That's weird because I've always considered British sheep to be small! You should see the size of the merino before they are sheared. They are huge sheep by UK standards, yet here no one bats an eyelid over their size!
Our neighbors had sheep, I used to love them because they were so soft. Sheep here aren't for eating, they're for shearing.
Goats are huge here right now, but as pets as much as anything. Everybody around here wants to play pretend farmer, they get a goat and a couple of chickens, throw them in their suburban backyard, read Mother Earth News online, go to the farmer's market once a week, then tell everybody how they're living their real life. They're not farming, they just have a very small petting zoo.
I did want to clear up earlier that we do have plenty of dairy operations in the state, just not around where I live.
Alpacas are used as guardian animals here in Australia. Its a case of them defending their territory rather than the actual prey animals though because if a chicken or goat or sheep wanders outside of the alpacas' territory it is fair game to the prey and won't be defended. If it comes back into the defined area, it will be defended to the death. (eagles with +2m wing span are common here, plus the usual predators). Alpaca wool is also very common.
We do have a load of alpacas or llamas or whatever they are around; there are several small farms within 20 miles or so of my house. I've kind of forgotten about them. I assume people are using them for their hair.
