I went to the websiteof a local dairy that sold me some very nice chevreat the farmer’s market, and it turns out that when they breed their Nubians, they add the females to their herd but re-home the males. Makes sense, if you’re running a dairy.
So now I’m sitting bored at work and having all these lovely daydreams about cute little goats running around. Nubians have a reputation for being friendly, apparently, and they’re a very heat-tolerant breed … important in my area. It’s already in my plans to someday have chickens - and with the increase in urban chickening lately, that dream may happen sooner rather than later - but now I’m wondering: what would it be like to have a few wethers as pets?
I’m not interested in breeding, so the males would definitely be neutered. But other than that, my daydreams have been very open-ended. Would anyone care to share their anecdotes?
I had miniature goats.
They are friendly and cute, but they are extremely destructive. They will stop at nothing to get at something they want to eat, so make sure that all the plant material wherever you are keeping them is expendable. They are pretty low maintenance - I only had to feed them in the winter, the rest of the year they just kept the pasture mowed.
Do you have several acres of land you need cleared?
I have had multiple friends and family members that have used goats to clear several acres of overgrown property. In one instance one friend staked his goats on a fairly long chain that allowed them to eat everything in a 50 foot diameter circle once they got their circle cleared, he moved the stakes. Over a period of mnay months, the cleared about 4 acres.
In another case, the owner just kept moving the fences of their pen to encompass fresh areas for them to eat. They are not picky.
ETA: Another man I knew had a problem with his goats getting through sections of a fence, so he superglued a length of PVC pipe onto the horns of the goats to keep them from getting through the fence. It was pretty funny to drive by his place and see the pasture with about 15 goats, all with a 2 foot section of white PVC pip stuck on their heads.
They’re a pain in the ass. If you think they’ll mow your lawn, think again. They’ll only touch the lawn after all ornamentals, screen doors, and houseplants have been obliterated. They’ll climb and bounce on anything they think will hold them, whether it will or not. And when they bounce on your sandaled feet with their sharp little hooves, yowza.
We only have this one because my husband wanted it, it’s a male reject from a dairy farm too. It stays out in the back with the sheep and the chickens, although I have to keep the gate to the chicken yard firmly shut or it will wreak havoc in the coop.
It is cute and friendly though, but I’d be happier if we didn’t have it. And I think his mom volunteered us another one, to keep it company after I slaughter my sheep. Oh joy.
I had a couple of pet goats. They’re cute and friendly and very doglike in a lot of ways. They used to follow us and the dogs on walks and were happy to hang around getting into things. They will work very hard to eat the plants you don’t want them to, despite an abundance of grazing or browsing options readily availble. I had my window baskets hung at human eye level and they would balance on the edge of the windowsill and contort themselves to eat my petunias. They will also ingest things like nuts and bolts and socket heads. Ask my ex, he’ll tell ya.
I’ll second the houdini thing too. They are very good at escaping, so good fencing is required, though they don’t tend to wander far. Ours just hung out wherever we were getting into trouble or quietly resting. At night they were put into a stall in the barn. I’ve never tethered them, not comfortable with that and would worry about them getting hung up.
They are herd animals, so like company and if you’re not going to spend a lot of time with them, it’s probably best to get a pair.
My brother and I had pet goats as kids…both them and us. My Dad brought home two females aged 2 and 3 days old, and we hand reared them with bottles.
They were really like dogs. Friendly, wanted to go everywhere and investigate everything. And quite clever in figuring out the puzzles they wanted to solve (not the ones we wanted them to solve) Mine was a Swiss and my brother’s was a Nubian. They differed in personality, with the Nubian being more placid and yet aggressive at the same time.
If you have the room and the ability to give the attention needed, give a goat a chance.
When my mother was a little girl, a visit to the doctor turned up a spot on her lung. The doctor prescribed goats’ milk, and my grandfather bought both a billygoat and a nannygoat.
My mother said they made horrible pets, eating almost everything they thought they could eat and just generally making a mess of the yard, and everyone learned quite quickly that you never turn your back on a billygoat.
- but now I’m wondering: what would it be like to have a few wethers as pets?