Is two goats not enough?

[idahoer]

Sorry if this is the wrong section, none of the others seemed appropriate.

I'm considering pack goats and wondering if two goats is too few. I am allowed only two goats and i'm right in the middle of my town so pretty much everyone would know if I had more. I'm on 1/2 acre and have another friend who has two goats in a similar size space, but they are pygmy goats. I understand that I will have to supplement food, but what i'm really wondering is if it's worth it to just have two for packing, or if you need a full string in order to have the proper herd dynamics and make it worth the time and energy investment. My neighbor has llamas and recommends them instead since two can carry a lot more weight and are quieter, but I do think goats are a lot more interesting animals (I have spent substantial time with goats working on a farm in my youth) and seem to actually connect with humans whereas the llamas would be more of a purely utilitarian animal for packing. Since we are only able to pack with either part of the year i'd definitely prefer goats. Thoughts?

[Nanno]

Hello and welcome to the forum! You posted in the correct section. :-)

Lots of people have just two packgoats! In fact, it can be quite ideal. There's no reason at all why you need a full string in order to pack. Two can't carry as much as a full string of course, but they can still carry a substantial amount more than no goats at all! Phil and I have often had just two goats–one for each of us. A full-grown goat can carry up to 50 lbs. on an all-day hike which is a substantial amount of gear.

I agree that goats are far more interesting than llamas. I'm sure llamas have their place, but they do not like people and they would typically rather be anywhere except with you, which can make hiking and camping with them rather interesting if any get loose (ask me how I know!). The best thing about goats is that they love to be with people and unless there are some pretty intense extenuating circumstances, a well-bonded goat is difficult to lose on the trail.

As far as herd dynamics, two goats is a pretty ideal situation as long as they like each other. It can be hard if one goat is extremely dominant over the other, but usually two goats enjoy each other's company and end up being very good buddies. Separating them from each other can be a problem so you have to work on that if you ever plan to take just one. Two goats are much easier to control and keep track of on the trail. It can be hard to gather and control six goats if a dog startles them, but if you only have two goats you can control them both by yourself since you likely have two hands. My husband actually refuses to deal with more than two goats at a time because he's not good at juggling leashes. It's also much easier to house and feed and transport two goats than an entire herd.

[Missy]

Two goats is fine. I find that goats actually like being in smaller groups as it makes them feel more special. I would try to get a set of brothers and then they will get along great because goats really love their families. If you pick a good breed than they will be just as quite as a llama and a lot more fun to have around!