Meet Rooster and Peanut

As I fantasize and ponder upon one day living full time at our Ranch, I envision what critters we will add to our menagerie. I've loved horses since I was a little girl and always dreamed of having one, but now that I'm older and wiser, I'm not so sure that would be such a smart choice. Horses can be expensive to maintain, difficult to train, and can live into their 30s. Given all that, I probably wouldn't turn one away if the circumstances were right and I felt I could devote the time and energy needed to give a horse a proper life. So, back to my list of Ranch critters. I have most recently become fascinated with goats. Not just any goats, mind you. Pack goats. That's right, pack goats. Goats that can be trained to carry a fourth of their body weight in gear when hiking. They can also be trained to pull carts and wagons. They are more agile and sure-footed than horses or mules and leave a much lighter footprint on the earth. They are loyal and hard-working. They are intelligent. And they are so darn cute.

Meet Rooster. Isn't he adorable?

No, Rooster is not my goat. He belongs to a guy named Steve who happens to live about 20 minutes north of me. You see, when I began my obsession with pack goats, I scoured the Internet for all the information I could find (which is very limited), and looked for people who have experience with pack goats so I could pick their brains.

Peanut and Rooster do tricks for treats.

Lucky for me, I found Steve through his You Tube videos which feature his hiking expeditions with his goats, Rooster and Peanut. Steve is a Ham radio enthusiast and loves to go out on long, sometimes treacherous, hikes in the glorious Colorado mountains. Since Ham radio operating requires a good bit of equipment, Steve taught Rooster and Peanut how to pack his equipment and camping gear, thereby allowing him to pack in and out more than if he were backpacking alone. And if that weren't cool enough, Steve has a "goat cam" he straps onto Peanut during their hikes, allowing us viewers to see their mountain treks through the eyes of a goat. Pretty darn amazing, I must say.

Peanut, master videographer, pausing for a good butt scratch on a brush mounted in the barn.

Pack goats are most commonly wethers (neutered males) from the larger dairy goat breeds. A typical pack goat can weigh 180-200 pounds, and can pack 40-50 pounds of gear, once properly trained and conditioned. Goats are fairly inexpensive to maintain, although packing gear can add up, and they require minimal acreage and housing. The average life expectancy of a goat is comparable to a dog, at 10-12 years. Goats have been used in other countries as pack animals for centuries, and they are ideal for the back country and rough terrain. Packing with goats is still relatively new in the United States, but it is gaining in popularity thanks to various organizations and individuals who are sold on the idea.

If you want to learn more about pack goats, here are a few links to check out:

North American Packgoat Association
The Packgoat Forum
Wind River Pack Goats
Steve's Pack Goats and Ham Radio Adventures (here you can view Peanut and Rooster in action)

"Would you move it, already?"

The more I learn about pack goats, the more I like. But, until we can figure out a way to get to The Ranch on a more permanent basis, I'll have to live vicariously through other folks, such as Steve. But, just like Peanut in the picture above, I am not giving up on my dreams. I will continue to butt my head in protest until I get my way!