pack goats

[oxnam]

When I hunted with them, they came along with me.  I liked all the natural noise they would make.  They make the same noises as deer and elk do when walking and eating.  Helps mask my footsteps.  My goats didn't make much noise, but some goats are more vocal which would not work well.  I never had to pack any feed for them because they browse like deer so food was never a problem.

[oxnam]

They can be great for a lot of different things.  I have a very young family so when we went hiking, we would carry our kids in the kid packs and the goats would pack the food and gear.  I even used them chukar hunting to pack extra water for the dogs.  Guys that use them love them.

[The Night Stalker]

What is the best breed to pack, toggenburg, alpines or saneens?

[String Cutter]

I had the same idea years ago. Here's the thread. Hope it helps???      http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=42;t=000009

[mountain trapper]

What about predators while away from camp?

[String Cutter]

I'm a guessing they're on their own???But I have thought of that also. And my ideas  are to hang a dirty shirt on a bush nearby and take a small am/fm radio and play it as loud as you think nessasary?? Talk radio or something with lot of human voices... It might keep away some of them??? But I'm only guessing??

[Brian Krebs]

me- I love my donkeys. I have used one ( Johnny aka 'the bread thief') for packing.. for 23 years. How long do goats live? I had a mule that packed right into his 44th year....

[wapitimike1]

I have a friend in BC who's buddy talked him into using Lamas rather then horses. They split up with three each in the mountains to hunt. When Bear came back to his camp he noticed the Lamas were'nt in the padock. He started looking and found one dead on the ground with it's throat all blood. He was inspecting it when his flash light died. He said he had this creepy feeling walking to the tent to get a new light. He returned to the Lama was down looking when the hair on his neck stood up. He spun the light to find a lion creeping in on him just feet away. He unlaoded on it with his rifle killing the cat. It had killed two of the lamas and the other one was nuts from the run in with it. His buddy that took the other three lost one to a cat also. I would say goats are most likely good for some areas but not others.

[Stone Knife]

  They stink and are not very western  

I'll probably get hung for saying this but  
They are smarter than a horse, just my two cents. Hey Art bring one to Denton to carry my bow up those hills  

[mrgreenhead]

hey i already thinking of bringing my 2 yr old

[mrgreenhead]

Well getting up at 5 am to bottle feed is somthing i havent done in 14 yrs.  

[swampbuck]

LOL they look nice and comphy on the couch I'm pretty sure that wouldn,t go over here but then again they are young and probably havn,t started to pi$$ on their head yet.My bud's goat would do that when he started rutting in the fall and one of my other buds actuallt used that scent to turn a nice buck into bow range.Not sure if yours are type to get stinky in the rut or not but once they do I,m bettin the couch will be off limits hahaha

[mrgreenhead]

They are already banned from the house! But mommas not always home  :D

[helo]

The males are called wethers they are fixed when they are young so you dont get any of that action.

[Brian Krebs]

Here in Idaho we have a saying : " you know how to pack a llama ?" ---- "well first you quarter it...".

Goats just don't seem to have any personality - I guess that's OK if you run out of food.

 How much weight can a goat carry? Donkeys are OK with 65 pounds a side; its mostly a matter of bulk - not weight when your packing... what can a goat carry?

[Ragnarok Forge]

For the question of how to keep them in camp.  Stake the matriach out in camp and your in business.  The rest of the herd will stay with her.  If you want to keep them safe.  Where legal take a large dog with you that is trained to stay with the goats.  Cougars and bears will stay away from the large dog.  The shirt and raido is an interesting idea that might just work.  Shirt upwind of goats and radio loud enough could keep predators away.

[NDTerminator]

They can call deer, too.  Once when our kid goats were in that stage where they get to exploring and start bawling when they figure out they aren't next to mom, they called in several does in broad daylight, and they showed up in the yard ready for war!  Apparently a kid bawling sounds a lot like a fawn in distress...

[Conner Parry]

Here is a picture of my best pack goat. I have another one that is over the hill (10 years old) but might make through another season. I am going to give them both a try packing this year.

 

[mountain trapper]

Great just what I need another distraction from school!LOL  I have to say that I am intrigued by this idea.  When I have time I think I am going to have to give it a try!

[jrchambers]

do you think they get offended if you took them goat hunting????