BYH Official Poll: What are the things that you should consider before buying herds?

[AllenK]

Our black Lab/great Dane had to be put down a few weeks ago. He was full of cancer. It was and still is heartbreaking. We now have a Catahoula pup about 6 months old that wandered up to our DD's house. They gave him to us to replace the dog we lost. Catahoulas are used to hunt hogs and herd cattle. He is brilliant smart, but that hunting instinct is there. He alerted on the chickens and our male Great Pyrenees plowed into him like a Mack truck, took him by the throat and shook him like a rat. He looked at the chickens a few more times and a firm No from me sent him scurrying under the porch. He will run up to the fence and bark at the sheep and gets scolded for it. I just heard our male GP correct the Catahoula pup with a snapping growl and went outside. They both came from the fence where the sheep are, so I can only surmise that the pup was a little too interested in the sheep. I praised the GP and petted him.

The pup no longer even looks sideways at the chickens. I'll be working on the sheep part.

It really sounds like I need a GP. I could use a big white dog down here.I have a chocolate lab, brown halfling rottweiler, and a cookie monster. The coookie monster is a cool dog, stubborn but a great surprise! Not one of them are chicken killers, they are our flock protection animals. If the lab would have gotten to the hawk that tried to predate our flock, it wouldn't have ended well for the hawk.

 

[AllenK]

Well I have 3 of 4 great dogs. The 4th just needs 4 leggers to be an awesome animal. I know she will be great for someone. My 3 other animals protect my chicken just fine.

 

[Ridgetop]

It sounds like an easy fix. Just get some sheep or meat goats. You don't need too many, 2 or 3 would do you. If you can get 2 bred ewes, you can wait on a ram. One of the potential lambs might be a ram and you can keep him to breed him back a couple times, especially if you plan to put the other lambs into the freezer. Just don't keep any mother x son lambs as replacements.
See, easy fix!

 

[AllenK]

It sounds like an easy fix. Just get some sheep or meat goats. You don't need too many, 2 or 3 would do you. If you can get 2 bred ewes, you can wait on a ram. One of the potential lambs might be a ram and you can keep him to breed him back a couple times, especially if you plan to put the other lambs into the freezer. Just don't keep any mother x son lambs as replacements.
See, easy fix!

I would love llamas but not sheep Alpacas would be fine too or donkeys. Turn the speakers up for this to get the real experience of these things.

 

[Ridgetop]

Unfortunately, if you are getting these animals for your dog, it won't work. Llamas and donkeys don't care much for dogs. Our llama tried to stomp our first 3 month old LGD puppy to death, when we tried to introduce him to our goats. Luckily we intervened but it was traumatic for him. Our mule does not like dogs ether and although she had been around our LGDs for years, has a nasty habit of trying to sneak up on them. I am not sure how much damage she would try to do to them since she has not managed to catch them. It might be her idea of a sick mule joke. I only know that poor Rika will not come through the gate if the mule is standing in front of it. This is an Anatolian that will face off to anything else, but Josie The Mule has her buffaloed!

 

[AllenK]

Unfortunately, if you are getting these animals for your dog, it won't work. Llamas and donkeys don't care much for dogs. Our llama tried to stomp our first 3 month old LGD puppy to death, when we tried to introduce him to our goats. Luckily we intervened but it was traumatic for him. Our mule does not like dogs ether and although she had been around our LGDs for years, has a nasty habit of trying to sneak up on them. I am not sure how much damage she would try to do to them since she has not managed to catch them. It might be her idea of a sick mule joke. I only know that poor Rika will not come through the gate if the mule is standing in front of it. This is an Anatolian that will face off to anything else, but Josie The Mule has her buffaloed!

Thank you for sharing your experience. I used to know this about donkeys but had forgotten, didn't know llamas could be bad news too.

 

[Baymule]

I sold my mule because I was tired of her trying to kill everything that wasn't a horse. She even chased deer. She stalked the dogs on her side of the fence, they were forbidden to go in the horse pasture. I just got tired of her drama.

Llamas are sometimes used a pasture guards against dogs or coyotes.

