Anyone have goats in an urban area?

[akamaui]

I want 2 nigerian dwarf goats and I am not zoned for it even though I have a little less than a half acre. I am able to get a permit to have them since my child is in 4-h. However, that permit is only good for 1 year as they are not to be kept as pets.
My question is do I go ahead and get the permit which allows the city to have unscheduled visits and then cross my fingers after my year is up that I don't get a visit when I am not suppose to have them anymore? or do I not get the permit and take my chances? My neighbors are all ok with getting goats. I do have a place for the goats to go to in the event the city makes me get rid of them. But I also would like to fight it because I am allowed to have a pot bellied pig but not a goat! They are way smellier I think and attract more flies.

 

[TwoGoats]

I want 2 nigerian dwarf goats and I am not zoned for it even though I have a little less than a half acre.

You can do what you are comfortable with. If you have good fencing to hold the goats then I would avoid all the red tape. Your only liability would be if the goats got out and damaged the neighbors landscaping. If you use common sense then you should be OK. Many times the zoning rules are rigid and don't account for common sense. Our goats allow us to have AG zoning rather than Residential zoning. The taxes are much cheaper with AG.

 

[akamaui]

thanks. I think I am just being paranoid. And totally agree about the "red tape". I am new to my town and not sure how strict they are. Although 80% of the lots do allow farm animals so its not like they are new to livestock. My fencing is completely secure and they can not be seen from the street.

 

[Jupiter]

I am in an urban area with 2 full sized goats plus 6 chickens and 3 mini bunnies. My main concern is manure management. There are lots of creeks and lakes and runoff areas plus we are really close to a fragile watershed.

We'll see how it goes, but I've got 2 composting piles right now. One is working and I'm leaving it alone, and the other one I'm adding to when I clean out the goat house and chicken coop. I use sawdust pellets under straw and the waste hay. They generate a lot of waste, which is great for composting, but I'm having trouble finding enough room for a third compost pile, and I think I need a third one going. I need more room!

What do other urban goat owners do whith all the waste?

 

[whetzelmomma]

I highly recommend Nigerian Dwarfs. Mine are pretty quiet, and VERY easy to manage.

 

[chandasue]

What do other urban goat owners do whith all the waste?

Put an ad out in your local paper, bulletin boards, freecycle or craigslist for Free Compost. Gardeners will gladly come take it off your hands.

 

[ksalvagno]

If you are not zoned agriculture, then I would be extremely careful about adding goats. All it will take is a neighbor to report you. For some neighbors, all it would take is that goat bleating once and they will report you. Make sure you know the neighbors well. Even if you know the neighbors well, they may find out that they don't tolerate the goats well.

A friend of ours lives out in the country and is zoned for agriculture. The neighbor moved in from the city and is constantly calling the sheriff on them for their LGD barking, smell from the alpacas, etc. And this is in an open area where everything my friend is doing is legal. My friend actually had to have the sheriff remind the neighbor that his phone calls and pounding on their door in the middle of the night was illegal and at least that stopped.