The ultimate pack goat.......in theory

[Jake Levi]

I wondered the same thing Nanno. That's why if it was legal in my state I would stick with goat does, but have them artificially inseminated with an alpine ibex sire. Keeping pure ibex sounds like a pain. One breeder I talked to said when he bottle raised pure alpine ibex, they tamed right up. Even tame, they still sound like escape artists when they want to.

I am looking for Alpine Ibex doelings. There are quite a few, a lot actually of the smaller Nubians in Texas on game farms and hunting places. Alpines not so common down there.

There is quite a bit of information scattered on the sites on raising them, the does stick together, near food and water, the bucks roam a bit if chased out of an area until they find a band of does. The kids can be hand raised and if so become very domesticated. Older doe raised ones take more time, you can say much the same for the herded meat goats. I have seen a lot of photos of kids and half grown ones with people, especially children. I am pretty sure that hand raised Ibex doelings raised with pack goats would join this kind of herd right off and be content.

The one thing that concerns me is prices quoted. You can buy a herd of pack goats for the price of one. One bright spot there though is a number of exotic animal auctions around the country, a number in Texas but also in MO and Ohio. Additionally there is a classified site called ExoticAnimalsforSale.net that has a long list of listings for all kinds of exotic animals, from monkeys to camels and zebras. Also listing there for a few auctions.

Also you can post on a section for Wanted.

So I think it is doable, it will just take some time.