IACUC Learning Module - Sheep and Goats

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BEHAVIOR AND HANDLING - SHEEP AND GOATS

The goat is Capra hircus with intact males being called bucks, castrated males called wethers and females called does or nannys. The young are called kids.

Sheep and goats are hollow-horned, cloven-hoofed ruminants. Ruminants require fiber or roughage to ensure proper function of the rumen, a modified part of the stomach wherein bacteria digest cellulose from plants into usable nutrients. Rumination is a process which permits an herbivore to forage and ingest food rapidly, then complete the chewing at a later time. They need peace and quiet to ruminate. Healthy sheep and goats spend a third of their life, ruminating, which is belching up a ball of grass from the stomach, chewing it and then swallowing it again (commonly called, "chewing their cud").

Sheep tend to be timid, nervous and easily frightened. Having little natural means of defense, they instinctively join together in a group, called a flock, to run from perceived danger.

All members of the flock will follow any member of the flock that happens to lead. Whenever one animal is separated, it will frantically try to rejoin the flock.

When driving sheep, keep them together in one group rather than allowing two or three small groups to develop. (If the flock is split, the smaller groups will keep trying to get back together and more panic and chaotic movement will occur).

For sorting sheep, a handling system with interconnecting pens and runways is very helpful. If not available and you must catch a single sheep out of a group, drive them all into a corner, walk calmly into the group, catch the desired sheep and hold up it's head. Usually, the other sheep will scatter away from the person and the "caught" sheep. Never catch sheep by the wool, as it is painful (makes the sheep run that much faster) and causes bruising.

To catch a single sheep in a pen, move it into a corner, extend an arm sideways to form a visual barrier (or use a sheet of plywood to form a barrier) and approach the sheep slowly and calmly. If the sheep "freezes", you may be able to approach quickly. More likely, the sheep will run along either wall out of the corner. It is rare for the sheep to move away from the wall so the handler can anticipate the pathway of the sheep. One can catch the sheep by putting a hand on the lower jaw and pulling up on the head. Put the other hand around the tail/rump. The sheep may move up and down a bit. To make it go forward, lift the tail and let the head down a little.

Large groups of goats are more difficult to handle because they tend to scatter and not flock as well. If the goats are tame, they can be herded into a small area and caught by neck collar. Goats should be trained to come into a working area by feeding them in this area on a regular basis.

All goats and sheep with horns know how to use them and can be dangerous, especially to inexperienced people. Adult, intact males (especially during breeding season) may charge when a person's back is turned toward the animal. For this reason, always keep an eye on where the ram/buck is located and what he is doing. Female sheep tend to be rather gentle, with the exception of wily old range ewes. Most sheep and goats do not react to handling by biting. They will struggle if improperly handled and may injure handlers by striking with hooves.

Once a sheep or goat is placed on the ground, they will be quite passive if one controls the head. The legs should not be restrained to prevent injury to the handler and the animals.

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