 

[BreanneRN]

Can't really say I considered all that stuff, so here is how not to do it. I bought my "herd" one at a time... It started when I had to put one of my old horses down (I guess I had a herd of horses until then, after that just one). I thought my other old quarter mare would now need something for company and I am in my 60's now and can't outlive another horse, so thought I would get a sheep... I had had sheep before, just to eat the weeds, they were ordinary suffolk cross sheep... I had them for about 15 years. Things happened to them, neighbors kid shot 2 after got rifle for Christmas, ram lived to be about 8, but was greedy and big, dropped dead one day in July of a cardiac event of some kind. Cougar killed 3 of them, 2 ewes left eventually died of old age. It had been kind of a pita trying to get someone to shear them (usually 4 h kids) and my daughter was in college and we had had drought conditions, so didn't initially replace them. But some years went by, my mom died, my daughter graduated, moved out, got a job, a boyfriend and a life. I retired and we had a non-drought year, a lot of grass and weeds, and then the horse! So, I was on Craigslist looking for something (don't remember what, when these cute pics came up of weanling Painted Desert Hair Sheep... They had had a bumper crop of ram lambs that year and were trying to find them homes! Hair sheep! Who knew? No more trying to find 4 H'rs to shear them! And that one was very cute! Surely he would be company for my older quarter mare? Next thing you know, I was bringing him home in a dog crate... I realized that I was no longer thinking of my mare, I was liking the little ram lamb... and named him Tuxedo. Turned out the mare did not like him anywhere near as much as I did and promptly chased him from the pasture and through the fence! If it hadn't been for my neighbor, who helped me corner him, in a ditch, that might have been the end of my herd... But we caught him, I brought him home (after thanking neighbor profusely), and now I had the problem of a ram lamb that needed company... I bought a little Pelibuey (Mexican hair sheep) she was palomino colored, very young, and weaned too early. But she loved Tuxedo. I named her Fawn. And he loved her! Eventually, I collected up quite a number of ewes from around the state, all from Craigslist. I had many adventures bringing them all home in dog crates from where they came from... Soon, I had a New Mexico Dahl sheep (Dolly), Ellie, a Suffolk/hair sheep cross (I found her living in a chicken coop with another ewe, drinking filthy water and very underweight) but she was friendly and now my herd leader, and beautiful Belle, a colored American Blackbelly. Belle came pregnant, though you couldn't tell, but she twinned with 2 solid Blackbelly ram lambs born in Feb. of 2017. They were my 1st lambs and so beautiful! I had 4 lambs in 2017, but only 1 ewe lamb from Dolly, the New Mexico Dahl, born in June. Fast forward to now! My sheep have been good producers! In the spring, I had 10 lambs from 6 moms, all my 1st time moms twinned, though 2 of my others had singles. My Dolly developed toxemia and aborted twins, but I treated her and she recovered. So, guess I have a "herd" though, I think sheep groupings are flocks. But hope I still qualify to join you... Still have my Quarter mare, and also have chickens and turkeys, cats and dogs. When I'm not here, you will probably find me on Backyard Chicken. Oh, and I'm not promoting my story as to how anyone should get a "herd", as I'm sure it is not the proper way. But I am happy to say that I was fully aware that my 2 acres had Ag zoning, which is the most important thing to have after a "stable" income (pun intended) if you are going to get a flock or "herd"!.... Since I now have a bumper crop, I must now learn how to cut down on the numbers of the herd, which is not so fun... I have butchered 2 of my ram lambs from last year (they are quite good) and will be putting some of the weanlings on Craigslist(afterall, it worked for those other guys). If anyone has any novel ideas/suggestions for marketing the weanling herd, feel free to let me know! Anyway, I love my flock of sheep and they are happy, healthy, and productive and bring me much joy. I have a relationship with each one and though it wasn't "the right way" to get a herd, I wouldn't change it...

 

[Blamo'sBestBuddy]

I think it is very important to see if you the time to do the work etc.

 

[Purple Mountains Farm]

I wanted to add shelter, predator control or security measures in place.