Can You Own A Goat In A Residential Neighborhood? (Find Out!)

As a bare minimum, a goat should have at least a quarter acre—and it should have another goat to keep it company.

So, unless your residential home has a half-acre garden, you’re probably not going to be able to keep a goat in there.

Let’s look further into this.

Are you allowed to keep a goat in your backyard?

Generally speaking, goats are not allowed to be kept in backyards in residential neighborhoods.

They are noisy, they can cause damage to fences, and some goats can have very aggressive and boisterous tendencies.

That said, it is always going to depend on your local authority.

There is certainly no federal law banning goats from being kept in yards, in the United States.

Your local state or council will probably have guidelines on what you can and can’t do, and where.

Your neighbors may well have something to say about it if you decide to keep goats regardless of your local laws.

As I said, goats are noisier than most people realize.

So, the short answer is probably not.

The next question, though, is whether you should, even if you are allowed by local laws.

The next big problem you have is space limitations—goats are roaming animals, and need a lot of space.

Can you keep goats at home?

No, you can’t—that is to say, you can’t keep them in your house.

They are not house pets and need a wide range to explore in order to maintain their happiness.

Houses are far too limited for them, not to mention the fact that you need goats in pairs at the very least.

Goats are social herd animals and need other members of their own species around to be happy.

Even if your house was, somehow, large enough to accommodate at least two goats, they still would be infinitely happier outside.

So, in a sense, the local laws about it are really immaterial.

It doesn’t matter if it is allowed, because it is not going to be good for the goat.

Can goats be house trained?

No, they can’t.

Since the rise in popularity of pygmy goats, many have started to wonder the same thing.

They are small enough that people wonder if they could be kept in the house, like a dog, but the answer is no.

Even if they do have some capacity to be trained for the tendencies you want—which is unlikely—the fact remains that living inside is no good for them.

Dogs are different—they can be happy in a house as long as they get adequate walks in a day.

Can you not walk goats?

Do you need a license to walk goats?

Again, it depends.

There will certainly be some local authorities that have rules and ordinances on this sort of thing.

If you are walking the goat in a residential area, then you are also, presumably, keeping it in the neighborhood.

Certainly, for the movement of large numbers of goats, you are often going to need a license to move them from place to place.

Even if it is allowed, though, walking the goat won’t be enough to make it comfortable living in such an environment.

They need to roam and forage on their own time.

So, what do I need to own a goat?

What do I need to own a goat?

The short answer is a lot of land.

As I said, for every goat, you should have at least one-quarter acre of land.

Goats should also never be kept alone—even if you were with them all the time, they need the companionship of their own species to be happy.

So, at minimum, you’re going to need about a half-acre that they alone are able to roam and forage on.

Ideally, you should have at least three goats to create a real herd mentality.

Licenses and such will be easier to obtain in such settings if they are even required to begin with.

So, unless you are in pretty particular circumstances in your residential neighborhood—the laws allow for it, and you have the space—then you’re not going to be able to keep a goat in your residential neighborhood.

Whether it’s a pygmy or a huge Boer goat, they will not be comfortable in your garden without another goat, and that’s going to mean a half-acre of space.

Whether you’re allowed is another question—your local authorities can tell you this.