Small Ruminant Production:
An Overview
Linda Coffey, NCAT
1-800-346-9140
www.attra.ncat.org
Small ruminant production
• A strong demand for lamb and goat meat has
led to a resurgence of interest in sheep and
goat production
• Small ruminants (sheep and goats) work well
for small acreages or as a supplementary
enterprise with cattle
• Sheep and goats offer many advantages to
livestock farms
• Goal: to learn at least five advantages of small
ruminants and five challenges, and be able to
decide which species to raise in a given
situation
Sheep and goats
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ruminants
Similar size
Gestation length
Similar diets
Fencing requirements
Facilities
Multiple births
Similar advantages
•
•
•
•
•
Small size
Requires little feed or land
Prolific and productive
Strong market demand: good prices
Useful in vegetation control
– weeds, brush, multiflora rose, invasive
weeds, including sericea lespedeza,
kudzu, others
– good companion grazers with cattle;
pasture improvers
Uses of sheep and goats
• Meat (many ethnic groups prefer goat or
lamb, especially for holidays and festivals)
• Milk
• Fiber (wool, mohair, cashmere)
• Weed and brush control
• Skins/pelts/leather
• Pets and hobbies (we might as well admit
it!)
Similar problems
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•
•
•
Internal parasites
May be difficult to contain
Markets MAY be harder to locate
Predator problems
• Prejudice from cowboys
But sheep and goats are not
the same
Terminology
Sheep
• ram
• ewe
• lamb
• wether
=
=
=
=
• lamb meat, mutton
chevon
Goat
buck (or billy)
doe (or nanny)
kid
wether
=
cabrito,
Grazing behavior
• Sheep
– Prefer short, tender vegetation; graze very
close
– Eat a variety of weeds
• Goats
– Selective
– Prefer to graze taller plants and browse
– Intake drops quickly if forage is too short
– Opportunistic (think of deer)
Chickweed
Wild lettuce
Pigweed
Multiflora rose
Black locust
Green briar
Black locust
Mulberry
Paulownia
Mimosa
Question:
What is one advantage of the
goat’s behavior in grazing?
Behavior
Species
Sheep
Goats
Preference
Grass
Browse
Food Variety
Monotonous
Need Variety
Antagonistic
Butt head on
Sideways hooking
Fighting
Butt
Rear on hind legs
Dominance
Leader sheep; Queen doe; clear
not strongly
heirarchy
dominant
Observations
Species
Sheep
Goats
Newborn young Remain by
mother
Alarm signal
Snort; stamp
one forefoot
Alarm response Bunch up
Freezing some
distance away
“Sneeze”
Tail
Hangs down
Stands up
Beard
Absent
Present in bucks
and some does
Thin line
Separate the sheep
from the goats...
Grazing Preferences
Rationale for multispecies grazing
Browse
Forb
Goats
Sheep
Cattle
Grass
Small ruminants in combination
with cattle
• Complementary to cattle
• Can add one ewe per cow with no
additional feed costs and no
detrimental effects
• May improve profitability per acre by
25% over cattle alone
Multispecies grazing – benefits to
sustainability
• Maximize the use of resources (forage,
labor, facilities)
• Improve pastures by
– encouraging diversity of plants
– reducing clumps
– controlling weeds and brush
– reducing parasite infestations on pastures
Multispecies grazing – benefits to
sustainability
• Meat production per species and per
acre is higher
• Increases flexibility and options
–marketing
–managing forages
• Diversified income sources
–reduce risk
–improve cash flow
Multispecies grazing – methods
• Mob grazing--all run as one group
• Leader/follower--matching animal
with highest requirements to forages
of highest quality
• Alternate grazing--one portion of
farm used for one species; switch
later (or, stocker steers one year,
stocker sheep the next)
Multispecies grazing – management
concerns
• Knowledge
• Fences--adapt cattle fences; 3 to 5
strands electric, 4,500 volts minimum
• Minerals--avoid excess copper for
sheep (goats can use cattle mineral)
• Facilities--sheep will need some shelter
if lambing in cold weather, goats like
shelter in wet weather (not fancy)
• Labor--availability and timing
Multispecies grazing – management
concerns
• Ratios
–dependent on type of forages
available
–1:1 to use extra weeds
–6:1 (ewes to cows) to maximize
pounds of meat per acre
Stocking rate
Pasture type
Cows
Sheep
Goats
Cows +
goats
Excellent
Pasture
1
5-6
6-8
1 + 1-2
Brushy
Pasture
1
6-7
9-11
1 + 2-4
Brush
eradication
8-12/acre
.5 + 6-8
Brush
maintenance
1-3/acre
• Order
–Graze in a mob, or
–Cattle first to use taller, coarser growth,
sheep or goats to harvest weeds cattle
rejected; or
–Lambs, kids and calves to select the best,
ewes, does and cows to clean up; or
–Lambs and ewes followed by dry cows to
utilize rejected forage
Must match nutrition to
production stage
Recommendation: 1 to 2 goats per head of
Multispecies grazing – management
concerns
• Grazing height preferred for sheep:
begin at 6-8 inches and move when
grazed down to 2.5 to 4 inches
Caution!
