Could a livestock guardian be warranted?

[Carla D]

We are buying 16 acres for our homestead. There is mixed land on it. I can see 3-4 as hay or corn. There is a couple islands of wooded area. We can see possibly pasturing pigs and goats on as much as 4 acres. There is really nice pasture land on most of it. There is a creek that runs along one end of the property. It’s pretty wet back there. I can feasibly see having animals on at least a good chunk of the property.

There is definitely predators on the property. We have seen scat from a medium-larger bear. The owner said there are coyotes and fox that visit as well as raccoons, turkeys, and whatever else is out there. When we first get out there we will have goats on at least two acres. We will get larger areas once we get our pigs and other animals out there. My question is this, Do we have enough space to warrant a livestock guardian? We do plan on getting a smattering of other animals once we get our current animals situated. We are thinking couple cows, chickens, ducks, a turkey. What would you recommend for a guardian if we have enough space for one or two? While we aren’t antisocial, we don’t tend to have many visitors. Our nearest neighbor is ½ mile away. Does anyone have any recommendations or ideas? Thank you.

Here is an arial view of our property if that might help.

 

[Jessica C]

We are buying 16 acres for our homestead. There is mixed land on it. I can see 3-4 as hay or corn. There is a couple islands of wooded area. We can see possibly pasturing pigs and goats on as much as 4 acres. There is really nice pasture land on most of it. There is a creek that runs along one end of the property. It’s pretty wet back there. I can feasibly see having animals on at least a good chunk of the property.

There is definitely predators on the property. We have seen scat from a medium-larger bear. The owner said there are coyotes and fox that visit as well as raccoons, turkeys, and whatever else is out there. When we first get out there we will have goats on at least two acres. We will get larger areas once we get our pigs and other animals out there. My question is this, Do we have enough space to warrant a livestock guardian? We do plan on getting a smattering of other animals once we get our current animals situated. We are thinking couple cows, chickens, ducks, a turkey. What would you recommend for a guardian if we have enough space for one or two? While we aren’t antisocial, we don’t tend to have many visitors. Our nearest neighbor is ½ mile away. Does anyone have any recommendations or ideas? Thank you.

Here is an arial view of our property if that might help.
View attachment 64492

You have enough land. It’s more about the predator load than the acreage. The main thing will be proper fencing, to keep the stock and LGD in, and help keep predators out.

If you keyword-search these forums, there’s lots of great information on that as well as LGD breeds, selection and training.

I’ve got a working-bred Pyrenees for my goats and chickens, but he’s a puppy and won’t be really solid until about two years old. If you need immediate predator control it may be better to focus on an adult working dog and introduce it to your stock. Or a pair of them. It’s also really important to choose a dog that is 100% LGD not mixed with any other non-LGD breed.