Writing scifi: pack-goats in 20 years?

[DataPacRat]

I'm working on a novel set 20 years from now, around "The Geysers" in California, north of San Francisco. Various shenanigans are going to be going on around a couple of mountainous ridges, and it just occurred to me that hikers with pack-goats might be useful for the hijinks. Maybe even enough so for one character to have spent a couple of years starting up a pack-goat hiking business in Sonoma County.


I've found a lot of info on raising goats for milk, meat, or fibre; not so much on pack-goats, outside of the existence of the idea, until I found this forum just now. Does anyone here have any advice, references I can skim, or suggestions on what you'd like to see mentioned in a story that includes pack-goats? Or thoughts on how goatherding might change in the next two decades?


(Also, while I'm here, when a goat eats something indigestible and small, around how long does it take for the object to pass?)

[Charlie Horse]

[Nanno]

Sounds like a fun project! My hope is that in 20 years a packgoat business will be allowed! Right now the government is giving a lot of packgoat outfitters a hard time because of the Bighorn Sheep issue. The North American Packgoat Association is pushing back and coming at them with science that says our goats aren't a disease threat to Bighorns, but it's hard to convince people in power when they are already sure they know everything.

I'm not sure I see much changing in the goat herding scene in 20 years. What we know now about keeping goats is rooted in a history that is thousands of years old--almost as old as humankind itself. It's thought that goats are possibly the first animals ever domesticated by humans. Science has helped us incredibly with battling diseases and injury during the last century, but good animal husbandry doesn't usually change much throughout time and across cultures because the animals' basic needs remain the same. That's why my neighbor can hire people from Central or South America who don't speak English and they can go to work caring for his goats and cattle right away with very little instruction. Animal husbandry is like a common language spoken all over the world.

If you want stories on packgoats, you might buy the Goat Tracks Magazine archive collection. I believe the magazine has been going for about 20 years, and there are so many wonderful tales there.

As for things passing, I'm not sure about that. I believe most undigestible objects become lodged in the rumen, which I once read is kind of like a sieve. I've read that when an older animal is opened up, there are often some strange things lodged in the rumen that have been there for years that could never pass but that never bothered the animal since they weren't actually blocking the rumen. I could be wrong about that though. When a goat eats something that disagrees with it, they usually react within 2-12 hours. A baby goat with diarrhea usually starts scouring an hour or two after feeding. If a goat's rumen gets blocked, they'll usually start to bloat within an hour or two. But generally if a goat eats a nail or a piece of plastic, you'll likely never see any ill effects, but you probably won't see the object again either.

[DownUnder Gal]

Great picture Charlie Horse

[DataPacRat]

Sounds like a fun project! My hope is that in 20 years a packgoat business will be allowed! Right now the government is giving a lot of packgoat outfitters a hard time because of the Bighorn Sheep issue. The North American Packgoat Association is pushing back and coming at them with science that says our goats aren't a disease threat to Bighorns, but it's hard to convince people in power when they are already sure they know everything.  

I can see that. I'm not sure I can incorporate it in the story, other than possibly an extremely brief mention in passing about lobbying.

I'm not sure I see much changing in the goat herding scene in 20 years. What we know now about keeping goats is rooted in a history that is thousands of years old--almost as old as humankind itself. It's thought that goats are possibly the first animals ever domesticated by humans. Science has helped us incredibly with battling diseases and injury during the last century, but good animal husbandry doesn't usually change much throughout time and across cultures because the animals' basic needs remain the same. That's why my neighbor can hire people from Central or South America who don't speak English and they can go to work caring for his goats and cattle right away with very little instruction. Animal husbandry is like a common language spoken all over the world.

One technological option I'm considering using in the story is dropping the cost of a GPS tracking collar to under $10, or even under $1. Being able to look at a smartphone and see the location of every individual in a herd might alter practices a bit; as might a slightly more expensive collar that records every heartbeat. I'm still trying to familiarize myself with current practices, though, so if any consequences of such tech are obvious to you, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

If you want stories on packgoats, you might buy the Goat Tracks Magazine archive collection. I believe the magazine has been going for about 20 years, and there are so many wonderful tales there.

I'm afraid that I don't quite have the budget for that, but I'm already halfway through inhaling one of the online sample issues.

As for things passing, I'm not sure about that. I believe most undigestible objects become lodged in the rumen, which I once read is kind of like a sieve. I've read that when an older animal is opened up, there are often some strange things lodged in the rumen that have been there for years that could never pass but that never bothered the animal since they weren't actually blocking the rumen. I could be wrong about that though. When a goat eats something that disagrees with it, they usually react within 2-12 hours. A baby goat with diarrhea usually starts scouring an hour or two after feeding. If a goat's rumen gets blocked, they'll usually start to bloat within an hour or two. But generally if a goat eats a nail or a piece of plastic, you'll likely never see any ill effects, but you probably won't see the object again either.

Fair enough.

The particular hijink in question involves discreetly moving a half-dozen microSD cards from one location to another. I'd been thinking of putting them in a metal capsule somewhat smaller than a copper bolus (having previously trained those goats to swallow such capsules when they find them), then having those goats hired for a pack-goating hike into the nearby mountains, where the capsule would be left behind for later recovery. But if such a capsule would stay in the rumen, that whole plan requires a re-think. Maybe a visit to a vet with an endoscope to examine the stomach? There isn't a particular rush for the microSD cards to arrive, as long as they're not found, so the plan might be to just leave the capsule in the rumen for some time. Again, if any ideas occur to you on this, I'd appreciate your insights.