Avoid over-grazing. Sheep can graze
very close to the ground. Management
is crucial.
Grazing management
• Question: what are two reasons to avoid
grazing close to the ground?
• How could you prevent close grazing?
Grazing Management
Major considerations for grazing
sheep and goats
Sheep and goats should have 4 to 5% of body
weight in dry matter (DM) available daily.
(Requirements vary with production stage and
size of animal; dairy goats have higher needs.)
Daily intake is most critical!
• Low intakes, excellent rations: average
performance
• High intakes, moderate rations: above
expected performance
Grazing management
AVAILABLE FORAGE
Excellent forage management will pay
dividends in lowered production costs and
increased gains and improved health.
Daily intake is most critical!
Production stage:
• To lower costs, try to match needs of the
animal to the production of the forage.
• Over-feeding is expensive and counterproductive; fat ewes and does do not do
well at breeding or lambing time.
• Under-feeding leads to low birth weights
and poor milk supplies.
Major considerations for
grazing sheep
Must match nutrition to production stage.
Major considerations
Production stage:
Breeding--flush with better nutrition prior
to turning in ram or buck and for several
weeks afterward
Major considerations
Production stage:
Early gestation--low requirements; fair to
good pasture (15 weeks from breeding)
Late gestation (last 6 weeks)--good
pasture, 1/4 pound grain (assuming
average condition) Caution: avoid pure
stands of infected fescue for late
gestation grazing
Major considerations
Production stage:
Lactation--first 6 or 8 weeks, high
requirements; excellent pasture, or 4 to 5
pounds hay and 1-2 pounds grain. Taper
off near weaning.
Ideally, feed ewes with twins on the best
forage. Yearling ewes and does also
need excellent forage as they are growing
as well as lactating.
Major considerations
Production stage:
Dry--very low requirements; may use the
ewes and does to clean up pastures at
this point. Ewes and does may be dry for
3 or 4 months before breeding.
This allows ewes and does to easily gain
weight; do not allow them to become fat!
Recommendations for lambs and
kids on grass
• Lambs should graze clean pasture
• Have salt/mineral mix, fresh water, shade
available
• Shear wooly lambs before hot weather
• Use low stocking rates and clean up with
cattle or dry ewes or does
• Monitor for parasites and treat as needed
(FAMACHA™)
Review
• Tell three benefits of small ruminants
• What are three problems of small
ruminants?
• Explain the nutritional needs of a ewe
and doe and how they vary through a
year
• What are three advantages of
multispecies grazing?
But, will they pay??
“It depends!”
On. . .
1) Price per pound
2) Production costs
3) Price per pound of
wool
4) Days to market
5) Weaning percentage
Factors affecting profitability
1) Price per pound of meat
•
•
•
•
Seasonal changes
Direct marketing
Auctions/buyers
Size and finish
Factors affecting profitability
2) Production costs
• Keep feed costs low by using
forages
• Reduce vet costs through
preventive care; have a good
working relationship with a
veterinarian
• Need good nutrition for productive
animals; over-feeding is wasteful
and expensive
Cost of production, reproductive
performance, and profitability
Kidding
percentage
Doe cost
($/head/year)
80% 90% 100% 125% 150% 200%
30
0.83 0.74 0.67
0.53
0.44
0.30
35
0.97 0.86 0.78
0.62
0.52
0.39
40
1.11 0.99 0.89
0.71
0.59
0.44
45
1.25 1.11 1.00
0.80
0.67
0.50
50
1.39 1.23 1.11
0.89
0.74
0.56
60
1.67 1.48 1.33
1.07
0.89
0.67
Assumed market weight: 45 lbs.
Factors affecting profitability
3) Price per pound of wool
• Quality counts!
• Niche marketing is likely to result
in best price
• Wool pool/cooperatives
• Value-added options
Factors affecting profitability
4) Days to market
• Affects feed costs and efficiency
• Labor costs
• Depends on genetic capability
and nutritional resources
• Weather influences
• Target weights depend on buyer
Advantages of direct marketing
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No transport cost
No shrink
Less stress for animals
Seller sets price
No commission, yardage, etc.
