# Using meat and wool breeds for work?



## Halkatla (Oct 19, 2014)

Apart from the Norwegian dairy breed (and a tiny population of a rare old meat breed) and pygmys, the only other goat breeds in my country are cashmere, angora and boer. Are any of these three suitable for being used for driving? 

I imagine both meat and fiber goats to be .. I don't know.. "slow"? At least I've heard boers described as lazy. Which, I imagine, is not a good trait for a cart goat (on the plus side that might mean they are easier to keep from escaping?  ).


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

The wool goats probably wouldn't work well with being smaller. You also wouldn't want to mat their wool from the harness rubbing.


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## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

I can only imagine that every breed has been used at one time or another for working. To avoid being disappointed, wasting time, and getting frustrated you need to ask your self what you are willing to accept with behavior. If you have the luxury of purchasing a long legged strong goat that is willing to work then I would do it. If you have a barn full of goats and want to play with them find one that has a willing attitude and can learn. This can be more important than size. I have seen many pictures with bore goats pulling carts.


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## Halkatla (Oct 19, 2014)

Wouldnt want to ruin that pretty cashmere/angora fur! If I can't find a suitable boer, I might just go for the standard norwegian goat, then. The selection in both breeds and breeders is very limited in my county. 
Apparently the norwegian does are around 50 kg / 110 pounds, not sure about the wethers. But that should be enough, shouldnt it? If a goat can pull 1,5 times it's own weight, it should be no problem at least, even though they only are like 50-60 cm big.

I just can't get over how much more impressive (and fast!) the bigger breeds look..  Oh well. If I ever get rich I might just import a bunch of those huge alpine/saanens from USA :lol:


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## wyomingtrapper (Mar 27, 2014)

The quality of the cart plays into it too. Light weight, thin tires, good bearings and (in the case of two wheeled carts) longer shafts may be helpful too. Regardless of the size of the goat, make sure you work it up to the heavier weight. I've seen pics of carts pulled by two goats as well, though expect that the more you add, the dicier it gets. Given horses can pull as teams, and figuring goats are smarter than horses (not a dis on horses, but trust me, goats are smarter), I assume goats can pull as teams too. You would probably find with multiple goats pulling that certain goats pull better teamed with certain other goats, so the personality starts weighing in as much as conformation...


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## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

I would crossbreed.

The pure meat breads are - as you already mentioned - often slower but you would want to have the stronger bones and muscle development for a working goat.

Size in terms of height doesn't make a working goat. Attitude and willingness to work and cooperate make a working goat. The largest goat with a lazy attitude is useless and my best workers have been (and are) goats that are more on the smaller side but have good muscle and bone.

Also, use wethers (castrated males) for work as they grow more than 1/3rd larger than does. And, as others already suggested, use a team of two or even four goats.


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## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

I have a 6 year old boer doe who I think could pull a hay wagon, man that girl is a power house! May not be the fastest goat around but would have NO trouble pulling a cart.


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## Halkatla (Oct 19, 2014)

Just found out there is a tiny population of nubian and toggenburger goats here too! Some crazy farmer must have paid an absolute fortune to import those, lol

How are these two breeds suited for such work (generally speaking ofc, I realise they are individuals  ) Ive heard nasty things about the nubians, but they are such gorgeous goats.. and big! The toggs look quite small in comparison, much like the norwegian dairy goats that are common here


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## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

Toggs can be good workers but some have also been reported as "not the sharpest". I had two Toggs, the first wasn't very keen on following free and would hang back to browse but was a great goat when on lead and among people. He loved "people bathing" so we would take him on fairs and such.

The second was a good worker but grew some attitude because I used him for breeding and castrated late. He needed a more sensitive touch.

Nubians can have difficult working attitudes - although some people have better experiences with them - and I personally don't like the long backs and high rear ends. I think that a working animal should have near to perfect conformation to do the needed job without danger for its health.


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