- Apr 15, 2009
- 6,770
- 230
- 281
A friend of ours had an unexpected addition to his sheep flock. Unexpected because he doesn't keep any rams on the premises. One of his sheep recently had a baby. He keeps his sheep and goats together, so the nearest he can figure is that the newest addition is a sheep-goat hybrid- mom is a sheep and dad is a goat. The hybrid is surviving and apparently thriving at this point.
I am a natural born skeptic, so I find this to be a little suspect. I haven't seen the baby, yet. I will before this weekend is out and I will post pics of this little marvel, but I have some questions for all goat and sheep people out there:
1. Is there any chance for this little one to survive if it truly is a hybrid? I know the parents are different genera with differing numbers of chromosomes, so what are the chances this little gal is going to survive long-term?
2. How often does this happen? I am frankly surprised that such a creature even made it to birth. I know it happens sometimes, but how often is sometimes? Any experiences with this?
3. Some of the reading I have done indicates that some of these hybrids are actually fertile? Any thoughts?
4. Any recommendations on feed and up-keep in the long-term? Sheep and goats are so different in their feeding needs (grass vs. scrub) that this becomes a bit of a challenge when presented with a creature that is half and half.
I am asking these questions merely as an interested third party, but will relay any information I get to the involved parties. I have to say I am still skeptical of this animal's origins, but my husband has seen it first-hand and says it is quite an interesting little creature, and obviously not either a sheep or a goat.
Thanks for any input anyone might have.
ETA PICS-
Here she is at 3 months old:
She is the one on the left next to a baby born a month later. I wanted to get some comparison shots of her next to a true sheep.
She's on the right in this pic. You can see that she is not growing in proportion (her back end is much larger than her front end), and she is much skinnier than the baby born a month later than her. Her hair is not wooly like you would expect, but more straight and fine. Her gait is odd, too.
Sorry the pics are not the greatest. She was not a very cooperative subject. I hope to get some more as she grows (if she survives).
I am a natural born skeptic, so I find this to be a little suspect. I haven't seen the baby, yet. I will before this weekend is out and I will post pics of this little marvel, but I have some questions for all goat and sheep people out there:
1. Is there any chance for this little one to survive if it truly is a hybrid? I know the parents are different genera with differing numbers of chromosomes, so what are the chances this little gal is going to survive long-term?
2. How often does this happen? I am frankly surprised that such a creature even made it to birth. I know it happens sometimes, but how often is sometimes? Any experiences with this?
3. Some of the reading I have done indicates that some of these hybrids are actually fertile? Any thoughts?
4. Any recommendations on feed and up-keep in the long-term? Sheep and goats are so different in their feeding needs (grass vs. scrub) that this becomes a bit of a challenge when presented with a creature that is half and half.
I am asking these questions merely as an interested third party, but will relay any information I get to the involved parties. I have to say I am still skeptical of this animal's origins, but my husband has seen it first-hand and says it is quite an interesting little creature, and obviously not either a sheep or a goat.
Thanks for any input anyone might have.
ETA PICS-
Here she is at 3 months old:
She is the one on the left next to a baby born a month later. I wanted to get some comparison shots of her next to a true sheep.
She's on the right in this pic. You can see that she is not growing in proportion (her back end is much larger than her front end), and she is much skinnier than the baby born a month later than her. Her hair is not wooly like you would expect, but more straight and fine. Her gait is odd, too.
Sorry the pics are not the greatest. She was not a very cooperative subject. I hope to get some more as she grows (if she survives).
Last edited:
