Guard Llamas or Guard Donkeys

[RichZ]

Does anyone have any experience with guard llamas or guard donkeys? Our goat herd is rapidly expanding, and we'll soon have to house some of them in pastures that are further from our house, and my wife and I feel they would be safer with a guard animal. It would be tough for us to have a guard dog, as the dog would have to live with the herd, and we get so attached to our dogs that something like that would be hard for us. So we are thinking of a guard llama or guard donkey.

Thanks for any comments.

 

[beenthere]

Hope you don't get attached to the llama or donkey the same way. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[stevenf]

RichZ
We own 350 acres in South Texas we have turned it into a hunting ranch so we don't raise livestock persay."but" we do own guard donkey's, a mule and a mammoth Jack. I'll have to say that the mule does the best job regretably all guard equines and LLamas do not draw the line at cougars, wolfs and coyotes they also will do bad things to yours and the neighbors dogs and given the chance stomp the stuffing out of them. The mule will actually hunt them down, what do they say if you can't play with the big dogs stay under the porch. I would advise you to get a young mule or donkey and get your current dogs and any new ones immediately introduced for your dogs benefit. Its rare that the donkeys or mules will put up with the dogs once they are older its just as well if they don't because by and large that is probably your major predator, it gives your old dogs a chance to learn while the animal is young and less likely to do any permanent damage. Once the animal is older you'll just have to keep the dogs in while they are young and when you finally get brave enough to let them out with the donkey or mule make sure the dog has someplace it can get under quick or you'll have one less doggy or at least a gimpy one for a while. I know your probably smiling if you've followed any of my post but I am serious. Everytime the equines are up around the house its a rodeo with the donkeys and mule chasing the dogs under anything they can find, trucks, trailers, the house anything. We have a guard dog that is 1/2 doberman 1/2 german sheperd that stays outside and he protects my wife and kids on the ranch he will follow you for miles around the ranch just so he can be there to defend you from anything that shows itself also my wife has a Rottweiler and I have a mutt 1/2 blue healer 1/4 great perenees 1/4 anatolian sheperd these two go to the print shop everyday with us the customers love them, little do most of them know that either one on command will remove body parts, you'd never know it they act like puppy's and all the women fawn over mine she is a beauty and although a trained attack dog she's also a pretty good snake dog if she see's one she'll go into attack mode and whoever is with her is backed away because she will bear them fangs, and turn on you if you don't turn around and get away from where she says, then she'll run get me and my trusty 357 and like magic no more snake. If you get the guard donkey or Llama (don't know much about LLama's) I highly recommend that you have them trained so that you can at least get a halter on them and lead them into a pen and trailer for two reasons one when its vet time its much cheaper if you deliver and two when its time to do something with your herd of sheeps or goats you'll find it to be much easier if the animal isn't helping by running around or even being a bit unruly because someone is messing with their herd.
Steve

 

[Bird]

Rich, you might do a search on Google for guard donkeys. I've seen them work very well, but not all of them are suitable for that purpose. I bought a young gelding and he attacked goats instead of protecting them, broke one's neck, and I had quite a day getting them separated. If I'd had a gun with me at the time, I'd have shot him. And I had a neighbor who had a big jack and 4 female donkeys who did their job well with cattle, but when he got rid of them, and regretted it, he bought a new pair and the jack chased and attacked cows. I think guard donkeys are a great idea, but you sure have to be careful with the selection.

 

[stevenf]

After reading Birds comments I thought I should explain my statement about getting a young one. I didn't tell you that guard donkeys (here again don't know about Llamas) and Guard Dogs whether they are to guard people or product need to be introduced to it early on A Great Pyrenees is a herd dog like many of the breeds out there but if you don't raise the pup around the herd they are supposed to protect they are just as likely to eat one as protect it. Guard Donkey or LLamas although I don't think you have to worry about them eating your goats /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif you do need to raise them around the specific animal herd that you are hoping for them to protect so they will be accustomed to them and they will quickly be just one of the herd. By the way you only want one guard donkey to be introduced at a time or they will pair up with each other instead of looking to your herd of goats for companionship which quite frankly is why they are called guard donkey's its not that they carry a gun or a "billy club" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif they have just been raised around goats, sheep or cows and since they didn't have any friends to play with they adopted the herd as their buddies instead.

 

[johnday]

Steve; Do you think it would be the same with "gaurd geese"?

 

[Jimbrown]

I vote mule here is picture of one killing a mountain lion.

 

[Jimbrown]

another pic

 

[stevenf]

Jim there have been discussions about that mule and the cougar if you notice in the second one there are two hunting dogs sitting on their laurels. I think the majority of the folks decided that the cougar was already dead but its still pretty impressive that somone owns a mule with more hatefulness than mine although she will knock h*ll out of the dogs and the domesticated cats make a funny noise when she picks them up and ends up with a mouthful of white hair, the cats never learn so at least once a week there is a loud yowlll out in the yard and a mad scury of cats and dogs to get under the house. As for the Guard Geese I think they are usually for noise making alarm and not so much for chasing predator off but I don't know and Yes I figure if your going to get animals to hang together you have to raise them together.
Steve not enough Beer yet to be funny I just got off the tractor the dirt pile is gone so I took off the bucket and put the grapple back on and took my neighbor some wood for a bonfire with it. The safety police would be proud he offered me Beers for wood and I turned him down because I think drunk driving on a tractor might well be worse than 4 wheelin around the ranch 4th of july and not remembering it the next day. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
Steve

 

[RichZ]

Bird, I remember you telling about that donkey incident before, that's partially why I asked this question. Also, my neighbor raises boer goats, and she has a donkey that attacked the goats. Like Steve said, I know that donkeys generally won't tolerate dogs, and my neighbor thinks her donkey mistook the boer goats for dogs, but I find that hard to believe. I'm wondering if donkeys just don't like the fast movements and general playfulness of goats.

In our area, the only large predators that you really have to worry about are coyotes and occasional wolves, and we have huge amounts of small game and deer for them, so they are generally easily discouraged from domestic livestock. Right now, I'm probably leaning towards getting a guard llama, because of the incidents that happened to Bird and my neighbor, but I wanted to hear if anyone else had any experiences.