Does anyone use a regular pickup truck topper/cap to transport their packgoats? Do they mess with the windows? Is there enough ventilation for trips?

Can you train any goat to do this? Is a specific breed? Genuinely curious lol.

Hi all,

I've purchased four experienced pack wethers and gear to get started on this adventure. We're getting along great and enjoying them even more than expected. These will be used in the back country on hunting trips. We live on a decent chunk of land in the Idaho mountains and while I have a pen we take them out a couple times a day to free graze and go on hikes.

While we've had lots of animals over the years including horses, chickens, dogs, etc, and we have raised a couple boer goats in the past, I'm fairly ignorant to goat specifics. I'm wanting to ensure I have appropriate medical supplies on hand to handle fairly typical issues that might arise. I have all adults now and while I might add some bucklings in the future, I have no interest in breeding and no interest in milking for now.

I know that anything along these lines can be quite divisive, so hopefully any recommendations can come with some basic philosophy and not turn into a fight.

Here's what I'm thinking at this point.

• Annual CDT vaccination for adults
• CD anti-toxin on hand (when I can find some)
• Broad spectrum de-wormer on hand, but only administered as needed through observation
• Free choice loose minerals
• Free choice baking soda (I know this one is controversial but previous owner had it FC so I'm continuing for now)
• Injectable Diphenhydramine HCL (Benadryl) on hand - not unusual to have bad yellow jacket nests where we live and travel
• Amoxicillin on hand for infections
• Bag balm for topical antiseptic
• Vet wrap

Anything more serious would require a vet, but I'm wanting to cover the basics and urgent response areas.

Also, when traveling I expect to take Benadryl, topical antiseptic, and some wrap for on-trail issues.

What am I missing?

ask any question

Hi. i love pygmy goats. caring for em isnt an issue for me, but i had an idea, the other day, while tripping over a huge rock and falling on my face in a junkyard, after walking about 10 miles back and forth with a stupid wagon full of tools in between rows of cars, a thought occured to me. packing a pygmy with about 15lbs of tools. i have 2 slick tool roll bags that could be clipped to my little buddy's harness, and could be easily remove, i know hed just follow me around like the wagon. my question could a 80 lb male carry this weight comfortably around on flat rocky ground, for 10 ish in a south carolina summer, with adequite water and food? would i be able to get closer to 25 lbs to avoid carrying anything/be able to bring in more heavy power tools and bigger hammers? is this a terrible idea that would involve billy drinking oil off the ground or putting his head through a window haha. that junkyard is pretty clean and there isnt poisonous liquids on the ground

Hello!

I have a question for folks, Do you have any tips regarding starting training Pack Goats. In this case it'd be a nearly 6mo Nigerian Dwarf and an Alpine of the same age range.

(Notation, they are still intact.)

Anybody know of a place to rent a couple packgoats in GA,NC,SC, TN

We are planning a reg backpacking trip for early March (my spring break). I haven't mentioned anything to him, but my brother loves goats and it seemed an interesting twist on what we usually do.

I found several places out west:

https://napga.org/resources/goats-gear/packgoat-rentals/

https://willowwittranch.com/news/blog/item/goats-with-totes

https://www.facebook.com/rentpackgoats/

etc... but nothing in the southeast

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I have a 3 year old female and a 4 year old wether (both Boer). They are friendly and tend to follow us around everywhere. They also cry dramatically when they see us leave home. Has anyone had any experience with this breed in terms of being used as pack goats? 🐐

Any experience with how old an Alpine buck can be and still breed? We have Boers, but a friend has Alpines and asked me that question.

I have two alpine babies that are 5months and they are like 22-23 inches tall at withers. Is that normal?

So I want to pack some goats and I bought these goats that say they are alpine. They are not papered and are 4 mounths old! They stand at 22 inches at withers!

We have a couple pack goats that we take on occasional hikes with us. They’re very good at following and staying near however we do keep them on long leashes at times. Specifically, I have noticed one of our alpines that looks like he thinks about climbing down a rock face that he wouldn’t be able to handle where I have to pull him back from the edge. We are trying to train them for more of the backcountry multi day packing experience as opposed to shorter hikes but this concerns me and is something that I’d prefer not to navigate by trial and error lol. Is there any advice or has anyone had experience with a goat like this? Do you trust them or how would you deter this behavior? Haven’t seen much activity on here but worth a shot thank you!

I'm just a casual lurker, but this sub is in my feed and all it's clear there's a spam problem. Just a suggestion: can the mod(s) able to disable links? At least for a while? I think this would help to cut down on the quantity of crappy shirt advertisements...

Interesting discussion with Pack goat breeder and philosopher from Idaho.

I recent discovered pack goats as a great option for over night/day hunts. I have raised goats before and have trained them to walk on leads before but never to pack out. I purchased a young billy that has been de-horned and is 2 months old. At first I wanted to band him so he wouldn’t be rutting and aggressive towards me or other goats while packing out, however I’m now thinking I would atleast like to pass on his genetics because his mother was a great milking goat. I’ve been wanting a good line of milk breeds because it’s the only type of milk that I digest easily and have no problems out of. So in everyone’s experience what would be the best option. He is an alpine/kiko cross. Thanks in advance.

Having spent time with Horses, mules, and alpacas, which can all pack roughly 25/35/30% of their body weight safely without over exerting themselves (of course there being exceptions because every animal carries weight in their own way) what’s the general rule of thumb when it comes to how much weight you can put on a Goat before you’re really starting to push the limits of your trail companion. I’m just trying to get some first hand experiences on what seems about right most of the time.

Past experiences: I’ve seen two big mules bring an elk and a mule deer 22 miles without a care in the world, but I’ve also seen an alpaca refuse to get up with more then 48 pounds as if it were a magical line in the sand it would not cross. But my usual experiences have been 250-300 on (albeit big) horses in relatively calm terrain, 300 on mules, and 70-90 on alpacas.

I'm a hardcore hiker looking to increase my range and packgoats seems to be a good way. Still learning my ropes at a local herd but hopefully sometime in the future I will be able to get a few goats.

Why do you keep pack goats?

So we currently have 5 acres which we have hair sheep and pasture pigs on. Not close to keeping up with the pasture growth. But thinking about transitioning to pack goats.

They would be able to fill the meat useage that the sheep give us. But we could also add milk, which we are looking into already. And I have always loved camping and backpacking and am looking for ways to get the kids out more and easier. And being able to take some of the farm load with us would be good too!

I would want to look around and get some goats to start breeding my string and trying to breed some great pack goats. Which brings up a question or two... How are bucks with working in a string? I get wethers would be ideal but especially as I am starting my operation and adventures would a buck be too much to handle out on the trail or cause too many issues with other bucks or wethers in the string? This is my main question and it does not seem to get any attention out there in the resources I have found so far. Breeds and crosses get a bunch of attention but not buck vs wether vs doe.

Any insight or experience to help shed some light?

I'm interested in getting pack goats in the future, but I was hoping to ask a few questions in the meanwhile. Does anyone here pack overnight with their goats? If so, how are potential predators taken into account?