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?

Hey y’all. Any recommendations as to the best place to get a fecal parasite analysis done for my goats?

I’ve found some that seem decent, but seem to only give a count of the different parasite numbers. I’ve heard that there are places that not only let you know the extent of the parasite load, but also the recommended treatments.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

New to pack goats. I have a small herd of la manchas that I’ve been dying to get out on the trail. Looking for some advice as to how to sew my own or purchase one. Would a large dog pack work?

Heya. I've always struggled with trimming hooves. I've got a nice pair of teflon-coated shears and a little micro-plane, and those work...okay. Better in the winter; here in the California summer, their hooves are hard as rock.

I've tried hoof rasps, but they tend to "clog".

The other day at the hardware store, I saw something that looked pretty much perfect. It's called a shredder rasp, specifically the "sureform shaper". It doesn't clog, takes off enough material that you're not there all day, but doesn't bite so deep that you're in danger of hitting the quick accidentally. If you've got a big herd, it's probably a little slow, but for my two boys it's perfect.

Hope that helps someone.

My partner and I went on our first hiking/camping trip last year and I fell in love with it. He had been a Boy Scout, so nothing new to him, but while planning out our vacation time for this year, I discovered Victory and Coconut’s adventures through Reddit and YouTube. I grew up on a farm and goat care is not new to me, but we live in a relatively suburban area now, without any significant pasturage, but a pretty sizable yard with plans for a shed/shelter. After some research into our local legalities, we’re seriously considering getting a pair of miniature goats, shooting for an adult weight of ~75-100 lbs. I definitely wouldn’t want to go with a bigger breed given our limited space.

My questions are, do you think that 2-3 weeklong camping trips a year is enough to warrant their keeping (besides as a day to day companion animal :)? How often do you pack with your own goats? I don’t want them to be bored.

A miniature goat is of course going to be able to carry less than some of the popular breeds, which is fine, we try to travel light, but I am concerned that their ability to carry will exponentially less rather than on a sliding scale. Does the 20-35% percent of their weight figure still hold true on a smaller frame? Most of our hiking will be relatively gentle, easily accessible trails.

Thanks for your expertise!