- Aug 7, 2011
- 8
- 0
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I love the responses from people from all over. I am in Missouri and have 4 dogs, 6 Alpacas, 1 donkey, 30 chickens, and 2 roosters. My 'farm configuration' is based on the animals' needs more than mine
The relationships between the menagerie of critters (hence my username) is mostly symbiotic but that doesn't mean that they can be in the same fenced in area... The 4 dogs (2 King Charles cavaliers and 2 rescues) are either in the house or in a fenced in area right behind the house where I try to keep the chickens out of because the dogs are capable of doing damage to them. The Alpaca males (3) and females (3) have adjacent fenced in areas where the chickens can and do roam/range freely. The donkey is in a fenced in area where the chickens can get to and do, but the dogs and Alpacas can't. (Honkydonk would kill the dogs probably but has already scared off multiple coyotes, and a donkey's kick could seriously hurt or kill an Alpaca.) Some people have GP's which are those Great Pyrenees dogs to guard Llamas/Alpacas/chickens but one of my male alpacas (Gianni Versace and no, I did not name him that, he came with that name and a price tag to match) HATES dogs of any kind. To make a long story short, I have tried to do what works best for my animals (chickens, etc) and the Americaunas/Aracaunas in particular love to roost in my walnut trees. I don't like the poop on my deck but at least they are safe and do have safe havens very close to the home which I think has kept them all safe for so long (so far at least). Still undecided on the coop but they do all have access to shelter...
The relationships between the menagerie of critters (hence my username) is mostly symbiotic but that doesn't mean that they can be in the same fenced in area... The 4 dogs (2 King Charles cavaliers and 2 rescues) are either in the house or in a fenced in area right behind the house where I try to keep the chickens out of because the dogs are capable of doing damage to them. The Alpaca males (3) and females (3) have adjacent fenced in areas where the chickens can and do roam/range freely. The donkey is in a fenced in area where the chickens can get to and do, but the dogs and Alpacas can't. (Honkydonk would kill the dogs probably but has already scared off multiple coyotes, and a donkey's kick could seriously hurt or kill an Alpaca.) Some people have GP's which are those Great Pyrenees dogs to guard Llamas/Alpacas/chickens but one of my male alpacas (Gianni Versace and no, I did not name him that, he came with that name and a price tag to match) HATES dogs of any kind. To make a long story short, I have tried to do what works best for my animals (chickens, etc) and the Americaunas/Aracaunas in particular love to roost in my walnut trees. I don't like the poop on my deck but at least they are safe and do have safe havens very close to the home which I think has kept them all safe for so long (so far at least). Still undecided on the coop but they do all have access to shelter...
