Pack Goats

If you're talking about llamas I've heard more bad than good. The couple of people that I have talked to that used them said that they would never do it again. They said that they can't pack as much weight and they said they are even more stuborn than mules.

The is all second hand news keep in mind but that is what I have heard.

yeah i have heard bad things about llamas but i am talking about goats like billy goats, check this out http://www.summitpackgoat.com/ :-k

Used to run into a lady once a year at the trailhead that packed llamas..she walked with them though...can't remember all the pros and cons but i know our mules were always reeeal jumpy around them...actually the llamas were jumpy around our mules as well come to think of it. Obviously they can't carry as much as a mule but they are easier to pack being lower to the ground than a mule. I think i remember them being able to go farther without water also???

As far as goats!!! Never seen it done, saw that website and i guess it works but then you risk the overnight trips dealing with coyotes, wolves, bears and lions...I know our mules would get jacked with once every few weeks in the middle of the night by wolves.....

Whatever works for you...

I read a book about it once. Pretty cool. fatrooster.

Interesting.

Work with a few guys who have claimed to use them. They seem to work out pretty good for them. I guess they can eat on whatever is on the mountain kind so you dont have to worry about any food for them and im pretty sure they can go sometime with out water. These guys say they dont tie em up or nothin they say they are just like dogs. They follow ya up the trail and lounge around camp during the day and sleep next to the tent at night. Sounds pretty good to me... but then again GOATS :-k

A buddy of mine uses them........says they're maintenance free (unlike horses) and take little to no feed in the high-country. The larger goats can pack quite a bit of weight for their size. The only down side is you have to hike with them.......and they don't like to rest as much as we do. lol

I realize that you asked about pack goats, which I know nothing about, but this thread seems to be dual topic i.e. pack goats and llamas. A coworker that I car pool with rented 4 llamas last week to haul food in for a week long boy scout pack trip into the Uintas. He had zero experience with llamas (or any other livestock). I was nervous for him and figured he'd spend more time tending to "issues" that come up with the animals, rather than fishing and enjoying the Uintas. He said the trip went great and was uneventful as far as the llamas were concerned. Each llama could pack 60 lbs. He said the only issue that they had was one llama decided he wanted a rest. They had to unpack him and let him graze for a while. Once fed they put the paniers back on and finished the hike back. In all they packed 25-30 miles and said they'd rent them again next year.

There is a guy on this forum that own and uses the pack Goats. I saw a friend of his pack into the Sinks in the cache range one year. really cool, he got them all ready then opened the gate of his trailer and started walking and they just followed behind him. I talked to him he said they would feed on whatever they find and get water from the spring as they go but they stick close and when he rings the bell the come running. tell you it was cool. I will see if i can find his post and link it.

Sorry no luck finding the post. I know he is up here in the Cache area...

Talked to my car-pool buddy again this morning. He said that while they were packing in with the llamas, that a group with rented goats was on the way out. They stopped and shared info. The group with the goats said they would not rent them again. They said that each goat could only pack about 30-35 pounds and that they were too low to the ground. Said they had some difficultly with dead fall and other obstacles. I have no personal experience with them just passing on what I was told.

My guide buddy in Idaho told me he knows the best way to pack both Goats and Llamas.







Wait for it.









On a MULE lol

how is it when ever a guy askes about pack goats some guy always thinks he is talking about lamas or horses?

No I dont know a thing about goats and packing!

The goats are good if you have time to hike them. If you take them on scouting trips or keep them exercised they work great! If you dont they are just as good as your fat "a" buddy.

goats dont need lead ropes! they will follow you where ever you go just like a dog. They will go through blow down timber hopping up on top of the logs and walking on top of them. Horses could never go where goats go! Horses need water everyday and goats can go for a few days without water. Horses are noisy and you need a huge drainage to hunt with them cause they will scare everything out of the canyon you are hunting in. Goats are quite as deer, if you are around them. they sound like deer walking, they sound like deer eating, until a deer sees them they think they are deer. Elk dont mind them and I have snuck to within 15 yards of a herd of elk with the herd bull bull bugling about 25 yards away.

I think goats could be a rifle hunters best friend as long as it doesn't have horns. U know how tards get when they see spikes! So get the dehorned ones they are better in the long run anyways. Ive had both horned and dehorned!

A goat will pack about the same weight as a human. Mine normally carry about 40 lbs but If I can put less weight on them the better. this way they will keep up with me all day long when Im not carrying anything. If they are packing 40 lbs or more you will need to have a few breaks!

To tell you the truth if you are a light weight guy my pack for 3 days of hunting is around 40lbs you wont need pack stock larger! If you need a wall tent, stove, dutch oven you better get horses!

