New guy here

[Catfishryan]

[font=.SF UI Text][font=.SFUIText]Hello all. I just wanted to say I am very impressed and appreciate all of the information on this forum.  A week ago I didn't even know about pack goats.  Now I think I have read and watched every piece of information about them on the internet and find myself on the brink of jumping all in to becoming a crazy goat guy. I have whitetail hunted my whole life and only a few years ago got into mountain hunting.  I went on a Colorado elk hunt with rented horses and had a blast, but the rental price, need to pack in feed, and lack of cooperation from the animals left me wanting more.  I have a horse, but since she has never been out of Texas, I really don't trust her in the mountains and hauling a horse trailer across the country would really up fuel costs.  So I decided to become a backpack hunter.  I bought All kinds of lightweight gear, lost weight, got in shape and started training hard carrying a pack long distances.  Im not sure if it was because of the pack but a month ago I ended up not being able to get out of bed hardly because of extreme back and leg pain.  After MRI it turns out I have all kinds of disc problems and pinched sciatic nerve and have been told it is in my best interest to avoid carrying heavy loads.  I already had plenty of pasture with goat wire fencing built because I was planning on raising meat goats for a little money on the side.  So now that I have become obsessed with the thought of pack goats I have changed gears.  My main problem is that I live in Texas and don't really want to drive half way across the country to buy goats. I have called a ton of local breeders and dairys and have a plan of getting a large, tall, registered alpine doe that is already bred by a large alpine buck.  I also have my name on waiting lists to get day old bucklings in the spring. Some full alpine and some half saanen half la Mancha. I also intend to get a breeding buck, maybe a saanen or saanen/alpine cross. So my goal is to end up with a billy and maybe 2 does for breeding, and at least 4 good, trained wethers .[/font][/font]
[font=.SF UI Text][font=.SFUIText]       My question is how many kids should I start with. I realize they are not from proven pack genetics but they will be full blooded, high quality goats of the right breeds, and I will make sure they come from large, athletic stock. Is 4 enough?  Or should I plan on getting 6 or 8 in case some aren't cut out for it?  If I end up with more good packers than I need is there a market in texas?  I would hate to spend that much time and effort just to sell them for market.  I am thinking very long term here and would like to eventually breed for the most desirable packing traits.  I plan on spending a ridiculous amount of time and energy training and conditioning them and I realize I am at a disadvantage living down here.  I'm sure they will take some time on every trip to adjust to altitude but so will I, so I think we will be at the same speed.  Will conditioning here and maybe 1 summer mountain trip and a couple hunting mountain trips a year keep them in good enough shape?  Surely they will be better than me and my broke back.  I look forward to soaking up yalls knowledge.Thanks![/font][/font]