Small ruminant dairy production for the bovine practitioner

Abstract

Goat and sheep dairies are a growing subset of the dairy indus­try in the United States. Although sheep and goats differ signifi­cantly from cattle in some ways, bovine practitioners have a wealth of expertise that can and does greatly benefit the small ruminant dairy industry. The need for greater utilization of knowledge exists and can have a large impact on profitability and sustainability of small ruminant dairies. In this talk, we will review the areas of goat and sheep dairies where bovine veterinarians can have the most influence and how the small ruminants differ from cows in a dairy setting.