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DONT GO TO THE LOCAL DAIRY AND THINK ANY GOAT WILL BE A PACK GOAT! You will end up with trouble!

Go to a pack goat breader. Dairy goats are bread for milk qualities. Dary goats tend to have short legs "undesirable". Pack goats are bread to have long legs, taller and more muscle. The best goats are usually cross breeds.

look at the size of this one! Pack goat breader 2 year old! You get what you pay for in goats. a 25 dollar dairy goat will perform like 25 bucks on the hill. A $250 or more pack goat from a pack goat will perform like a 250 dollar goat. Night and day difference!
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SW, thanks for some great info! I have heard of goats and always thought that they made the most sense for wilderness big game hunting. I go into the seven devils wilderness in Idaho, and my pack for the week is 40-45 lbs, no problem. But when you add 60+ lbs of meat and head, I end up having to make two trips. I'd gladly put my 40 lbs of camp equipment on a goat friend and pack the heavy 65-70 lb pack to save an 8mile round trip in tough country.---------SS

great post SWBUCKMASTER!! very cool pics to!

I've never heard of pack goats in my life. It's always been llamas or alpacas or some such animal.

There are somw well made points here and if they follow along that good I would consider using them in the future.

See I learned something today. Thanks guys.

Pack goats huh? Makes good sense to me. :thumb

Pack goats are awsome. I killed a nice bull elk this past archery season with my two favorite pack goats by my side. They packed my gear in and packed my elk out. They let me get a lot farther into the back country than I normally could with everything on my back. They can go a lot more places than other pack critters, and they find their own food to eat.

I know the original was about goats but thought I would post my experience with Llamas. I think Llamas are like anything else you definitely want a well seasoned experienced high country Llama. The Llamas we rented were pretty good animals and we actually loaded them to about 90 lbs a piece. Like goats the llamas would eat about anything and required less water than horses. We did need to stake them, my cousin lost one and ended up chasing it for almost two days. ( I am surprised it survived) They were stubborn and probably because we had them packed to max they wanted to lay down about every half mile. They did have to be led and could definitely go where you could not get a horse which was a plus.

Coming down we were close to packing out and came across a hiker and his dog on the trail. Llamas hate dogs and I am still surprised that dog survived because those llamas kicked the living daylights out of that poor German sheppard. We then had thrown panniers and tangled llamas to mess with.

All in all they were not bad and would use them again. I would probably opt for each man to have at least three llamas.
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After my last post, I had the opportunity to take a few of my packgoats on a deer hunt in Central Idaho with a local TV Outdoor show guy named Jared Scott of Jared Scott Outdoors (Eastern Idaho/Western Wyoming NBC News Channel 6 Sunday evenings 10:30 PM and FOX 31 Thursday Evenings 9:30 PM) Jared and I both shot bucks, nothing hugemongus by anymeans, but it was some really rugged country and good that we got a lot of it on camera. If you want to see the goats in action, he has some clips from the show up on his website now; Just go to http://www.jaredscottoutdoors.com/VideoClipsElkHunting.html and scroll down till you see the clips about hunting with the goats.

Also, if anyone is in the Eastern Idaho area and you know where the Menan Butte is, I take my pack goats up it a couple times of week through the spring if you would like a chance to hike with them in person and see what they are all about. Since getting in to Pack goats, I have had more and more hunters contact me about using goats. Most guys just want to buy some of mine, and where Im not looking to sell them, a few guys and myself have come up with the bright idea to jointly share a herd of pack goats between a group of likeminded hunters. That way we can spread out the costs of owning them, and the goats will get out more. Im my experience the difference between a good goat and a headache goat is simply conditioning. The more times the goat gets out on the trail, the more his muscles are used to the work, and the less he will fight you. My two best goats; Tenny and Rocky are awsome because they go on every trip I take, and we put on hundreds of miles every year. So if a group of guys was sharing a herd of goats, those goats would all get out more than with just one individual owner, thus ensuring that they would be well conditioned when any one person needs them to work. If anyone in the Eastern Idaho are would like to join our packgoat group, let me know. Everyone just pitches in a small monthly fee and then you get to use the goats whenever you want. Plus, I have all the gear, trailers, and equipment necessary, so you would just need to stop by pick up the goats, and head on to your destination. Very little hassle. Ive got 17 goats, which is more than enough to support a bunch of guys through the hunting season, plus this way you can also use them for scouting trips in the summer, and take your family backpacking with them through the summer as well.

Interesting.

I will have to look more in to this, but I do have a concern regarding any pack animal, and maybe more so with goats. I'm in lion country and wonder what extra precations are taken in regards to goats. I'd be afraid of an old Tom thinking my goat was his lunch.

Biker