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Itcanalsoberiskytograze sheep on pastures that have been fertilized with poultry or pig manure. Caution should be exercised when using any form of copper as a deworming agent. Additional copper should not be added to the diet of sheep unless a deficiency is confirmed by laboratory tests. Goats require more copper in their diets than sheep and are not as sensitive to copper toxicity. Their maximum level of copper is considered to be similar to cattle. If you are keeping sheep and goats together, rather use sheep feed. It may be necessary to give copper supplements to
goats that are co-raised with sheep. Because they browse, the behaviour of goats will be different from that of sheep. Goats spend a lot of time investigating things. They are forever nibbling on and eating things and are quite independent. They appear to be more interactive with the environment, and they are very engaging animals. Sheep have a stronger flocking instinct and become very agitated if they are separated from the rest of the flock. It is easier to keep sheep inside a fence than goats. Goats will seek shelter more readily than sheep, although neither species likes to get its feet wet. In a fight, a ram will back up and charge to butt heads. A goat will rear up on his hind legs and come down forcibly to butt heads. Most goats have horns, many sheep, but not all, are naturally without horns. Goat horns are narrower and usually straighter; sheep horns tend to be thicker and curved, tending to loop around on the sides of their heads. Some sheep have manes. Some goats have beards, but sheep don ' t. Sheep and goats are generally susceptible to the same diseases. These include orf, bluetongue, foot abscesses and foot rot, arthritis, heartwater, flystrike,
SMALL STOCK abscesses, mastitis, redgut, coccidiosis, pneumonia, botulism, tetanus, abortions, milk fever and ketosis. They are both troubled by mites, lice infestation, worms and tick damage. They are susceptible to plant poisonings.
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