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Howdy all! I'm Teresa, I live in Missouri and I have a small herd of goats. It began with a couple pet goats just for fun, two Myotonic/Nubian crosses. Then my fiance bought 3 pygmy goats for me. 2 bucklings and a doeling. Mistake! The boys bred everybody and while the kids were fun, the bucks became VERY destructive. They were impossible to keep penned. When they couldn't escape they'd just bash their way out over time. They removed hinges and latches from my horse stalls and knocked the siding off my goat shed. I finally had to start tying them out... which was NOT an option I was comfortable with. I ended up finding them a home where they went to be brush munchers.
I found that the mixed breed kids we'd produced were easy to sell as pets, so I started thinking about getting a meatier buck so the girls could earn their keep. As I learned more about meat goats I decided to gradually grow my herd and start bringing in at least one better quality goat each year. I got a Boer cross buck the first year, the next I bought a very nice Boer/Savanna doeling who turned out amazing. So last year I bought a buck bred the same way... Boer/Savanna and he's turning out awesome so I'll be selling my original buck. He's actually a good natured guy and now that I'm writing this it occurs to me that he might be one to consider packing with!
At any rate, the reason I started thinking about pack goats is because I had 6 kids born in February and one is a buckling. He's by the Boer/Savanna buck and out of an Alpine/Nubian doe. He looks like a nice even mixture of the breeds. He's sturdier than the average dairy kid, but not so bulky as to be too heavy for jumping and climbing. In fact, if he gets any of his mother's athleticism he'll be unstoppable! She can clear pasture fences like a deer! He's absolutely in my pocket every time I go out there and couldn't care less about being touched everywhere, having his feet and legs handled or being restrained... so far I haven't found anything that upsets him.
I've just started doing research on the training of pack goats and realize that at 3 weeks old... it'll be a long time before he's ready to pack! But I want to learn everything I can before he gets too big so he doesn't miss the boat.
I don't recall where I found mention of this site whilst web surfing for info, but I'm glad I found it and I do hope to learn more by having actual people to talk with.
I look forward to getting to know you all.
Teresa :-)
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Welcome to the group 
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Welcome! We're so glad to have you, and I know I look forward to hearing how your little guy progresses!
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Welcome to the group Teresa! Lots of good goat chatter here besides the pack pros. I'd suggest subscribing to the Pack Goat Newsletter, its excellent with lots of packing info, plus some ads by our suppliers. Your 3 mo old buckling is perfect age for beginning training, starting with walking on a lead, make him your lead goat for others to follow. Around six mos castrate him else he'll be breeding every doe around. Plus he will grow better for a packgoat.
My choice is the Kiko, hardy, a bit more cold weather resistant. I will be having a cross or two. I have seen some Boers I liked, I dont know anything about their temperaments but they do have muscle. One trait I like of the Kikos is that they test herd sire prospects for parasite resistence. And they grow. Mature bucks will reach 200 lbs and more.
What part of MO do you live in? I was in the SW, in MacDonald Cnty. I am in northern MI now.
Jake
Mikado, MI
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(02-27-2014, 09:23 AM)Jake Levi Wrote: Welcome to the group Teresa! Lots of good goat chatter here besides the pack pros. I'd suggest subscribing to the Pack Goat Newsletter, its excellent with lots of packing info, plus some ads by our suppliers. Your 3 mo old buckling is perfect age for beginning training, starting with walking on a lead, make him your lead goat for others to follow. Around six mos castrate him else he'll be breeding every doe around. Plus he will grow better for a packgoat.
My choice is the Kiko, hardy, a bit more cold weather resistant. I will be having a cross or two. I have seen some Boers I liked, I dont know anything about their temperaments but they do have muscle. One trait I like of the Kikos is that they test herd sire prospects for parasite resistence. And they grow. Mature bucks will reach 200 lbs and more.
What part of MO do you live in? I was in the SW, in MacDonald Cnty. I am in northern MI now.
Thanks for the welcome everyone!
Jake, I appreciate the suggestion about the newsletter. I haven't had much time for looking around since I joined. Been getting seeds started inside, getting eggs going in my incubator, working on a pen so I can kick my two house cats outside once we finish with our arctic blasts! LOL! I'm SO ready for spring!
