Meat Goat Blog

How Many Goats Per Acre of Land?

Whether you're starting into the goat business for the first time or expanding your herd, there are a lot of factors to consider for how many goats your property can sustain. While the general rule of thumb is between 2 and 10 goats for every acre of land, that is a pretty big range. So here's what you need to evaluate.

First you should look at the amount of vegetation on your land. Goats require plenty of weeds to do well. If the pasture is mainly trees (or even grass), you'll need to have fewer goats per acre. If you plan to use a pond or creek as a water supply, you should be careful not to have more goats than water.

The important thing is to constantly manage your pasture. You can't just throw the animals out there and never come back. Changes in weather year to year can change a perfectly suitable pasture into a desert. So to answer the question of how many goats your land can sustain, that's up to you!

What Should I Pay for a Goat?

Starting into to the goat business, we were like a lot of people - eager and confused. There were goats for sale all over the place with prices ranging from less than $100 to over $20,000. We wanted to get started, so we bought some cheap Boer culls from a friend of a friend - and we were in business! But it turned out that those old nannies weren't exactly what we bargained for - no matter the price tag. So how should you buy goats?

I guess it depends upon what you hope to accomplish. If you want to buy a beautiful show doe that can win competitions and take pretty pictures, you'd better stay away from those sub-$100 slaughter nannies. Likewise, if you just need something to cut down on the mowing, a $20,000 pedigreed buck will probably not be your best option. So here are a few pointers.

The very first rule to buying goats is to NEVER BUY BREEDING STOCK AT THE SALE BARN! That is, unless you are looking for a diseased, wormy, sterile, or otherwise useless pieces of junk. If you feel like gambling, just buy a lottery ticket. No matter how great you are at evaluating animals, the sale barn is just that - a place to sell.

If you are looking for breeding stock, it is best to go to ranches that are already breeding animals that fit your desired purpose. If you want goats that raise twins every year and only need occasional worming, the friend of a friend down the road may not be the best option. Breed up programs, that are designed to start with crummy goats, breed for 3 years, and then produce 'Goat Olympians,' never seem to work that well. It's a lot easier (and cheaper) to buy and maintain a few high-quality does than it is to cull through lots of garbage looking for a couple decent ones.

So that's how to buy goats. Decide what characteristics you want the animals to have, and find a breeder that breeds for those qualities. While there is no reason to get price gouged buying over-priced livestock, you'll often find when buying cheap goats, 'you get what you pay for!'