Guard yaks

We’ve been using yak as guard creatures since 2006 with much success and lots of training learned. We feel that they’ll work despite the fact that we’ve not observed a predator/yak standoff. We reside in what exactly are now active wolf territories in the reintroduction to Yellowstone Park. In fact a wolf pack would decimate our flock as well as the yak hopefully helps us. For coyote and domestic dog issues, we’re feeling confidant sheep could have a chance due to the existence of the yaks. It ought to be noted the best guard animal within our opinion is really a animals guard dog.  Our off-farm grazing sites include small acreage parcells making guard dog use a liability to human interactions.

yak and sheepIf you’re intrigued by yaks as we’ve been, there exists a couple of ideas that you should consider.

1) Yak tend to be Larger than sheep and llamas. Females can grow to 900 pounds, and also the males could possibly get more than a 1000 pounds. A Couple years old yak has ended half its adult size and full of juvenile habits: rough housing, goring, pawing, flightiness. A sheep facility might not have a yak whether it feels the necessity to escape. Ours have leaped from 3 feet pens. We usually sort the yak back from the alleyway so it isn’t crowded using the sheep for very lengthy and obtain sheep into it when we are able to. If well-glued, escapes rarely occur.

2) HORNS. You might have a veterinarian or perhaps a cattleman dehorn the youthful calf for you personally. We anxiously waited too lengthy and may only cut the guidelines. We stop about 5-6 inches once making your way around horn tip removalinto it. There’s a circulation system within the horn so we used a tourniquet along with a cauterizing iron to close the vessel. The yaks were restrained inside a large animal chute. We’ve lost 4 sheep to goring injuries, and also have a couple of sheep with hernias which are still being produced. (dying to bloat & internal parasites far exceed deaths brought on by yaks) Please take proper care of the horns!

3) Our ewes lamb on pasture. The youthful yak may disrupt a ewe in labor from curiosity. As quickly as possible, slowly move the yak to ewes who’ve had lambs already. We’ve lost one lamb to trampling at feeding time whenever we needed to combine the ewes and lambs right into a large group having a yak within the crowd. This feeding scenario is short-resided once we slowly move the flock to pastures when the lambs really are a week old. Should you lamb before pastures are prepared and therefore are feeding hay, possibly keep your yak with simply a couple of family groups before the lambs really are a couple of days old, and become careful ewe w/ newborns and yakat feeding occasions. Our thoughts is the fact that guard dogs, even though the ultimate guard animal, may cause their very own share of harm through rough housing and mauling lambs. There is nothing risk-free.

3) Our sheep were bothered through the first baby yak we bought. It required here we are at sheep to get accustomed to it. We’d sheep and new yak in an exceedingly small paddock at lambing time for you to have everybody get accustomed to one another. Don’t simply obtain a calf and set it within an acre enclosure and expect everybody to obtain along. Our pen was a 12 x12 pen with only a couple of sheep and also theyak calf new yak. Then we graduated that group to some bigger, 100 foot x 100 foot pen with increased families. Still, it required sheep per week to easily eat near the rambunctious carpet of fur and hooves.

4) Our yak happen to be minimally handled in order to make sure the bond with sheep. This will make them just a little difficult to handle (ie. hoof trimming, fiber harvesting). They’re big, however i never allow them to believe that they’re larger than I. They are fully aware to escape from us having a confidant motion in our hands, like you might do in order to move domestic cattle or loose horses. We command respect from their store simultaneously getting a respect for his or her mind gear and tenacity. Talk to your yak breeder for veterinary care. Make certain your male yak is castrated either through the breeder at purchase or by banding by 2-3 several weeks old.

5) One yak at any given time, please. For those who have a large flock and feel you’ll need several, you mustn’t allow the yak see one another and them separate for approximately 2 yrs. Only then would you feel confidant the yak are glued towards the sheep and never set off in their own individual yak herd.

Yak are extremely unique and a significant conversation piece which could bring focus on your sheep business. We’re more famous for the yak than our sheep oftentimes. Traffic stops across the highway once the flock is grazing the summer time pastures due partly towards the dark-coated zoysia-like creature towering above them. It’s produced sales of lamb product and curiosity about our grazing program.

Resourse: http://wolfridgeicelandics.com/

2017 6'4 Combo – Eman-Yak Eman – 2016-17 Season Highlights


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