# New Year's Day first outing ever



## mtgoat (Aug 20, 2011)

Here is a couple of pics of my 4 wether Alpines. They are spring 2011 boys. Chester, Emmitt, Bertrum, Oliver. What a crew. This is the first time out of the corral for them ever and what a hike it was. We walked 3 miles. I gotta admit I think I was as tired as they were. Some new things in their life made them a little nervous, like a plastic sack flapping in the wind, a large dog coming down the trail at them, and really just being out of their warm and secure home. They are not hand raised but I don't think you could tell the difference. They would follow you anywhere. We started out by just walking out of the corral and down the street thru a housing district and into this large park. We live right outside the city of Great Falls, MT. Plan is when I retire in another year they will be doing some light packing for my many planned hikes in the mountains. 

Pics are of them in the corral with some xmas trees I brought home for browse and the other pic of going down the trail today with my wife in the lead. 

Happy New Year!  
Marlowe
Great Falls,MT.


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## imported_ashley (Jun 9, 2011)

Those are some nice lookin guys! I have a togg/alpine cross that looks alot like your guys..he is a july 2011 baby so he is quite a bit smaller. That is a nice lookin herd! I see that yours like christmas trees too...


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## jross (Dec 20, 2008)

Those are great looking guys! I hope you have lots of fun with them. Not preach at you, but I sure would recommend having a sturdy hiking stick when you take them out. Dogs, even totally nice ones, can go psycho when they meet a goat. It's an ancient instinct (predator and prey) that comes out. With a stick you can protect your goats without getting yourself bit. Also, pick up a couple of good throwing rocks if you see dogs around. The closer you are to civilization and popular trails the more likely you are to have dog encounters.


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## mtgoat (Aug 20, 2011)

Oh trust me, the wife had a stick and me the cameraman, had a whole arsenal of stuff. I always walk with hiking sticks. Makes life easy for us older guys. :mrgreen: And living in Mt. I"m pretty sure a firearm was very close to my person.  

Billy Boys as I call the group did much better when we took the lead rope off and just let them follow free. Being first time out I'm pretty sure they weren't too interested in foraging. Funny thing towards the end they started to single file out and drop their head. A little tired I think. Got to start looking for a trailer. Will make one or buy something close and finish it myself. Spring is not that far down the road and hiking will be fun this summer. 

Any input on how big a trailer for 4 should be.

I have attached a photo of the Billy Boys cleaning up the leaves in the yard this fall. 



Marlowe
Great Falls, MT.


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## ali pearson (Aug 12, 2009)

They are an awesome looking group of wethers! And that is great that they would follow you right from home- My guys do great when I trailer them to a trailhead but walking right from the farm, not so much. They are older and know how to get home without me, and three of the four are likely to do just that when I walk out from the house.
As far as trailers, we have liked taking all four goats in a small two horse trailer. That leaves a lot of room for hay and shavings and saddles in the trailer storage areas. The goats prefer traveling in the back of the pickup with a camper shell with a rubber mat with holes in it for non-slip flooring and wood shavings or hay, but all four can't fit anymore.


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## turbot (Jun 6, 2010)

Marlowe,
Those fellas look more handsome than you described.They sure are fun. If you stay at four, a two horse trailer should have plenty of room. Oh, the kids want to see them, by the way.

Aaron


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## mtgoat (Aug 20, 2011)

Hey Aaron,

Call to set up an appointment. :mrgreen: Seem like goats in the neighborhood can cause folks to gather. Had visitors today. Some friends brought the grandkids over. These guys are sooooo people friendly. The kids loved them. Not a mean bone in these Alpines body. Even with horns I did not notice any inclination to be dominant over the 18 month little girl. Have you ever noticed a bigger goat being dominant over little kids? That could be dangerous.

Another thing, I brought home some Xmas trees that I gathered after the holidays, they almost refuse to eat the grass hay I normally feed. They like the long needle pine first. And then they eat the bark off. Very low maintenance guys. I also did not rake the leaves in the yard this year as the billy boys just love the browse. So today I gathered a few garbage cans full of leaves and put in with them. Looks like no $4.50/bale hay will be consumed today either.

Marlowe


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## imported_ashley (Jun 9, 2011)

mtgoat said:


> Hey Aaron,
> 
> Another thing, I brought home some Xmas trees that I gathered after the holidays, they almost refuse to eat the grass hay I normally feed. They like the long needle pine first. And then they eat the bark off. Very low maintenance guys. I also did not rake the leaves in the yard this year as the billy boys just love the browse. So today I gathered a few garbage cans full of leaves and put in with them. Looks like no $4.50/bale hay will be consumed today either.
> 
> Marlowe


$4.50 a bale huh? Its at 10 bucks a bale here... I remember the days of hay under 100 bucks a ton, but not anymore. I just paid 250 for a ton of alfalfa mix. Our guys love christmas trees to! They were attacking them like bull elk rutting! It was pretty fun to watch! You have a very nice herd! Very handsome!!


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

Such beautiful goats! Thanks for sharing!


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