Guard animals

I have to agree with everything said. Good info Wiley.
Although I have seen llamas and dogs being used quite effectively with fairly large sized sheep herds, I don't think they would be very effective trying to cover a thousand sheep on a multi-section Montana ranch. And even under the best circumstances, it has to be one of those rare dogs or llamas that will do the job. No doubt in my mind that predator control is the only real effective means of protecting livestock. (Trapping , calling, etc...)

Danny, I will take that bet if I can pick the llama and you're gonna bring 4 of them little ol' desert dogs...preferably pups! lol
smile.gif
(as long as we are only betting a six-pac or something of course...heck, I just wanna see them fight...is that legal?) ha ha
Have to agree that most llamas might end up being a snack for several large hungry coyotes.
Later, Curt
 
I'd hafta doubt they'd work on a large scale. I did work a farm with 70 or 80 sheep and a llama and never lost a lamb..but,sheep are pretty rare up here,I'd bet 99% of our coyotes never saw one before,Now,Whitetail lambs are a different story.....
I sure wouldn't stake my living on one.
NiM
 
Did you guys notice that they said they were predator friendly ranches and not predator free? With the bleeding hearts paying nearly double to feel better about wearing the fleece of a sheep those herders can afford to lose quite a few head of stock to the coyotes that run roughshod over their herd. Now that the poor little coyote is no longer inconvienced in going about his business where is the bleeding hearts tears for the helpless woolbearer when he's getting his nose chewed off. Selective empathy equals hipocrasy (sp) in my book.
 
I was disturbed by the article about "Predator Friendly Wool". As I as not a rancher (we don't have ranches in Wisconsin), maybe I have the wrong perspective on this whole thing.

Last year we made $2.50/hd on the wool clip.
If someone would pay me double, I would make a whopping $5.00/hd.

Last year we averaged $55.00/ 135 lb lamb sent to slaughter. Not a great profit, but I can't complaining.

Anyway, it should be intuitively obvious that the survival of the lamb crop is more important than a $2.50 premium someone would pay me for wool. To stop a coyote from becoming a mass murder costs $.10 in ammunition and a couple of nights sleep. Compare that to the cost of a llama and its feed for a year. In addition, the llama is no better defender against two coyotes working together, than a single dog; that's why we run multiple dogs in your operation.

The American Sheep Industry has not relied on wool payments for years. Those producers that did have left the industry long ago. Wool today can best be characterized as a cost of doing business, if it doesn't cost you to much, your happy. If a sheep operation losses 20% of its lamb crop to predators, all the wool payments in the world won't help it survive for very long.

As I see it, if you don't want me to shoot the cute and cuddly, wild, killer dog; pay for all of the losses - wool, meat and milk.

------------------
predatorlogo3jpg.gif


[This message has been edited by megapredator (edited 06-17-2001).]
 
Back
Top