My little buck is actually only 3 weeks, but he'll be getting leash trained sooner than later. Shoot... he may be closer to a month now. I'll have to look at the calendar. I had looked at Kikos for my breeding purposes but decided to integrate Savanna instead. They have the same parasite resistance and good mothering skills... but I found them to be 'meatier' than the kikos. I don't have pure Savannas, instead I've fallen for the Boer/Savanna 50/50 cross. They are amazing!
I have really only spent time with my own goats, so can only compare temperaments amongst my own herd and my sister's herd of dairy goats. She's got Nubian, Alpine and Toggenburg. Her Nubians and my Nubian mixes seem pretty docile but easily riled up. The Boer seem to be very people oriented and easy to tame. My first impression of the Boer/Savannas was that the Savanna made them wild. I've had my doe for 2 years and I'm JUST NOW able to pet her and I'm convinced it's only because she kidded and was forced to endure my presence for several straight hours.
However, I bought a Boer/Savanna buckling last year who was from the same farm as my doe and he was COMPLETELY wild just like she was. It took him no time at all to figure out that people are the source of yummy things and scratchy fingers. And my first Boer/Savanna kids are "in your pocket" tame.
So for my needs (easy keeper, rapid growth, meaty carcass, parasite resistant, good mother with good milk, and easy to handle) I'm totally sold on the Boer/Savannas.
Sorry... didn't mean to get that wordy! Oh, and I'm in Cass County. I could throw a rock into Kansas from my front porch if I didn't throw like a girl. (That's actually one of the few things that I DO do like a girl. LOL!) I'm about 45 minutes south of Kansas City.
Take care,
Teresa :-)
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02-28-2014, 09:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-28-2014, 09:40 PM by deschutes dawn.)
Hey, Teresa! I lived in Nevada for 7 years when I was growing up. Couldn't be too far from where you currently live. Sorry to say now I'm as close to a native Oregonian as you can be without being born here! Don't miss tornado alley at all. Welcome to the forum.
Hey, Teresa, I lived in Nevada MO for 7 years when I was growing up! Couldn't be too far from where you currently live. I'm a "near native" Oregonian now and don't miss tornado alley at all.
Oops! The edit rewrote the whole thing not just the word I asked for. Sure glad goats are easier to use than computers!
[i]
Charlene in Central Oregon[/i]
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(02-28-2014, 09:30 PM)deschutes dawn Wrote: Hey, Teresa! I lived in Nevada for 7 years when I was growing up. Couldn't be too far from where you currently live. Sorry to say now I'm as close to a native Oregonian as you can be without being born here! Don't miss tornado alley at all. Welcome to the forum.
Hey, Teresa, I lived in Nevada MO for 7 years when I was growing up! Couldn't be too far from where you currently live. I'm a "near native" Oregonian now and don't miss tornado alley at all.
Oops! The edit rewrote the whole thing not just the word I asked for. Sure glad goats are easier to use than computers!
hmmm... goats vs. computers. I'm equally addicted to both. LOL!
If I had to guess I'd say Nevada is probably an hour and a half south of where I'm at. I've been to Fort Scott a couple times, but never through Nevada.
I've lived here for almost 40 years and have yet to personally see a tornado, but the season is always exciting to me. I did think I was going to be swept away a few years back though, while doing foal watch out in my barn during a typical spring storm. I was chillin on a couch with all the barn cats when they suddenly disappeared! The air pressure changed and I realized things were getting ugly. I went to the front of my horse barn (a three sided structure, pole barn) and couldn't even see my house about 100 yards away. In fact, it was raining so hard that I couldn't even see the barnyard light about 50 yards away. As I stood there contemplating whether I could make it to the house, the wind picked up my round pen and moved it about 15 feet. The pen was only 40 feet from the barn. I turned on my heel and went to the center of the barn, sat down and wrapped my arms and legs around one of the poles. It shook and vibrated and I just knew those were gonna be my last moments but in the next few, it all went still. The next morning I found out that one of my neighbors lost their barn that night. I'm a LUCKY LUCKY GIRL!
Teresa :-)
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I've seen the tails come down from the clouds but they never got to the ground before dissipating. Pretty scary even then. BTW, I was born in Ft. Scott! I've been in Oregon since '68 so all we had back then for tornado watch was radar on the tv if the electric storm hadn't knocked out the electricity. Really don't miss it. I do miss fireflies though, and cardinals!
[i]
Charlene in Central Oregon[/i]
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