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]

[IdahoNancy]

Yup, MRI's and back pain are the biggest promotion of packgoats. Never spent much time in Texas. There is no better advertisement for packgoats than the goats themselves carrying your deer and elk meat out of the woods. You may be the catalyst for packgoats in Texas.
One humble opinion. There is no one right answer to your question about how many packgoats to raise at one time. Things to think about. Training young goats right initially can be a hand full. A few good start ups that get more attention and individual training may serve you better. You really don't want all your packers the same age, they all poop out together. An age spread will give you a longer span of strong middle age goats.
Welcome, and good luck in your research.

[Nanno]

Welcome! Best of luck in your packgoat journey! Where in Texas are you located? My husband and I love the hill country and have thought about taking our packgoats down there with us sometime. In fact, I was talking with a NAPgA member from Texas about how fun it might be to have an off-season mini-Rendy in Texas sometime.

Nancy makes some great points, and I'd also like to add that you may want to start out with a couple of wethers before you jump into breeding. Breeding is fun and rewarding, but it takes a LOT of time and dedication. Getting into wethers is much easier than getting into breeding and it might be a good way to dip your toes in the water before diving in at the deep end.

[Catfishryan]

Yup, MRI's and back pain are the biggest promotion of packgoats. Never spent much time in Texas. There is no better advertisement for packgoats than the goats themselves carrying your deer and elk meat out of the woods. You may be the catalyst for packgoats in Texas.
One humble opinion. There is no one right answer to your question about how many packgoats to raise at one time. Things to think about. Training young goats right initially can be a hand full. A few good start ups that get more attention and individual training may serve you better. You really don't want all your packers the same age, they all poop out together. An age spread will give you a longer span of strong middle age goats.
Welcome, and good luck in your research.

That is a good point. Thank you!

[Catfishryan]

Welcome! Best of luck in your packgoat journey! Where in Texas are you located? My husband and I love the hill country and have thought about taking our packgoats down there with us sometime. In fact, I was talking with a NAPgA member from Texas about how fun it might be to have an off-season mini-Rendy in Texas sometime.

Nancy makes some great points, and I'd also like to add that you may want to start out with a couple of wethers before you jump into breeding. Breeding is fun and rewarding, but it takes a LOT of time and dedication. Getting into wethers is much easier than getting into breeding and it might be a good way to dip your toes in the water before diving in at the deep end.

Thanks for the advice!  I am in central Texas about an hour north of Austin.  We are just east of the hill country. That is definitely some goat country. I wish there was more public land where I could do some training in steeper terrain as my place is flat.  There are a few public places on area lakes but I'm not sure if pack animals are allowed

[Perry]

“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.”
Everyone wants large, and tall is better that short legs; but my experience says that attitude, a willingness to keep going is much more important.  You can find that out through experience on the trail with the goat in question (when they are 3+ years old).  Or, buy bucklings from a pack goat breeder who has a doe  & buck who have a history of consistently produced good, successful packgoats (hard to fine).

I’d echo what IdahoNancy & Nanno have said… forget the breeding for now.  Just go to a good dairy goat breeder, get some good bucklings and realize that most, but not all, will work out well…if you put in the bonding and training time.