age) have higher nutritional requirements than mature goats and sheep. It is okay to give them small amounts of grain while they are still growing.

It is very difficult to keep pet sheep and goats from becoming fat. A little fat is okay, but it is not healthy for a goat or sheep to be obese, any more than it is healthy for people to be overweight. Grain is like candy to goats and sheep; don’t overfeed it. It is less likely for a goat or sheep to get fat or have digestive upsets if they are consuming a forage (pasture or hay) diet.

All feeds should be fed in a trough or manger. Goats and sheep will not eat feed that has been soiled or contaminated with feces. Forcing goats or sheep to eat off the ground or pen floor puts them at risk for ingesting worm larvae and coccidia oocytes.

It is a good idea to give your goats and sheep access to a trace mineralized salt. Sheep should be given a mineral that has been formulated specifically for sheep, and goats should be given a mineral that has been formulated specifically for goats. If goats and sheep are raised together, a sheep mineral should be used, since it does not contain extra copper. Loose mineral mixes are usually better than mineral blocks. It goes without saying that goats and sheep should always have access to fresh, clean water. Unlike cattle, goats and sheep will not drink dirty water. If they are getting sufficient moisture from their feed, don’t be surprised if they don’t drink a lot of water. Sufficient water intake helps to prevent the formulation of kidney stones in the urinary tract of male goats and sheep.

Additional reading
Sheep 101
Sheep Management 101
Introductory Information on Pet Goats
Vaccinations for Sheep and Goat Flocks