07/10/05, 03:59 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Washington
Posts: 2,832
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Hey! Yes, you really do need two goats. They're very much herd animals and will make your life miserable if you try to keep one alone.
You only need to milk goats if you want to for dairy purposes. Wethers (castrated males) make great pets. If you want does, you don't have to breed them. I would not recommend keeping a buck - they really aren't good pets and are a handful around breeding time (smelly, rough, and really obnoxious).
Goats really don't eat much grass if they can help it. They're much more interested in weeds, bushes, and trees. So if you have any kind of landscaping or fruit trees you'll have to fence them out of those areas. Sheep do prefer grass, although they also like weeds and bushes, can be just as friendly as goats, and are easier to keep inside fences.
On .25 acre, you'll probably have to supplement their feed a bit with hay. Nothing special, the local $3 a bale grass hay works great for my guys up here near Bellingham. Mine also get a cup of alfalfa pellets at night. They're full sized goats, though, your pygmies won't eat nearly as much.
Let's see... Make your fences as tight as you can, and make sure your gate latches require at least 2 motions to open. They'll still get out, but it will take them longer and be more of an enrichment activity for them.
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