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Pack Goats - Cdollar4 - 07-16-2021
Hello everyone, my name is Colby And I really want to get into pack goats it’s something I’ve wanted to do for awhile now. I live in Chewelah Wa, and I’m just curious if anyone in north Idaho or eastern Washington that uses pack goats and raises and sells. I also would like to know if I should start with young and raise them up. Thank you all
RE: Pack Goats - Nanno - 07-16-2021
You're in luck! Washington and Idaho probably have the highest concentration of goat packers in the U.S. Quite a few folks are starting to raise and sell. It's always easier to start young and raise them up because it's relatively easy to find babies. However, that does delay your packing dream by a few years. Finding good adult packers can sure get you started a lot sooner but it is a more difficult quest. Once people have good packgoats they don't often let go. Nonetheless, sometimes you get lucky because someone's life circumstances change and they have to sell their beloved packgoats or downsize their string. It pays to keep an eye on the classifieds here because adult packers do come up from time to time.
If you're looking for breeders, this is a great place to start:
https://www.napga.org/resources/goats-n-gear/packgoat-breeders/
Check out the "Buyers Guide" link at that top of the page for some tips on finding sound, healthy kids.
Good luck!
RE: Pack Goats - CMGifford - 07-19-2021
Welcome Colby. I live in Central Washington (Selah) and have a herd of 14 young pack goats, 2 bucklings, 2 doelings, 6 does, and 4 wethers. I may add a couple more does later this summer, I just have to make arrangements to go get them in Wyoming. I happen to have goats that all originate from Dwite Sharpe lines but there are several other good packgoat breeders that are within a reasonable distance of your location. I will be breeding some of the does this fall and will likely have some babies for sale next spring. I highly recommend starting with bottle babies because as Nanno said, it can take a long time to find good, adult, experienced packgoats for sale. Best of luck to you. Goats are AWESOME!!!
RE: Pack Goats - Nanno - 07-19-2021
You may be in luck! Look what just came up today: 4-year-old packgoats available in Washington!!
https://www.packgoatcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=4524