Goat String Wanted

[Marc]

Welcome, Marc!

I don't know specifically about the goats listed on the Bellingham Craigslist; I did look at the ad & it says they are 6 years old. Opinions vary about many years you can get out of the average packer. So, while they are in their prime now, they will probably start to slow down in another 3-4 years. Their equipment, by Northwest Packgoats is excellent.

If you do have young children, you probably want to get hornless goats, just to be on the safe side. We have to be really careful with our (horned) goats when there are children around. While they have never hurt anybody, our goats have intimidated a lot of little kids & made more than one of them cry, and I am sure the horns did not help the situation.

That being said, if you are not in a hurry, I think you will find the perfect goats for you. It sounds like you are in no rush so perhaps getting some young (0-3 year-old) polled wethers would give you time to start bonding with them, gathering some gear, and training them. But you might want to look at hornless goats if you want your children to feel comfortable around them--Saph

Thanks very much Saph, sounds like sage wisdom. I will take all that to heart. I am in a wait and see place on the goats out of Belligham for now. It's a long way to go to "take a look." And I must admit I'm not a fan of the no ear deal. I like my goats with ears.