# Goats per acre?



## shawn MN

How many goats can one acre of pasture support? I relize bigger goats eat more than smaller goats. I just want an average. I know one acre can support a cow/calf. So I imagine that one arce of pasture should be able to handle 4 or 5 goats atleast???? Thanks in advance!!


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## Bedste

I am not sure what the actual ratio is but I will have 3 goats on one acre next spring.  This year I have ONE.  She is lonely...  so I am planning on keeping any doelings she kids..


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## kstaven

This depends on how much forage they have available on the property and how quickly it grows back. Goats typically don't graze like sheep or cattle given the choice. 6 per acre on the right property without having to buy a ton of extra feed is not unrealistic.


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## 20kidsonhill

It is 6 to 7 if it is good pasture/browse, I would say if you have 1 acre and put 6 full sized goats on it, you would be feeding a lot of hay, But if you have 10 acres and can rotate pastue with 60 goats, you would be better off.   We have 5 acres with around 30 head grazing, it does pretty well as long as we get enough rain.  It is pretty thick pasture though.


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## animalmom

Folks not all land is the same.  Here where I am in North Central Texas, the rule of thumb is 1 cow/calf pair per 10 acres.  Why?  Cause you can't count on the rain.

Those who live in Ohio can probably do a whole lot better, more cow/calf pairs per acre.

Doesn't answer the question of how many goats per acre for sure, but you got to take into consideration where in this grand country you are.  Us in Texas think we've been moved to a lower circle of hell, based on the heat we've had for so long.  But that's another story all together.

Will I be supplementing our cows this winter, you betcha I will.  I have 4 cows, a steer, and 130 acres of dry, dry land.  You can bet the farm I'll be toting rounds of hay down to the corral for the wee beasties.

My goaties I keep closer to home and they always get their fill of hay... regardless of what I have to pay for it.  They are working animals and will be fed before I am fed.  (I think I'm still a little hot under the collar from another thread, sorry.)


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## elevan

Make friends with your county extension agent.  They are a wealth of information and some information needs to be obtained locally.  This is one of those areas.  Your extension agent can discuss what YOUR land is like and what IT can support.  They can also help you identify any concerns and what you could do to improve things.  Each individual farm is different - each state is different - each region is different...there are a lot of variables that just can't be fully defined by those of us not looking at YOUR farm.


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