Multi-Species Grazing: Grazing Sheep, Goats, and Cattle Together

Cattle and sheep graze together in a lush, green pasture surrounded by dense trees, exemplifying multi-species grazing in a serene rural landscape.

Animals play a unique role on a regenerative farm or homestead. When managed properly, combining sheep, goats, and cattle in a rotational grazing system can dramatically improve the health of the soil, reduce parasites, and increase forage and stocking density. Grazing sheep, cattle, and goats together is multi-species grazing. In nature, different species live and graze together. Multi-species grazing follows God’s design, which benefits not only the eco-system but also your land.

Why Multi-Species Grazing Works

Sheep, cows, and goats have different grazing habits, forage preferences, and behaviors. Instead of competing for the same fodder, they complement one another by grazing different forages. Implementing multi-species grazing can maximize forage use while regenerating pastures.

·        Cattle are primarily grazers. They prefer grasses and use their heavy hooves to break down plant matter, massaging the soil and pressing organic material into the soil.

·        Sheep are more selective grazers. They eat grass but also target broad-leaf plants called forbs and legumes that cattle typically prefer not to eat.

·        Goats are browsers. They thrive on brush, shrubs, and woody plants, which help clear invasive species like multiflora rose, kudzu, and knotweed, and promote better pasture growth.

Together, they support improved forage diversity, healthier and more productive pastures, and reduce weeds, especially invasive weeds.  

Benefits of Multi-Species Grazing

1. Better Forage

Cattle, sheep, and goats all favor and eat different plants. By grazing them together, the forage is consumed more efficiently. This ensures a healthier balance of grasses, legumes, and forbs. Farmers will notice a reduction in the hay they are required to feed as a result of rotational and multi-species grazing.

2. Improved Soil Health

Hooves from cattle and sheep are explicitly designed to trample organic matter into the ground, while manure from all species adds nutrients and boosts microbial activity. Diverse manure inputs feed the soil organisms while providing a more diverse soil microbiome, which in turn supports plant health, providing for lusher pastures and more improved forage.

3. Parasite Control

One of the most significant benefits is the reduction of parasites. Most internal parasites are host-specific—sheep parasites generally don’t infect cattle, and vice versa. By rotating animals across the same pasture, parasite life cycles are disrupted, leading to healthier herds with less reliance on chemical dewormers. Keep in mind that sheep and goats do share parasites. Rotational grazing of animals will reduce this pressure.

4. Brush and Weed Management

Goats are great at controlling invasive species like multiflora rose, kudzu, and brambles, which cattle and sheep may avoid. By adding goats to your livestock rotation, forage improves. This promotes native grasses and plants, which not only enhance and support healthy pastures but also the native ecosystem.

5. Economic Resilience

Diversifying livestock means diversifying income streams. Meat, milk, fiber, and even agritourism opportunities spread risk, making the farm more resilient to market or environmental shifts.

Supporting the System with Free-Choice Mineral Feeders

One challenge in multi-species grazing is meeting the unique nutritional needs of different animals. Sheep, goats, and cattle all require minerals, but their requirements vary—especially when it comes to copper.

• Cattle and goats need higher levels of copper to thrive.

• Sheep, however, are susceptible to copper and can be harmed by excessive intake.

  
  

Many regenerative farmers turn to free-choice mineral feeder systems like the one from Free Choice Enterprises. Instead of offering a one-size-fits-all mineral, a free-choice system provides individual compartments of minerals (such as calcium, phosphorus, copper, selenium, and salt) in separate compartments. Each animal can instinctively seek out and consume the minerals it needs. Many have a concern that animals will eat the wrong mineral, causing sickness, but animals are far more intuitive and will instinctively take only what they need.

Free-choice mineral systems not only prevent deficiencies and toxicities but also support animal health naturally. Studies have shown that free-choice mineral systems allow livestock to self-regulate intake, leading to improved growth rates, enhanced fertility, and stronger immune systems (Villalba & Provenza, 2007). We have personally seen an improvement in our sheep since adding the free choice system; we have seen far more twins from our ewes.

For a farmer, this flexibility is essential. By allowing the animals to meet their own mineral needs, farmers can sustain the health of the herd across the different species while avoiding any issues from a one-size-fits-all mineral program.

Practical Tips for Success

1.     Start with Good Fencing: Goats are escape artists. Strong fencing is vital, especially for escape magicians like goats.

2.     Rotate Regularly: Move animals through paddocks to avoid overgrazing, improve regrowth, and break parasite cycles. To learn more about rotational grazing, visit our blog.

3.     Mind Nutrition: Each species has different mineral and nutritional requirements—offer free- choice minerals, which allows the animal to choose precisely what they need.

4.     Water Access: Design your water systems to ensure that they are accessible to all animals without creating muddy or overused areas. For example, sheep are far smaller than cows, so you need to ensure that sheep can access the water just as the cows can.

5.     Observe and Adjust: Every piece of land will be different. Observe. Watch how your animals behave and what forage they eat, and adapt stocking rates as needed.

Conclusion

Multi-species grazing can definitely take more effort and planning than rotating one species. Still, there are significant rewards: healthier animals, richer soil, more nutrient-dense meat, and more productive pastures. By letting sheep, goats, and cattle work together, and supporting them with tools like free-choice mineral feeders, farmers and homesteaders can create a system that mirrors nature. It’s a tool in the regenerative farmer's toolbelt that pays off for the land, the animals, and the people who depend on them.