We intend to raise chickens for eggs and rabbits for meat, but I would really like some pet goats. I have no interest at this point in goat milk or goat meat. I would like to know, in your experience, what goat breeds are most friendly, most hardy, and make overall great pets? They may be in a field with a donkey. I think just about all goat breeds are cute in one way or another, so I'm not really concerned with which are cutest. Size isn't really important to me either; I can go with full sized goats or pygmy goats. The field will be at least an acre with a barn that stays cool in the summer and has two large access points (which would make it difficult for a guarding queen to keep the rest of the heard out), but I only want a small animal herd with two to six goats.
The field is mostly just grass, but we have a lot of underbrush and prickles in the woods that I know many goat breeds love to munch on and I am considering expanding the fence into the woods some so they have regular access to some of that stuff they love and I intend to add either large rock piles or some sort of crate and bridge system for them to climb on. I would like them to be friendly with my four kiddos currently ranging in age from five to nine, as well (perhaps a non-horned breed, maybe, or one not as prone to butting?).
So, what breeds do you think would be happiest and hardiest for us?
The field is mostly just grass, but we have a lot of underbrush and prickles in the woods that I know many goat breeds love to munch on and I am considering expanding the fence into the woods some so they have regular access to some of that stuff they love and I intend to add either large rock piles or some sort of crate and bridge system for them to climb on. I would like them to be friendly with my four kiddos currently ranging in age from five to nine, as well (perhaps a non-horned breed, maybe, or one not as prone to butting?).
So, what breeds do you think would be happiest and hardiest for us?
