Question for all the pack goat guys

[HighCountryHunter88]

i appreciate the responses! that is great information and i am glad to hear it! 

[O. Nerka]

Thanks for the info Yellowdog and Skagit Steel.  I don't know much about M.Ovi but is it ever a concern with mountain goats?  I know I've heard of bighorn herds having issues with pneumonia but not so much with mountain goats.  Are there other diseases that could be more of a goat to goat risk?  Normally I would assume that pack goat & mountain goat interactions would be even more rare but I think we've all seen photos or had an interaction with a pee seeking mountain goat.

Again thanks for the explanations.

[actionshooter]

I just found this thread.... I have done a bit of research, I am a packgoat owner and am a longtime member of  NAPGA

The basic answer is, there has never been a documented case of packgoats transmitting disease to wild sheep and goats.   I'm not going to say it's impossible because I don't know if it is or not, but I truly believe this has been blown way out of proportion and there are some land managers keeping packgoats out of public land without any evidence.   It's BS in my opinion.

[skagitsteel]

Thanks for the info Yellowdog and Skagit Steel.  I don't know much about M.Ovi but is it ever a concern with mountain goats?  I know I've heard of bighorn herds having issues with pneumonia but not so much with mountain goats.  Are there other diseases that could be more of a goat to goat risk?  Normally I would assume that pack goat & mountain goat interactions would be even more rare but I think we've all seen photos or had an interaction with a pee seeking mountain goat.

Again thanks for the explanations.

I don't believe so. Movi already exists in many mountain goat herds and it has never caused a die off.  One of the big drivers to relocate/ kill off mountain goat herds in some places is they are afraid the mountain goats will give Movi to Wild Sheep, once again not really a threat in my opinion.  Unfortunately a lot of the Movi misinformation is driven by the wild sheep foundation and their one species management mentality.  I know they have the respect of a lot of sportsman, however their approach is not realistic and detrimental to outdoorsman's activities in general in my opinion.  They get no support from me. 

[Chesapeake]

Haven't had goats for years. When we did we vaccinated for pneumonia (yearly booster), clostridium C and D, tetanus, and maybe something else on an annual basis. I honestly don't know if this is the same pneumonia that wild sheep and goats get, but its a common domestic goat killer.
We also wormed them about every three months or so.

You can buy the vaccines at your local feed store and maybe the vet for some. Helps to have friends with goats cause you have to buy a bottle of each and you wont use much of it for a few pack goats. I'd buy the bottles and then shoot up everyone's goats a knew of. The Feed store has the syringes as well.

We didn't pack in any food other than some emergency alfalfa pellets (weed free requirement). Also packed in Epson salt, pepto bismal, some would care stuff, and their water resistant blankets.

We high lined our goats at camp when hunting. Hard to hunt with them cause they will walk all over all around you, Makes shooting and glassing difficult. We'd let them off mid day to feed and then in the evening to feed. We'd move them around so they didn't scalp the brush near camp. They would clear the highline location, so you had to keep that in mind when looking for a location.

Our goats were either on the high line or within 50 yards of us. They weren't rubbing noses with wild deer, sheep, or goats.

[renrutbocaj]

Good responses Yellowdog and Skagitsteel you guys summed it up pretty good.

My only addition besides what was mentioned about the best practice to always have your goats with you in the back country, is that they are like pets and typically in a fairly confined space at your home. Not out on open large pastures intermingling with other goats or sheep.

One of the biggest reasons there are issues with domestic sheep and wild sheep interactions and disease transmittals is from large flocks on large leases that are not monitored and/or contained to be away from potential wild sheep in the area. The same can be said in very few cases with the increased use of goat herds for back country weed control. These are large herds, not typically all tested, and not consistently monitored.

Those of us with Pack Goats are typically going to test our herds, keep closed herds without bringing in random outside goats into the herd. And always have a handle on where they are and what they might be doing.

Just my 

[skagitsteel]

Good responses Yellowdog and Skagitsteel you guys summed it up pretty good.

My only addition besides what was mentioned about the best practice to always have your goats with you in the back country, is that they are like pets and typically in a fairly confined space at your home. Not out on open large pastures intermingling with other goats or sheep.

One of the biggest reasons there are issues with domestic sheep and wild sheep interactions and disease transmittals is from large flocks on large leases that are not monitored and/or contained to be away from potential wild sheep in the area. The same can be said in very few cases with the increased use of goat herds for back country weed control. These are large herds, not typically all tested, and not consistently monitored.

Those of us with Pack Goats are typically going to test our herds, keep closed herds without bringing in random outside goats into the herd. And always have a handle on where they are and what they might be doing.

Just my 

Good points for sure! I agree the risk to wild sheep comes with large free ranging herds in the backcountry