You have been selecting for worm resistance, you're also mixing different breeds giving you some degree of hybrid vigour and you have some Shetland blood which is a slightly more 'primitive' type. I keep goats, we don't seem able to develop the same degree of worm resistance (goats prefer to eat taller and more shrubby plants). We find that allowing the grass (and weeds) to grow taller, putting the goats in to eat for a couple of days and then moving them on and not coming back until the forage is again tall cuts down our need to worm. I don't think we will ever be able to completely avoid worming, but we've gone some distance down that route and this is helped by not allowing them to graze very tightly.
Yes you're right, the shetlands are incredibly resilient. They don't put on much weight, which is why we crossed them with some more commercial breeds. I have never kept goats, but grazing taller grass will definitely help with parasites as it's harder for them to live higher up in the sward. Not sure what climate you're in, but in Wales the relatively warm moist conditions (even in winter) mean that parasites can live a long time in the pasture. I used to think that rotation would eliminate the need for wormers, but in reality the parasites can lay dormant for a long time in our climate...waiting for the sheep to come back. Selecting for parasite resistance is a long slow process. To begin with, only about 10% of our flock could cope without wormers. It's hard, because the other 90% of the flock perform very well when you DO medicate them. We've lost a lot of sheep over the years who could not survive without wormers. After shearing once the fleece is off, it always becomes apparent who is in the best condition.
We live in the Severn Vale, Gloucestershire, so we have a relatively damp climate. I used to milk sheep as well as goats, but found that we had more parasite problems in the goats if they grazed any sheep pasture. This became critical during Foot & Mouth in 2001 as we didn't have enough land to keep the species separate, I stopped milking sheep after that.
@@judyking9171 very interesting. I've been considering milking sheep but am also aware that goats are a great option and possibly produce more milk. What made you choose goats over sheep? Interested to know
@@parccarreg I like working with intelligent responsive animals, As a kid we had Jersey house / suckler cows and my experiences with sheep seemed to be mainly maggots and cleaning tails which may have put me off. When I was in my 20's with two young children I had an opportunity to buy a couple of milking goats which we could keep in our large garden, when we bought a smallholding we expanded the goat herd and kept suckler cows. I eventually milked a number of goats and sheep and made cheese, I found goats easier to milk and there was a greater demand for goat products.
I think definitely only worming the ones who need it is the way to go , recently listened to a video about breeding tolerance rather than resistance so if it looks ok it probably is ! To me minerals & keeping the animal healthy is the nost important thing just like us to keep a good immune system we must have good gut health . So not feeding cake really helps in that respect also keeps feet healthier & less inclined to over grow 👍
Indeed! Nutrition so important and concentrated feed is not what they were designed to eat. We try to include as much tree fodder as we can... Especially willow. They love it!
We have geese for home security alert. And because they are capable of being purely grass fed. I would let them completely free range, but predators like them too much. One summer, we went from 60 to 13 by season's end. Since then, we've got 9 in with the chickens, just to keep some on hand in case we need them for later.
You have been selecting for worm resistance, you're also mixing different breeds giving you some degree of hybrid vigour and you have some Shetland blood which is a slightly more 'primitive' type. I keep goats, we don't seem able to develop the same degree of worm resistance (goats prefer to eat taller and more shrubby plants). We find that allowing the grass (and weeds) to grow taller, putting the goats in to eat for a couple of days and then moving them on and not coming back until the forage is again tall cuts down our need to worm. I don't think we will ever be able to completely avoid worming, but we've gone some distance down that route and this is helped by not allowing them to graze very tightly.
Yes you're right, the shetlands are incredibly resilient. They don't put on much weight, which is why we crossed them with some more commercial breeds. I have never kept goats, but grazing taller grass will definitely help with parasites as it's harder for them to live higher up in the sward. Not sure what climate you're in, but in Wales the relatively warm moist conditions (even in winter) mean that parasites can live a long time in the pasture. I used to think that rotation would eliminate the need for wormers, but in reality the parasites can lay dormant for a long time in our climate...waiting for the sheep to come back. Selecting for parasite resistance is a long slow process. To begin with, only about 10% of our flock could cope without wormers. It's hard, because the other 90% of the flock perform very well when you DO medicate them. We've lost a lot of sheep over the years who could not survive without wormers. After shearing once the fleece is off, it always becomes apparent who is in the best condition.
We live in the Severn Vale, Gloucestershire, so we have a relatively damp climate. I used to milk sheep as well as goats, but found that we had more parasite problems in the goats if they grazed any sheep pasture. This became critical during Foot & Mouth in 2001 as we didn't have enough land to keep the species separate, I stopped milking sheep after that.
@@judyking9171 very interesting. I've been considering milking sheep but am also aware that goats are a great option and possibly produce more milk. What made you choose goats over sheep? Interested to know
@@parccarreg I like working with intelligent responsive animals, As a kid we had Jersey house / suckler cows and my experiences with sheep seemed to be mainly maggots and cleaning tails which may have put me off. When I was in my 20's with two young children I had an opportunity to buy a couple of milking goats which we could keep in our large garden, when we bought a smallholding we expanded the goat herd and kept suckler cows. I eventually milked a number of goats and sheep and made cheese, I found goats easier to milk and there was a greater demand for goat products.
@@judyking9171 very interesting, thank you!
I think definitely only worming the ones who need it is the way to go , recently listened to a video about breeding tolerance rather than resistance so if it looks ok it probably is ! To me minerals & keeping the animal healthy is the nost important thing just like us to keep a good immune system we must have good gut health . So not feeding cake really helps in that respect also keeps feet healthier & less inclined to over grow 👍
Indeed! Nutrition so important and concentrated feed is not what they were designed to eat. We try to include as much tree fodder as we can... Especially willow. They love it!
Do you do any farm visits? We keep Lleyns in North Wales and would love to get to zero/minimum wormer.
Not at the moment I'm afraid, but drop us a message through our website if you have any specific questions.
Why you don't raise geese?
We have in the past. Stopped to keep life simple with lots going on at the farm. Possibly again in the future
We have geese for home security alert. And because they are capable of being purely grass fed. I would let them completely free range, but predators like them too much. One summer, we went from 60 to 13 by season's end. Since then, we've got 9 in with the chickens, just to keep some on hand in case we need them for later.