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10/19/11, 10:34 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 295
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Mr. Moose, packgoat
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10/19/11, 10:47 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Oologah Oklahoma
Posts: 3,579
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Beautiful Mr. Moose you have there.
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10/20/11, 12:10 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 8,960
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Beautiful Goat. I love oberhaslis. They are the sweetest goats.
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Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
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10/20/11, 01:05 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Utah
Posts: 2,164
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gila_dog
Mr. Moose is an 5 yr old Oberhasli wether who loves to go hiking and carry our lunches, drinking water, jackets, etc for us.
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He's gorgeous. His intro sounded like he was on a game show or a singles ad in the paper.
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"Don't worry what people think, they don't do it very often" ~ Unknown
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10/20/11, 07:12 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 1,252
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What a nice boy.
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10/20/11, 08:29 AM
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An Ozark Engineer
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Powhatan, AR
Posts: 9,412
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FABULOUS! What a nice-looking fellow, great photos, and a wonderful lifestyle!
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10/20/11, 09:49 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 8,960
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He has a wonderful color to his coat too. Sometiemes oberhasli don't have quite that deep of a color, and look more like a deer color. He is just so pretty. I think the Swiss bred those alpine just for the sweetness though. They are the sweetest type of alpine on earth IMO. It's my favorite breed. They don't put out as much milk as a nubie, but the personality makes up for it.
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Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
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10/20/11, 09:54 AM
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Poo Fairy
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Texas Angel
Posts: 6,489
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I love the first pic, it's priceless.
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"If you tickle the earth with a hoe she laughs with a harvest."
- Douglas William Jerrold
Real is Beautiful -Sherry in Maine
I am 47 
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10/20/11, 09:02 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 295
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Last edited by gila_dog; 10/20/11 at 09:09 PM.
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10/20/11, 09:19 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Southern Idaho
Posts: 4,032
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Awesome! Our little ND's might be able to carry a water bottle if it wasn't filled all the way...
Beautiful terrain too!
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10/20/11, 09:42 PM
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My kids have hooves
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Central Virginia
Posts: 2,224
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He as handsome as he can be, and as just as cute, too. Love those first two pictures 
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Beth ~ Old Church, VA
3 Nigerian Dwarf goats, 4 cats, 3 Pekin ducks and 7 chickens. One very patient husband~
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10/20/11, 09:50 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: NC
Posts: 6,501
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He is one handsome fellow!Tell us how you started w/packgoats and how you trained him please.. My grandson is begging for a goat.. This might be a good thing for them to do...
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10/20/11, 10:57 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 4,752
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What a good looker. And so handy  Bet he's a great companion on hikes!
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10/21/11, 12:18 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 295
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To find out about packgoats, get this book:
The Packgoat, by John Myonczinski.
There's also a couple of good forums (packgoatforum and yahoo packgoats). I don't think I can post links here, but they can be googled up easily.
Packgoats are usually just big wethers from regular dairy breeds. Alpines seem to be the most popular. They are good natured and easy to hike and camp with. They don't have to be tied up like horses. They can eat whatever is available, and will just follow you wherever you want to go. They can handle very rough terrain, and can go lots of places horses can't go. You don't need a big expensive rig to transport them. I've seen them hauled around in pickups, vans, even a Subaru station wagon. I haul mine in a trailer made from the bed of a pickup, with a camper shell. And they do a lot less damage to trails and camping areas than horses.
Most packgoats are bottle raised, as opposed to dam raised. They need to bond with people, you in particular, not their mother. Mine were taken away from their mother at birth, fed by a dairy worker using a bucket with lots of nipples. I got them at age 3 month, ready to wean. That's when they started going on short hikes and started bonding with me.
They shouldn't be wethered until they are 6 or 7 months old. That's so their urinary equipment matures and grows fully. Otherwise they can be prone to urinary calculi (UC) later.
Other than that, it's just take them out hiking and camping from a very young age. They need to grow up as hikers, not barn pets. They need another goat buddy tho, as all goats do.
Here are the boys packing in my elk hunting camp a few years ago. They can each carry 35 - 40 lb of stuff.
Last edited by gila_dog; 10/21/11 at 12:23 AM.
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10/21/11, 07:14 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 8,960
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You use a french alpine too?
I think the whole idea of using a pack goat is brilliant. They are so sure-footed and easy to feed. Where do you get the packs and strapping supplies? I assume they come ready made?
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Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
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10/21/11, 09:04 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 295
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You can buy packgoat supplies from Northwest Packgoat Supply or Butt Head Packgoat supply. The pack saddle is the most important thing. It has to be sturdy and fit the goat well. Then you can hang tote bags, day packs, or real goat panniers on the saddle. You just need to keep the load balanced reasonably well.
The most popular breeds for packgoats are Alpine, Saanen, Oberhasli, La Mancha, and Toggenburg. Nubians have a bad reputation for being lazy and noisy. I can't verify this except to say that the Nubians I've seen seem to be noisy. Boers seem to be too short and squat, but could make a good cross with something else. Packgoats need to be long legged and athletic.
The goat in the picture above who looks like and Alpine is actually a Saanen x ??. That's Pinto, and he's my big boy, weighing about 230 lb.
Last edited by gila_dog; 10/21/11 at 09:08 AM.
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10/22/11, 08:36 AM
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Katie
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Twining, Mi.
Posts: 19,930
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He's adorable & I bet he loves to go hiking with you. Beautiful place where you hike too!
I have a Moose too, he was just born this past April but was a Moose when he came out is how he got his name. I banded him & he is now a wethered pet but I fell in love with him the day he was born for some reason & he had to stay with me! He's a mini though so I don't know how he's do with a pack on but I may have to test him with something light sometime.
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