Makes connections with buyers
May be more convenient
Buyer pays with cash on the spot
Disadvantages of direct marketing
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•
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May be inconvenient (drop-ins)
May be time-consuming
Seller must be able to bargain
Buyer may not be prepared to haul
Buyer may want to slaughter at farm
Factors affecting profitability
5) WEANING PERCENTAGE
• Influenced by lambing percentage
• fertility
 season
 flushing
• newborn lamb survivability
• Influenced by flock health
• nutrition
• predator control
• preventative health care
Effect of Weaning Percentage on
Potential Income*
Pounds lamb sold per ewe1
Price/
Pound
.90
1.00
1.10
1.20
1.30
1Assumes
100
140
160
180
$90
100
110
120
130
$126
140
154
168
182
$144
160
176
192
208
$162
180
198
216
234
100 pound average selling weight
*From <http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/b879-w.htm> page 10.
Cost of production, reproductive
performance, and profitability
Doe cost
($/head/year)
30
35
40
45
50
60
80%
0.83
0.97
1.11
1.25
1.39
1.67
90%
0.74
0.86
0.99
1.11
1.23
1.48
100%
0.67
0.78
0.89
1.00
1.11
1.33
Assumed market weight: 45 lbs.
125%
0.53
0.62
0.71
0.80
0.89
1.07
150%
0.44
0.52
0.59
0.67
0.74
0.89
200%
0.30
0.39
0.44
0.50
0.56
0.67
Major considerations
Production stage:
To lower costs, try to match needs of the
animal to the production of the forage.
Challenge: when should you be lambing
the ewes?
It depends!
• How and when are you marketing
lambs?
• How do you intend to protect lambs
from parasite infestation?
• What is your climate like?
• What forages can you provide for
lambs?
• Do you have shelter and labor available
to lamb in a barn (early?)
• Are purchased feeds cheap in your
area?
Major considerations
1) AVAILABLE FEED
2) Markets
Auctions or buyers
Direct market
Pooled sale
3) Parasites
4) Climate/weather influences
5) Predators
Annual Summary of Productivity and Price
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Grain Prices - (low price)
Forage Availability
High Temperatures
Labor Availability
Parasites (high load)
Lamb Prices
Feeder Calf Prices
Stocker Prices
Cull Cows
Highest or Best periods
Transition period
Lowest or Worst periods
Choosing which small ruminant
• Goats or sheep?
• Is there a difference?
Major consideration
Do you like
Differences in productivity
• Meat: growth potential
– Lambs on pasture with mothers gained
about .5 pounds/day from birth to weaning
(Schwulst, 1995, KS data; Rambouillet,
Tunis, Romanov, and Katahdin rams used
on crossbred ewes)
– Lambs fed 16% protein ration in drylot
gained .72 pounds per day for 45-day trial.
Another trial later in the summer, .67
pounds per day. (Katahdin-sired lambs,
North Dakota data, Moore, 2001)
More lamb gains
• Lambs grazing alfalfa gained .43 pounds
per day, while lambs confined and fed
hay and grain gained .46 pounds per day.
(feed cost lower for alfalfa-grazed group,
Poore and Green, NCSU, 1995)
• Lambs grazing fescue and eating a small
amount of creep feed gained .57 pounds
per day (Coffey, 2003, Feb. through
March)
More lamb gains
• Ross (1972, MU) studied summer gains
in drylot; unsheared lambs gained .33
pounds per day, shorn gained .48.
• Lambs in KSU study (Rambouillet,
Tunis, Romanov, Katahdin sires) gained
.6 pounds from weaning to market;
feed/gain about 5.2 pounds/pound of
gain; feed intake about 4 pounds a day
So how much can a lamb gain?
• Brief review of literature found a range
of
– .33 pound/day
to
.86 pound/day
– with .5 pound/day being reasonable
• reductions in gain during summer heat, higher
gains when supplemented with grain (also
higher cost)
Goat gains
• Depends greatly on breeding and on
management
• In North Carolina, TN Stiffleg-sired goats
were fed hay or hay plus .25 pound/head
of 16% supplement. Gains averaged
.065 or .091 pounds per day; pounds of
feed per pound of gain, 25.6 or 19.3.
(Poore and Green, 1995)
• Does it make sense to feed this type of
goat?
More goat gains
• Boer influence increases feed efficiency
and gains.
