What age to start hiking? packing?

[SMaxwell]

I took my 18 month old Alpine hunting with me a few years ago and he carried about 10 lbs of survival gear, my lunch, first aid kits, camera, etc. He had been on some other light load hikes that season. He did great and I cant see 10 lbs hurting him. Look on the old archives which are now on The Goat Spot Forum and you will find many differing opinions, from people putting 35 lbs on a one year old (I would NOT recommend) to people who will tell you you will cripple your goat if you put a feather on them before they are fully four years old. Again, IMHO I think you are safe with the 10% at a minimum of 1 year and 100 lbs and increase that by 5% per year.