1st Post, Looking to get a couple more pack goats and need some info!

[GPW]

Hello to All.

I am currently looking for 1-2 more pack goats to add to my 2 goat team. I have a afew prospects but before I go out and look at them I would like alittle help with some info!

I have 2 different people who have 18-24 month olds ( Alpines )
and both have wethers in the 150-180Lb Range at that age.

1 - has 2 - 18 month olds, bigger one is 180lb, smaller is 150lb based on girth tapeing BUT I guess the other day the bigger one got alittle out of hand and hit the lady with his horns on the back of her legs after she fed them a snack?

2 - has 4 - 24 month olds that vary between 140-190 lbs, but lives 8 hours away from me but sounds like her goats have better manners, but we have limited talking do to her being way out in Montana.

what direction would you all lean to? I am really wanting to get a couple more goats trained this year for future Hunting and hiking trips. Any info would be greatly appreciated !

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

Personally Id go with the better mannered ones. There is still a good years worth of growth you can put on the older ones. Although lots of people like to go bigger, I believe the ideal size is 200-225. If conditioned right, they will be carry good weight and will be a bit more manageable. Now Id ask the more important questions like have they been tested, are they willing to test before hand. Id get a ton of pictures of them all or maybe even a video if they have the means to see how they move and what kind of structure they have. If they have good feet and legs. When they were castrated, what have they been feeding them. They are decent sized for their ages, so size would be the last thing I would worry about at this time.

[michael]

Are you way out in mt or the goats?

[GPW]

Thanks Dave, I don't think I'll get video of them but those are all things to consider. None of the wethers have been tested for CAE or CL from either place. 1 of the Alpines that lives closer to me looks like he has good body structure, maybe I can post some pictures on here of all of them, although some pictures of the goats in Montana are of them laying down. I'm in Washington on the wet side.

I definitely agree with your weight size, anything over 230lbs would be a helluva lot of goat to control, specially if theres 3-4 of them!

[Taffy]

With all of the reputable dairy goat breeders here in Washington State why not look locally? Begin with a goat(s) from a breeder who has a CAE/CL, etc. negative herd.

[GPW]

With all of the reputable dairy goat breeders here in Washington State why not look locally? Begin with a goat(s) from a breeder who has a CAE/CL, etc. negative herd.

If anyone has any leads on some 1.5 + year old wethers then I'm all ears! its just that I need to start with some older wethers as I don't have a ton of space and would like to get them packing in the next couple of years, I would love to start with some bottle kids but its just not going to work for me right now, that and when there 1.5+ years old its easier for me to know that they will hit that 200lb pack goat mark, unless I'm wrong about that. My example for this is the 2 Obers I have, The big guy Samson is 200lbs and a complete work horse and this brother Jerry is 175lb and just can't keep up with Samson, even with a much lighter load. That and I would hate to get a couple of bottle kids, have them turn out to be under-weight and not have any use for them, I don't have the acreage to have a non-working goat, Again and I repeat if I am wrong about this please let me know I am not afraid to call myself a goat " noob"

[deschutes dawn]

I have a couple 18 month Saanens that we had to take from a boarder because of not paying the feed bill. They have been tested and are clean. One is horned and one has a small scur that breaks off occasionally. They have both been on the trail some and have had a dog pack on their backs (unloaded). They are desperate for attention because the former owner ignored them. They've been through water but I don't know how well trained they are for crossing. They are well mannered and super sweet.
If you are interested in Saanens I could make you a deal on these two.

---

Sorry, I should have told you I'm in Bend OR.

[GPW]

Well I think the wethers in Montana are out, no e-mail reply or phone call so I assume they sold. I will be looking at the Alpines in walla walla though and possibly the Saanens that Dawn has, although I worry about introducing a non-horned goat to my Horned Obers