• During a 66-day trial where goats were selffed a 14% protein pellet, ADG;
• Spanish.25 pounds, 10.8 pounds feed/gain
• 1/4 Boer .33 pounds, 8.2 pounds feed/gain
• 1/2 Boer .49 pounds, 8.3 pounds feed/gain
(Machen, Texas A&M, 1995)
More goat gains
• In North Carolina, Boer and Boer-cross does
averaging 62 pounds grazed small-grain rye,
ryegrass, or triticale pastures. Gain
approximately .3 pound/day (Luginbuhl, 1998)
• In Texas, Boer and Boer-cross kids nursing
mothers who were generously fed gained
– .59 pounds and .43 pounds per day
– several does weaned more than 100 pounds
of kids at 100 days; that’s 600 pounds of
marketable product per animal unit at 100
days post-partum! (Machen, 1995)
More goat gains
• Boer bucks on test at Langston
University gained an average of .6
pounds per day.
Range
• ADG, .29 to .89 pounds per day
• Feed Efficiency 3.98 to 25.6 pounds
feed/gain
• Why might you want to know the
gaining ability of the buck you use?
So, how much can a goat gain?
• Very wide variation
• Affected by genetics and by feed supply
• Unimproved Spanish on range: .025
lbs/day
• Fullblood Boer on ample feed: .86
lbs/day
• Feed efficiency range for Boers on test:
3.98 to 11.7 pounds feed to pound of
gain
Questions:
• What do the studies mentioned tell you?
• Which animal (sheep or goat) seems
better suited to feedlot production?
• What other considerations (besides
feed efficiency and rate of gain) are
economically important?
Other factors to consider
•
•
•
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•
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Maintenance cost of doe/ewe
Market price of kids/lambs
Prolificacy
Ease of handling
Personal preference
Type of forage available
Why raise goats?
Why goats?
• For weed and brush control
• As a complementary enterprise to cattle
to improve resource utilization
• For land reclamation
• For increased profit potential
• More economically efficient on smaller
operations (than cattle)
Goats in land and forage
management
• In a NC State study, after 4 years of goat
grazing pastures containing herbaceous
weeds, vines, multiflora rose, blackberry
and hardwood sprouts, pastures became
dominated with grass and clover.
• In a West Virginia study, goats reduced
brush cover from 45% to less than 15%
in one season.
Preferred browse
•
•
•
•
•
•
Multiflora rose
Blackberry
Willow
Locust
Walnut
Oak/hickory
•
•
•
•
Sumac
Persimmon/sassafras
Buckbrush
Most young
hardwoods
• Cedar
Preferred weeds
• Chicory (at bloom)
• Ironweed (at
bloom)
• Ox eye daisy
• Queen Anne’s lace
• Yarrow
•
•
•
•
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Pigweed
Curly dock
Ragweed
Crown vetch
Sericea
lespedeza
Preferred forages (observed by Mark
Kennedy, MO)
• Tall fescue (vegetative and fall stockpile)
• Cheat-spring preference
• Orchardgrass
• Crabgrass
• Foxtail, purpletop, barnyardgrass; prehead
• Annual lespedeza
• Hop clover (full bloom)
• White clover and red clover (light use,
bloom and later)
Stocking rate
Pasture type
Cows
Sheep
Goats
Cows + goats
Excellent
Pasture
1
5-6
6-8
1 + 1-2
Brushy
Pasture
1
6-7
9-11
1 + 2-4
Brush
eradication
8-12/acre
.5 + 6-8
Brush
maintenance
1-3/acre
Economic comparison
• Cattle
– 1 cow/calf unit/3 acres
– 95% calf crop
– 500 lb. weaning
weight
– 475 lb. weaned/3
acres
– 158.3 lbs./acre
• Goats
–
–
–
–
–
8 goat/kid units/3 acres
150% kid crop
60 lb. weaning weight
720 lbs. weaned/3 acre
240 lbs./acre
What is the price per pound?
Cattle + Goats =
• 1 cow/calf unit + 2 goats/3 acres
• 475 lbs. weaned + 180 lbs. weaned = 655
lb.
• “free” brush control
• In several studies the addition of goats to a
cattle operation added 25% net return
• (also true of adding sheep to cattle
operation)
Increasing inventory/equity
• Cattle
– start with 1 cow
– save all females for
5 years--sell all
males
– 95% calf crop
– 50/50 heifer/bull
calves
– At the end of 5
years:
• 5 females in herd
• 5 bulls sold
• Goats
– start with one doe
– save all females for
5 years--sell all
males
– 150% kid crop
– 50/50 doe/buck
kids
– At the end of 5
years:
• 24 females in herd
Recommendation: 1 to 2 goats per head of cattle
Review
Goats:
• Are similar to sheep in many ways
• Offer pasture improvement services
• Are a good companion enterprise to
cattle, increasing profits by increasing
pounds of meat produced per acre
• Can be profitable if costs are kept low
and animals are prolific
Questions
?
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