Miniature Goats Becoming Popular Pets

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - Step aside, pooches. Miniature goats are becoming popular pets across the United States.

USA Today reports that miniature goats are becoming more popular as residents attempt to convince city officials that they are neighborhood-friendly. So far they are meeting up with success.

Advocates say the pets can live in an urban yard, answer to its name, wear a leash and may produce milk. When the Carbondale, Ill., Planning Commission was asked to allow residents to keep chickens a member of the city’s sustainability commission suggested adding on goats.

"If you can have a 250-pound dog in town, why not a miniature goat that can produce milk?" USA Today quoted Priscilla Pimentel as saying. "It's just common sense."

The Planning Commission hasn't made a recommendation yet.

Jim Hosley, who breeds Pygmy goats in California, told USA Today that miniature goats depending on the breed can grow to about 18 inches tall at the shoulders and weigh up to 60 pounds. He charges about $275 for a male and $500 for a doe and said he usually has a waiting list.

Organizations such as the Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association are promoting their breeds. The association states that the Nigerian Dwarf Goat is a miniature dairy goat of West African origin that is enjoying increased popularity because of its “small size, colorful markings and dairy characteristics.”

The association praises the goat as having sweet milk and being easy to handle, “even for small children.”

According to the association, a Nigerian Dwarf doe can produce up to two quarts of sweet milk a day.

Fias Co Farm , a Web site on goat health and husbandry, suggests choosing goats that are already tame rather than trying to tame a wild goat.