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Can I get some tips for training an adult dairy goat for packing?

2K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  FarmerInaDress 
#1 ·
Sorry for the novel, but I raise dairy goats and I have one French Alpine doe that does not seem to be fertile. I am attached to her and won't sell her, so I want to train her to pack for me. We just took her out today and her temperament seems great for it. She loved it and was very outgoing.

I have zero experience training goats to pack, so I am looking for advice on how to work her up to it. What does she need to be taught? What is the best way to do it? This is a project for fun, so I want it to be enjoyable for all of us.
 
#2 ·
The most important thing of all is that she enjoys it and isn't afraid to be out with you. I find training a single pack goat at a time is the most rewarding because they bond to you so closely as their hiking herd. They are super easy to train. They aren't bucking broncs like horses. They train by habit and reward. A pocketful of peanuts is a great motivator.

She needs to learn to tie and tether safely, load into the truck, and above all, just take her out as often as you can. Training to saddle is very simple. It's just a matter of putting it on and taking her out first with just the saddle, then adding the panniers after a few times.

For a doe I would recommend the Sophris Rookie saddle. I have a small slight wether shaped much like a doe and the wooden/aluminum saddles give him terrible saddle galls because they just don't fit right. http://www.soprisgoats.com/goatsystem.html
These fit my boy and he can easily carry a full load on it. Unlike other soft saddles, the saddle doesn't squish down. The system has been used on Llamas for almost 20 years.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I was very pleased to see how much she enjoyed it. I raised her as a bottle baby and she is the herd queen. She is very bonded to us (more so than to any of the other goats, she is a bit of a loner) and incredibly intelligent, but due to not being in milk or fed a grain ration she gets less hands on time than the milkers or kids. She was basking in the attention when we took her out and didn't mind the dog at all. We dropped the lead line on the way back home and she stayed with us.

The only thing that concerned me is that she is so bold that she wanted to walk out front of us, instead of walking behind. She did still go where we went, but it was on the way back so she was probably just heading for home. Is this something that should be corrected?
 
#6 ·
It's something that should be tested. If you stop for a rest break does she come back to the group or start grazing nearby? If you were to turn and walk the other way would she still follow? When goats know where the end of a hike is, they do tend to range out more. What you do about it is dependent on what kind of hiking partner you want. Some people want the animal directly behind them all the time, allow no grazing on the trail, etc. I tend to be a lot more relaxed about things. My goats hike in a cluster with me. Let me see if I can find a picture.
 

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#9 ·
Love the beach pictures!
Me as well. I grew up on the west coast and as much as I love living in Idaho, what I miss most is the ocean and the seafood.

We do have some great hiking where I live, right near the Whiteclouds, the Sawtooths, and Craters of the Moon, though I do not know if goats are allowed in to there. Would be nice, they are only 10 minutes or so down the road from us. Is lava flow too hard on them? We don't/can't take our dog on it, and I would worry about a twisted or wrentched joints.

I think we will take Daria out on a little hike somewhere fun where she can climb on things with no pack and then order the pack Goathiker suggested for her to practice with.
 
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