Donkey vs. Llama for guarding livestock???

[jkl79]

Thank you bluebirdfarm!! I see that you also have a llama? Does the llama get along well with everyone too? Can you tell if the llamas or donkeys act as better guard animals?

 

[bluebirdfarm]

we have lost our llama to old age this past month.

we had up to 8 at one time , but they were too exotic for here . we have brain (menengeial )worm in our area and they are like a BIG sheep as far as caring for one, it is similar , shearing , trimming feet , medication , ect.

i think donks would be better for a gaurding animal, at least ours have .
if you are getting donks, try to find ones that have been raised around sheep or goats so that they are already used to the smaller animals , and do not get a jack !

 

[bluebirdfarm]

donkeys are originaly desert animals and they can live pretty well on grazing alone, but with some supplemental hay and some oats in the coldest months.
remember that you will have to keep their feet trimmed every 6-8 weeks and worm them twice a year .

our llamas got along fine with the other animals , except when we had the stud llama , he tried to mount the sheep , goats .LOL, i had to literally PULL hom off of one one day , thank god he was a tame llama or i would have been introuble.
llama can be a little bit tricker to handle than a donk , just IMHO

 

[Chirpy]

I raise llamas. First, all llamas do not make good guard animals. They actually are bred for their guarding instinct so you have to get one from someone who is breeding and has tested the specific llama as a guard animal.

I have 13 llamas, two of those are excellent guard llamas. They have tried to run down and kill the coyotes that come into our pasture. One coyote only made it out alive because it was close enough to the fence line to get away from a very angry llama. The other eleven will sound an alert call but will NOT go toward the coyote.

If you have a true guard llama you will have a great defense against predators. However, a pack of dogs or cougar or bear can defeat a llama so in those cases a couple of good guard dogs (Anatolian Shepherd, Pyrs, etc.) would be far better to use as a livestock guardian.

Generally gelded male llamas make the best guard llamas, however, my two are females. An intact male can be just fine as long as there are no female llamas anywhere around. I would discourage using an intact male but I have friends who do. You do want to make sure the male llama wasn't bottle raised... they are the ones who end up turning on their owners because they see people as another llama and treat them accordingly.

My llamas and my goats get along just peachy - never any issues with them together.

However, if you have milk goats or pregnant does they need alfalfa hay and you never want to give alfalfa hay to llamas except as an occasional treat. I feed my goats and llamas separately if giving alfalfa hay. However, llamas can often get all the food they need just from pasture grazing, if you have plenty of grass. Both llamas and goats can have grass hay together with no problems.

I strongly suggest not getting a donkey for all the reasons mentioned above.

My first suggestion would be to get a couple of good livestock guard dogs. The biggest reason that people have failures with their livestock guard dogs is because they try to make them part of the people family. You must put them in with the livestock they are going to guard when they are puppies and you must not interact with them anymore than you have to when feeding and working around the animals. The puppies live 24/7 with their livestock and are treated as working dogs, not family pets. Thus, they bond with the animals not with the people. That doesn't mean they are mean or unsafe or unfriendly to people... not at all, they just know they have a job and that is to stay with their livestock.

Obviously there is a lot more to having guard animals with livestock but this gives a very basic overview.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[zatsdeb]

we feed everyone separate. Donkeys can get that fat neck roll, and it is not good for them.
I also give carrots, apples, and hay. they are desert animals and do fine grazing alone, but I usually feel sorry for them because they get jealous and "think" they need to eat grain and whatnot! That is when I give them healthy treats.
We do feed them a little grain in the winter, but not much, the jack seems to run it off more, as he is a crazy guy sometimes!
I really love my donkeys, they are just like big dogs.

 

[Kittikity]

I work part time at a goat farm and they have a gelded donkey as their livestock guardian.. He's a really sweet guy.. Will back up to you to get his butt scratched.. Scares you at first when he does that.. He's not around baby goats since they hand raise though.. He's so gentle that my 4 yr old daughter was leading him around by his halter.. But I really think he is an exception to the rule..

I plan to get a couple llamas because they can have hay with the goats and are supposed to be a gentle grazer.. I only have just under 2 acres and most of my property slopes so I can't have something that might graze my little area too much.. I also like that llamas will do their business in one spot..

 

[JaciesCoop]

Quote:
Adoptedbyachicken. I have a thread going asking you a question. I didn't want to highjack this thread.

Here it is:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1154400#p1154400

Jacie

 

[babalubird]

Jkl, we have 17 acres also in Central Texas. Our three horses are out there as well as a friend's horse. Right now, we can only get out there on weekends too.

Our horses do fantastic with only a round bale in the pasture. In fact they are way overweight which I hate.
Then we give them a little grain on weekends, more of a treat or nutritional supplement.

We do believe our pasture does not have very good protein available. So to correct that problem we try to take out 2 protein blocks especially for horses during the summer when the grass is green and four, one for each horse, during the winter when the grass is not so good.

Of course we make sure they always have various salt blocks...white, sulfur and mineral. Under these conditions, the animals can pretty much take care of themselves.

This is not ideal. We worry about a horse getting hurt, out, etc. and our not being there, but it can be done.

Connie

 

[jkl79]

Hi Connie!

Where is your land? Ours is in Manor, just east of Austin. The more I research, the more I think we'll be getting a few head of cattle to work towards ag exemption until we can be out there daily. We just found a nice deal on 3 little longhorns.

I dream of having horses out there someday but might be a little too cost prohibitive at the moment. I look forward to hearing from you!

 

[Iamdonkey28]

As a donkey in central london, I feel as though they are best suited for the job. When the pigeons and other vile beasts attempted to attack my castle of chickens, the Donkey responded in a bloodthirsty manner - his eyes changed.