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Post by Bóaire Dexters on May 20, 2016 15:35:51 GMT -5
Does anyone have any experience using donkeys to protect your cattle from predators, specifically coyotes? We have additional pasture that we intend to put cattle on that is away from the homestead and the family dogs. We are considering a pair of Jennys to put in with them.
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Post by cathylee on May 21, 2016 10:57:26 GMT -5
I don't, but. I have read of a couple bad experiences when calves are born and the donkey was in with the cows. I know your coyotes are super predators compared to ours in the NW. Around here we do not worry about coyotes. In my experience they tend to be alone when they come on our property. A coyote would not mess with our girls.
Wolves and their packs are a danger to those on the borders of National Parks (Glacier and Yellowstone) and Forests. I linked a wolf killing a near term heifer article on another thread. It might have been chondro. Grizzlies are a danger to sheep and goats. I'm not sure that I have herd of Grizzly cow encounters. Most people here with these problems have livestock guard dogs.
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hoperefuge
member
Milking our Dexters in the mountains of KY since 2007
Posts: 101
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Post by hoperefuge on May 21, 2016 12:03:19 GMT -5
I don't have personal experience, but I've also heard about donkeys going after new calves. I would be very hesitant to try it myself, unless you can find some that are used to cattle & known to be calf-safe.
We just added a pair of Anatolian pups to our farm this week, so are excited to see them grow into their job!
Kim
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Post by littlecowfl on May 24, 2016 8:03:28 GMT -5
The donkeys need to be raised with the cattle from the time they are foals. Just like the guard dogs, they need to learn who their herd is. We took in a needy donkey who was never with cattle. He can never be trusted with them (which is fine, because he is an excellent companion for the Shetland Pony).
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Post by Bóaire Dexters on May 28, 2016 8:46:21 GMT -5
Thank you for all your responses. We are reconsidering this now having learned of your experiences. The ones we were going to take had been with horses, not cows. This could have become a grave error on our part. I appreciate the insight.
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Post by cathylee on Jun 8, 2016 16:01:42 GMT -5
We had a now "late" llama and he was fine with the cows. He made a huge racket when there were intruders. If he did more than that I do not know. Llamas often need to be rescued as they are rarely pets. People tire of them (how we got ours). But your climate might not suit them.
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