pygmy goats

[ThatVikRinA22]

does anyone own a pygmy goat?
i have always wanted a pygmy goat - and today i found a place that sells them, and chickens! yay!! handy as i want both!

but do these cute goats need much land? (i have a large back garden but no paddock.
are there variations in how big they grow?
would just one goat be lonely?
do they make a lot of noise/mess?
would i still need a lawn mower?

any advice gratefully received on these cuties....thank you!

I can't offer any advice but just wanted to say I love pygmy goats & chickens too! We are house hunting at the moment and found a house with a small paddock and the first thing I thought was 'I could have pygmy goats & chickens if we moved here'

well i live in a semi but the back garden is big!

is it mad to want chucks and a mini goat in a semi? i love mini goats....

by contrast today i saw a giant donkey - they grow to 16 hands high and are an endangered breed apparently!
luckily i dont want a giant donkey
i want a mini goat.

You could have chickens for sure - I grew up on a council estate and kept them as pets (no roosters though) and the eggs they laid were a nice bonus. Goats I think would be a bit more tricky (not sure if they have to be registered like cattle & sheep)

A friend of mine has miniature donkeys - no bloody good for riding but uber cute

I don't think you are meant to keep goats on their own, they're a herd animal. You'd probably need a pair at least or a small group.

And goats eat EVERYTHING, fences, washing, children ...

They eat washing and children? Hmm...

Pygmy goats are herd animals they need to be kept in groups, they love to climb they are inquisitive and ideally they should have a pygmy climbing frame to keep them happy. They will eat everything. You will need to register as a smallholding with DEFRA and be subject to farm regulations regarding movements and cloven hoofed animal control regulations. Other difficulties in not having many is worming etc as all pack sizes are designed for farm use so you end up having to buy and waste a lot unless you can be part of a consortium that can agree to do things together.
Finally your council or house builder may have placed restrictive covernents on your property preventing the keeping of farm animals.
You need to visit a lot of pygmies and do a lot of research before getting them.

i reckon that would put a stop to my plans then lizcat - i am a country girl at heart and would love a little smallholding somewhere i could keep a few chucks/goats but i guess its not going to happen in an urban semi detached!

thanks for that. i think there is a restrictive covenant on the house but im sure it only related to pigs! (for some obscure reason!!)

Good thinking I am so often called to urban properties were farm animals are kept I appropriately and end up doing things like removing drawing pins from the feet of pigs.