Above, you will see our family's choice of Livestock Guardian Animals; a Great Pyrenees we lovingly named Athena. Obviously, you can see that we went with a dog, and not another choice out there (I will further discuss options in guardian animals below), We have decided to use her, in combination with electric fencing. This will not only help to keep predators out, but it will also help by training to keep our animals within certain boundaries, in order to further protect them. If you aren't familiar with a Great Pyrenees by sight, then I have to tell you that the dog in the photo is just a puppy, just going on approximately four months. And finally! I can actually say that this IS an accurate photo, as it was just taken today! Though, I may dig out some earlier puppy photos just for fun. She basically looked like a cotton ball with legs. What I think is even funnier is that she is bigger than my two year old working dog!
We have managed to create a decent size library at home about animals that we have or that we intend to get in the semi-near to near future. Sheep is one of those animals that we're definitely interested in getting. Well, there is a pretty good section in one of our books, HOW TO RAISE SHEEP (p151-153), that touch on Livestock Guardians. That, along with some internet searching between myself and, who am I kidding? Mostly done by my husband...well, that helped us to decide that a dog was the best guardian animal for us. And then all we had to do was find the dog for us, which was a lot easier than we thought! But, back to other options out there... According to HOW TO RAISE SHEEP, electric fencing is the number one deterrent mentioned. After that, llamas, donkeys & dogs are mentioned. Each animal has their own specific reason or behavior that makes them a better choice for one family over another. Donkeys protect by kicking and making noise, showing their teeth and sometimes biting. A llama is intimidating just by its size alone and has been used in livestock guardianship for so long (literally thousands of years at least), some say that it is essentially bred into them and they just "know" how to do it and easily scare off dogs and coyotes. As for dogs, there is often some training involved for them to be good guardians and a lot of times the dogs are even bred into a heard of dogs that are over and over bread specifically to be used as guardian dogs. Their training begins when they are a puppy, living with the animal/s that they are protecting and learning all that they need that way. Our dog, Athena, is and will still be learning for some time, but even as a pup still losing teeth, she impresses us on a regular bases. She lets us know, even at such a young age, and with no outside training (though that is something we may be doing as well) if something is wrong or out of place. It's actually rather comforting to have that extra security and when you can hear it, it's like you can really feel it too.
So, I have spent some time talking about Guardian animals, though just briefly. I encourage you to do your own research if this is something that you are seriously looking into. I will gladly answer any questions that I am able, as well as suggest books or websites that I am aware of, but I'm not a professional. I can only tell you what I know from my learning and personal reading and experiences so far. And don't just talk about what guardian animal to get, talk about whether or not you even NEED to get one at all. Just because you are homesteading, that doesn't mean you are living on a large lot or acreage and you need an animal to protect you. Or perhaps you are homesteading in the city or suburbs as many people do - then is a guardian animal an expense that you want to shell out, not to mention something that you are even allowed to have where you live? Many of you could definitely not have a donkey or a llama, and even a large dog would not be allowed with a lot of the new rules these days. So, do consider that option as well, before you put endless hours into research or put the money into an animal that you aren't able to shelter.
HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment