1. Although both sheep and goats are called sheep, they are animals of the same family and different genera, and they cannot mate to give birth to lambs.
2. Sheep and goats have many similarities in appearance, anatomical structure, physiology and living habits, but there are also some differences. Sheep and goats live in groups, but sheep live in groups more than goats and take collective action in any environment.
Sheep are docile and timid, and goats are lively and brave, so they can often be the leader of the flock.
Both sheep and goats don't like living in low temperature environment, and they all like the cleanliness of water, grass and utensils. Goats are dry and wet, so it is necessary to build a sheep bed to raise dairy goats in wet areas. Not only that, goats are also hungry for smelly or trampled forage, but they refuse to enter.
Judging from the classification of animals, they are not the same kind of animals, and there are many different biological and physiological differences except that they cannot mate and reproduce with each other:
1, chromosome pairs are different: sheep have 27 pairs of chromosomes and goats have 30 pairs of chromosomes. Because the number of chromosomes is different, they can't be paired, so the two kinds of sheep can't breed with each other.
2, temperament: sheep are slow, goats are flexible; But lambs are more timid than goats, and will flee quickly after being frightened.
3. Feeding habits: sheep like to eat non-gramineous grass, broad-leaved grass and herbs, and the feeding height is 5.1~17.4 cm; Goats like to eat tender branches and leaves of shrubs, including leaves, stems and branches of plants, and the feeding height is more than 20 cm. Sheep eat more than goats.
4. Coat: Sheep have coats of different thicknesses; Mountain hair is rough bristles and fluff.
5. Bark: sheep call baa and goats call baa.
6. horns: most sheep have no horns, only a few have horns; Most goats have horns, only a few have no horns.
7, the need for minerals: sheep need less for most mineral elements, goats, especially copper, sheep need very little, if fed according to the amount of goats, it is very easy to be poisoned.
8. Susceptibility to epidemic diseases: sheep should be vaccinated against enterotoxemia, but goats should not be vaccinated; Sheep are prone to helminthiasis (mainly nematodiaceae), but rarely suffer from ectoparasitic diseases (including scabies); Long-haired goats are not only susceptible to white lice, but also to scabies.
9. Weeding function: Sheep are called "natural herbicides", which have the function of feeding and weeding in fields and forests; But goats have the "destructive" effect of destroying seedlings in the forest.
10. management: sheep seldom trim their hooves, usually once a year 1 ~ 2 times, while goats often trim their hooves (usually 1 ~ 2 times/month).
Extended data:
Goat (scientific name: Capra aegagrus hircus), also known as summer sheep, black sheep or tile sheep, is one of the earliest domesticated domestic animals like sheep. Goat breeding in China has a long history, which was recorded in writing as early as Xia and Shang Dynasties. Goat production has the characteristics of high reproduction rate, strong adaptability and easy management, and is widely raised in the vast agricultural and pastoral areas of China.
Since the reform and opening up, China's goat industry has developed rapidly and achieved remarkable achievements. Goats are widely distributed in China, with more than half of the provinces (regions) having more goats than sheep. Some southern provinces (regions) can raise goats where they can't.
Goats will change plant communities and forest structures and spread diseases to local animals. The Expert Group on Invasive Species (ISSG) of the Species Survival Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature is listed as one of the top invasive alien species in the world 100.
Sheep, Obis Aries? (Linnai, 1758), a common feeding animal of cattle sheep. Full figure and thick hair. Short head. The male sheep has a big spiral horn, which is majestic but actually plays a good-looking role. The ewe has no horns or only small horns. Coat color is white.
Sheep were first domesticated in southwest Asia about 1 1000 years ago. Now sheep are raised all over the world. They are timid, docile and easy to domesticate. At present, most highly domesticated varieties are in estrus all the year round, while local grazing varieties are in estrus, mostly in autumn and winter. The gestation period of ewes is 145 ~ 152 days. 1 ~ 5 nests per nest. The service life is 10 ~ 15 years.
References:
Sheep-Baidu Encyclopedia
Goat-Baidu Encyclopedia