I'm thinking about picking up a small bottle broken wethered/dehorned male Pygmy goat.  I've got a big fenced in back yard, and I was planning on keeping it back there with the dog until I can move out of my current home and into a bigger place with a small hobby farm in the next year or less.  I think my dog will keep it plenty of company, and I think it would make for a pretty cool outside pet.  

Anyone have these?  Good/Bad?  

Something like this.....

Try These

dog will eat it or a hawk will get it.

My dad and his GF have about a dozen of them.  I will say that can be a pain at times but for the most part, they are a pretty easy to care for animal.  Keep the males from screwing anything with a heartbeat and you should be fine.  Other than one with a weird skin condition, they are all healthy too.

Enjoy your goat.
Brad

I don't care who you are, those things are adorable.

I think you should consider a nanny goat instead of the male.

Never heard anything good about male goats large or small.

Are you 'zoned' properly to keep 'livestock' in the yard?

Grandpa had a herd of them for years. Awesome little creatures. He bought some large blue plastic drums, cut them in half, then cut out a door and used them as little shelters.  The goats would start playing king of the hill. Best part was they had no traction on the plastic barrels so the king had no chance of not sliding off.

Best make sure the dag doesn't think it would be tasty.

Had one at the barn for a mascot.  Kinda of a novelty until the little shit did a tapdance on the roof of a customer's Mercedes. No more goat.

3 of my dad's males are fixed, one has his balls still.  The fixed ones are nice, almost dog like.  The ballsy one will pee on his face and hit on anything female...

Funny story...dad decides to fix the goats so he goes out to the garage with a handful of zipties and zips them to the goats' nuts.  After a day, he decides that wasn't the best way to do it and treks them off to the vet.  Huge $$$ to fix it.  Poor little guys.

Brad

Well, I did something stupid and picked up a pygmy goat last Saturday.  Found a lady that was selling some them for $30.  Pick up a fixed male that's been disbudded (no horns).  He's kind of on a rent to own basis......I figured that depending on how much of a pain he is...I'll either keep him, or find someone that wants him.  So far he's been pretty much just like a puppy.  He follows me around the yard, bounces and jumps all over the place, and has crazy fast spurts of speed.  Pretty darn entertaining actually.  The dog tolerates him....but hasn't really "made friends" yet.  She's growl at him every now and then if he get's close to her food bowl..but that's about it.  

I will be moving to a bigger place with lots more land in a few months, but for now he's going to stay in the backyard with the dog.  I built him a goat house, and so far everything seems to be going smooth.  One of my neighbors popped his head over the fence as asked me "what the heck is that thing you have back there?...I heard it the other day and thought that you had an exotic bird back there or something".  

I know it's cute and cuddly right now, but before long I have a feeling that it's going to become pretty destructive...and want to chew up everything it can get a hold of.   Ask me in a few weeks if it was a good idea to get a pygmy goat....I have have changed my mind by then  The girlfriend loves it....but I'm not sold on the thing yet.  It's pretty much an outside pet...but it's so small now, I've let it in a few times.  

How do they taste?

Some of the best ribs I ever had we're goat ribs

Ahh you dick, now I want one!

Me too !

Are they quiet? I have the space but it can't make noise.

For the most part he's pretty quiet......but as soon as I go inside and leave him outside, he'll start screaming like crazy for a minute or two.....but then he stops.  It's pretty loud.....but only last a little bit.  Other than that he's quiet......

Interesting...

I worked with a herd of them for an entire summer - males can be aggressive to little kids, so just be aware - they do like to knock little ones down and then chew on them.  Watch your fence, shoelaces and any other natural material close to the ground.  Generally, they are not bad critters, but they can be destructive.