[Bob Jones]

The story is told of a dog that wandering into the camp of a professional trail maintenance crew on the Pacific Rim Trail. He had a pack full of energy bars and candy and had obviously wandered just out of range of his human companion. The crew just happened to have several cans of dog food which they were happy to trade for the snacks with the dog. They never did see the dogs owner.

There are now infrared camera attachments for your phones. GPS works in most places except narrow canyons. Herds might be supplemented with mechanical goats (already in existence). Drones could be used for scouting and/or SAR. Hammocks will become more like multiperson tents as materials permit tighter tensions like trampolines.

GPS will be used to set up invisible fences. As an animal wanders too far, gentle signals to its head put it slightly off balance to guide it back into the virtual pen.

Wireless relays will be dropped along the trail to extend connectivity into the wilderness. Some will use tethered balloon to lift relays above terrain and foliage.

Small gassifiers will produce electricity using wood scraps turned to wood gas , providing hydrogen for a fuel cell.

Some animals will be bred to glow in the dark. Wool will not be grown by sheep, but by living sheep skin in flat troughs in warehouses. It will be harvested by mowing. The skin will be kept alive using synthetic blood.

Single wheel electric motorcycles will be allowed on trails, fueled by the the same gassifier fuel cells. The wood gas will also be used to provide cooking fuel.

Medical kits will primarily use a type of super-glue for cuts. Rum will still be the medicine of choice for pain

Clothing will recycle sweat for water. sleeping bags will be electrically heated since gassifier / fuel cell technology will be available.
The single wheel motorcycles will also be used as pack machines like wheelbarrows.

Drones will be used to deliver goods to the wilderness by some people rather than packing.

[Nanno]

BOB JONES!!! Good to have you back ol' buddy! You are just exactly the right guy to help out with a sci-fi novel! You could not have returned at a more appropriate time.

[DownUnder Gal]

Spiced rum? ?

[Bob Jones]

Spiced rum? ?

I usually carry some old Hydro-codone left over from my kidney stone, for emergencies. I have found that a shot of rum is almost as effective for the pain associated with sciatica after a hike. It is useful for cleaning wounds and starting fires.

Sailors used to get a pound of hard tack, or sea biscuits, and a pint of rum daily for their sea ration. Sea biscuits are made by mixing flour and water, and baking the biscuit 4 times to drive out the water. They could survive a flooded hold since they resisted absorbing water.  They could survive vermin since they are easily much harder than teeth.

Hard tack left over from the Civil War was used to feed troops in the Spanish-American war over 30 years later. Soldiers would use the butts of their rifles to break the biscuits small enough to insert in their coffee cups to boil and soften them.  Sailors received the rum so that they didn't care if they broke their teeth.

I made some hard tack to take on hikes. They are useful for driving away unfriendly dogs, and for a makeshift fire pit instead of stones.

Rum has been a staple for hundreds of years, it is doubtful that will change in 20 

[Sanhestar]

The particular hijink in question involves discreetly moving a half-dozen microSD cards from one location to another. I'd been thinking of putting them in a metal capsule somewhat smaller than a copper bolus (having previously trained those goats to swallow such capsules when they find them), then having those goats hired for a pack-goating hike into the nearby mountains, where the capsule would be left behind for later recovery. But if such a capsule would stay in the rumen, that whole plan requires a re-think. Maybe a visit to a vet with an endoscope to examine the stomach? There isn't a particular rush for the microSD cards to arrive, as long as they're not found, so the plan might be to just leave the capsule in the rumen for some time. Again, if any ideas occur to you on this, I'd appreciate your insights.

I don't think that the endoscope would work. First of all, a goat has not one, but FOUR stomachs. The rumen, which is the largest one, is also always about half full of plant matter. Good luck trying to find a small capsule in there.....

Endoscoping a goat: we did something similar last year to get rumen fluids from a healthy goat to restart the rumen of a sick  goat. They will not swallow the tube without a serious fight: pressing the tongue against the palate, biting down, biting through a biting block, rearing, etc.

Sedation is not an option: goats have delicate metabolism, they can collapse and die from sedation so any goatpacker worth his/her salt would not risk the goats for such a procedure on a regular basis. He/she would also not submit the goats to the endoscoping on a regular basis because we work with an animal that trusts us and goats become suspicious and withdrawn after unpleasant treatment.

I also have to say that I resent the idea of using animals, which have no choice in such matters, to be used as a literal "mule" for smuggling enterprises. They have paid the costs of human folly already in the millions. If you want, check out the story about the mules of local peasants in Turkey in 2015. Government forces killed the mules (!) to prevent smuggling. What did the mules do other than carry a load? This would be something that the goats would also be in danger off.


GPSing goats, heart rate, etc. - why would I need that as a good animal shepherd? NOTHING can replace hands, eyes and most of all, a thinking brain. GPS would not tell me if an animal is in danger from a predator, caught up in a branch (at least not for hours, when I might see that it hasn't moved), etc.

I would suggest that you go out with a goat packer or two to get hands on experiences