Feral goats, the start of the journey to eradicate them, and to domesticate some of them.

[Chickenosauurs_RexNo54]

Have you thought of making your own breed or landrae out of these goats?

 

[Sussex19]

Have you thought of making your own breed or landrae out of these goats?

I hadn't, or not really.
There is a fairly big industry with feral goats, (or rangeland as they are called) in some areas of the country, and I guess that is kind of what they have done.
I just want to get them off the native vegetation, and have a bit of fun with the most interesting ones, and see what I can get.
Maybe down the line I might try a bit more, but in the moment we don't have enough well fenced paddocks to keep very many.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I hadn't, or not really.
There is a fairly big industry with feral goats, (or rangeland as they are called) in some areas of the country, and I guess that is kind of what they have done.
I just want to get them off the native vegetation, and have a bit of fun with the most interesting ones, and see what I can get.
Maybe down the line I might try a bit more, but in the moment we don't have enough well fenced paddocks to keep very many.

Personally I wouldn't bother. They take way, way, way longer to reproduce compared to poultry, so the efforts to do much of anything other than just raise goats would likely take your lifetime for noticeable improvements towards a standard

 

[Sussex19]

A slight change of plans with the goats, (and yes, we still haven't actually done anything with them...things keep getting in the way)
My plan now is to trap a few at a time, keep the nicest ones, and any pregnant does, or babies.
And then butcher the rest ourselves, both for us to eat, and for our dogs. There are a lot of stinky looking bucks, but I'm sure dogs aren't to fussy.
If we take out say 10 a month, it won't really take very long to deal with them, and I'd be happier not having to ship them around. A few other people might be able to help hunt some a bit too, which would help.

I actually almost could one the other day! I was on my dirt bike, and shot around a corner and found myself right in the middle of them. I jumped off, and chased them on foot.
It was actually really funny, in that I don't think any of the goats noticed I was right behind them.
I could have grabbed the one at the back, but he was a very smelly buck, so I though I would try for the one in front of him. However, as soon as I tried to over take him, he saw me and they all shot off.

Bty, we have now found out where they came from, apparently someone let them go when they had to move.
So they are 'sort of' domestic, but have since been breeding like crazy, and no one wants them, so they can be treated like ferals, and are doing as much damage as any feral.

 

[Pollo Blanco]

And then butcher the rest ourselves, both for us to eat, and for our dogs. There are a lot of stinky looking bucks, but I'm sure dogs aren't to fussy.
A few other people might be able to help hunt some a bit too, which would help.

Lucky dogs!

Are there any roping clubs in your area? Could be a good source for rounding them up.
Can you throw a bolo from your dirt bike? Maybe you have a new sport in the making?