Packing with- uh- er Goats

[packfish]

Has anyone here looked into buying or have packed with goats.
Some of you guys must have- it would give you an excuse to wear goat leggins , drink and dance around the camp fire- Ok you probably don't need the excuse to do that.

[icthys]

My cousins had a pack goat when we were kids. We loved having the goat come along as kids and he'd always carry a bunch of our gear. He'd get outta control every once in awhile but for the most part he was well behaved and didn't cause any problems.

[Mtnman1830]

I saw a pamphlet about this... I thought it would be fun to go packing with goats in Wyoming.... Until I saw what they wanted. I can pack my own gear for that. I was very pricey...

[GoatHerder]

I have five pack goats. Two are experienced packers. Two have been hiking with me for two years, I will pack them lightly this year. And one is a year old but already 140 pounds.

I am always looking for places to go and people to hike with. I am not a commercial operation. Just a hobby for me.

[Pelon1]

I have five pack goats. Two are experienced packers. Two have been hiking with me for two years, I will pack them lightly this year. And one is a year old but already 140 pounds.

I am always looking for places to go and people to hike with. I am not a commercial operation. Just a hobby for me.

Where do you live?

[GoatHerder]

Salt Lake City. I see you're in St. George. We could meet somewhere in between on a weekend or near Escalante on a long one.

[JONBOYLEMON]

How cool is that to have goats haul your gear..... Do you need any special permits to take goats with you???

[GoatHerder]

They are not allowed in National Parks. If I go out of state I have to get a vets note for the herd. The basic rule of law is that if something is not specifically prohibited, then it is permitted. So I figure they are welcome at Disneyland ;-)

Along the Wasatch Front dogs and horses are prohibited from the watershed. The sheriff tells me he'll give me a ticket if I have the goats up there. I have been up several times. I tell him that goats are not dogs or horses. The specific law also says that domestic animals cannot be 'at-large' which means not under your control. And that they are not permitted to drink directly from the streams. Both of which imply that they are allowed to be there as long as they are under control and away from the water.

I already beat them once on having a dog up there because the area is not properly marked to enforce trespass laws. So if I ever do get a ticket the law is on my side. I have enough other places to go that I am not up there often.

There is some talk about keeping them out of areas where big horn sheep are, but it is an over reaction. It is easy to keep goats under your control. When walking they stay with you, and when camped you can highline them if required. Mine sleep under my hammock. It is unlikely that a big horn sheep would join us in camp. Furthermore, pack goats are pets. They do not carry diseases that grazing herds might. They are under close health management. And nothing can get sick from a healthy animal.

But then if we were on the trail and you asked me if I was allowed to have them, my standard reply is "No, they have been federally outlawed for ten years. We have to hide them in drug shipments to transport them across state lines." ;-)

[UTJetdog]

I was camped for a couple of days in the Winds last year near two women from Colorado that had 5 nice pack goats. They really were pets. They were quiet and loved to be brushed. They said one had been chased by a moose the day before - we had several moose in our area - but no real problems.

If I were going to own a pack animal, it would definitely be a goat.

[GoatHerder]

That is the primary difference between a goat and a pack goat. How well they are bonded to humans. Four of mine are well bonded having been imprinted on humans and raised by hand in close proximity to people, horses, and dogs.

I have one which is "budied" with me. He prefers my company to that of goats. When I got him he had been kept in the house and bottle fed until then. He slept under my hammock for three days and I took him to work with me for three weeks.

When we hike, if I sit down, he lays down beside me. If I whistle, he will call back to me. He has even been in the canoe with me.

You can pack goats that are not your "pets" but you do have to manage them a bit closer. A small herd which you might borrow or rent doesn't know the difference between you and other strange people, so you keep at least the most senior goats on a lead so they don't follow the other group of people going back to the parking lot that you pass on the trail.

It is difficult to own a single goat. I started out with the idea of having two, but when I went and got them couldn't resist the third. Then two older experienced goats were being given away, and I couldn't quite wait for three years for the kids to get big enough to pack. So I ended up with five.

With the first three I got I actually slept out in the shed with them for a few nights. It helps them to bond to you and it gives the wife an opportunity to get used to the idea of having goats ;-)