Guard Llamas

[anyssapark]

I have a small herd (12 horses) of minis that i am putting out on 36acres to spell my paddocks. As no-body lives at this property to hear if there was any trouble, i wanted to make sure my horses were safe from any predators. So i was looking at buying a whether Llama.

Do any of you have guard llamas running with your herd?

Have you ever had any problems?

How (and at what age) did you introduce them to the horses?

Do you find them to be an effective guard?

Any other helpful tips, and pro's or cons would be very helpful.

Thankyou!

Renee

 

[mininik]

Please do research this. Llamas are usually defenseless against a mountain lion, determined dog or pack of predators. They are usually effective against coyotes.

http://www.llamaweb.com/Uses/Guard.html

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/LIVESTK/01218.html

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I'm interested in the topic also. Would love to know what others have experienced.

 

[Charlene]

i had a couple of llamas as pets who lived with my big gelding and my mini. when i got my second mini, i re-homed the llamas.

llamas are naturally standoffish and you won't find many that are affectionate like your mini horses are. they prefer the company of other llamas and a lone llama may not be very happy. they will tolerate being handled but they will not seek you out for attention. they take special care in that they have to be sheared once a year and their feet MUST be trimmed every few months. they also have to be de-wormed regularly and especially for meningeal worm, which is deadly. if you don't have a chute, even the routine stuff can be very difficult.

i have to agree with mininik. many llama breeders shun the idea of using llamas as guard animals because they are normally very peaceful animals and although they will bond with your minis, they would be in as much danger from large predators as your horses would be. they WILL stomp a coyote or two but many times, they will be a victim just as much as any other prey animal.

 

[Miniv]

So far, our female has proven to be the most aggressive toward a coyote. It was on the other side of the fence line and she charged at him.

She and her hubby were both young adults when we introduced them to our minis. They don't seem to be into protecting the minis exactly. What they are - are territorial and anything that doesn't belong in their territory (such as coyotes or strange dogs) they will go after.

MA

 

[skylineminis]

The #1 predator of a Llama is a dog. They are not really good protectors like they are believed to be. The best thing I have found for a guard animal is a mini mule. They won't even let a kitty cat in the pasture without killing it. But, you can only have one mini mule. If you have more than one, the mules will bond together and won't protect the herd. Be it a mule or a donkey (I prefer a mule because they are faster), only put one in with the horses or goats or whatever. They need to bond with what they are to be protecting.

 

[JWC sr.]

In the beginning we used Llama for guard animals and found them to be unreliable at best. They were simply too easy to discourage when confronted with several coyotes or feral dogs. They also did not adopt the min's as the Pyranees guard dogs and Jennies have. Those two will literally lay down thier own lifes for the the herd they are with.

 

[anyssapark]

Thanks so much for the information.

We have no coyotes here, or mountain lions. My main concern is the possibility of the odd roaming dog, and foxes.

Thanks mininik for the information links - they were really informative.

MiniV. How did you introduce your llamas to your herd. Did you just put them in the pasture together? Or did you keep them in a smaller yard for a while first?

Skylineminis & JWC sr - I would love to get a donkey, but i have had ALOT of trouble finding one here. So your experience with llamas is that they arent reliable... hmmm... maybe i need to do more searching for a donkey.

Thanks heaps guys!!! This was really helpful

 

[mmmorgans]

deleted

 

[anyssapark]

Thanks mmmorgans. That is lots of help.

The ones we were looking at are all gelded males between 2yo and 4yo.

We were only intending to buy one as we were told the same thing by the breeder - that they need to be alone to bond with the herd. So that was our intention.

Dogs is out of the question, as the property isnt fenced for dogs (hense why i want a herd protector - to keep strays OUT!) and it fronts onto a fairly busy road. So i would worry about a dog in that regard.

Donkeys i have had alot of difficulty finding around here. I am still in a search though, and i havent had my mind set on a llama, so am open to these different guard animals.

Its good to know your experience with them. Thankyou!

Renee

 

[Floridachick]

PLEASE get yourself 2 Great Pyrenees. They are the best dogs we have ever had in our lives.

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

skylineminis, I would completely disagree with you as to your statement of only having one. I raise mini hinnys (same as a mule only opposite parents) I have always had a few together (4) in a pasture with my mini horses(30) and I also have miniature donkeys (4)in the pasture. You are right in saying they will bond together, but then again..a lone donkey or mule is exactly that..LONELY, they like to be with there own, but with mine when it comes to protection they all forget about there bonding and get right into protecting there pasture.. A miniature regardless if it is a donkey, mule, or hinny should NOT be bought with the sold purpose of protecting, no animal should be bought for just that reason.. If a pack of dogs,or coyotes, a small animal will not stand a chance. Donkeys do however, make great protectors and mine are worth there weight in gold, they have kept bears, etc at bay from coming into my pastures. BUT my donkeys are in the 36-37" size..a small mini would not stand a chance, even if a pack came into a pasture a lone standard size donkey wouldnt stand a chance. I do believe its there agressivness at the fenceline and there extreamly loud bray that scares alot of predators off. Mine seem to work as a team..the donkeys will go running the fenceline and bray there absolute loudest, making themselves seem 10 times there size, while the mini hinnys who all stand about 30-34"s will keep behind the donkeys and keep the horses back up at the barn, almost like they are herding them. NOTHING is allowed to come into my pasture, or the donkeys or hinnys will stomp them, even our barn cats know when they cross thru to make it a very fast crossing! One of the best things you can do is put up good fencing, with a electrical tape running towards the bottom on the outside of the fence and also one on the inside. We live in a area with alot of bears, coyotes, and wolves..they cross thru our fields but as soon as they hear the donkeys braying, they hightail it out of here. Our DNR has told me donkeys are the best for predator protection, when we had a bear problem. Corinne

 

[Reijel's Mom]

I just dropped off a rescue pygmy goat with an acquaintance who raises dairy goats. She had a gelded llama and a female llama in the pen with the dairy goats. The gelding llama marched right up and was quite territorial initially when we were introducing the pygmy into the herd. The owner said he is a very good guard llama, that they haven't had problems with coyotes though they see them quite often around their property. She said she the llama was responsible for killing a rabbit once that got into the goats pen, but she also mentioned that one of her dogs injured one of her goats badly one time (no longer an issue, the dog is kept in a secure enclosure now). I didn't think to ask where the llama was at that time, I should have.

 

[Miniv]

MiniV. How did you introduce your llamas to your herd. Did you just put them in the pasture together? Or did you keep them in a smaller yard for a while first?

We didn't have a problem just puting them in.

We have a male and female that live with our "baby group" constantly. We also have two young female llamas that are together in what we call our "upper pasture". I like to keep them in pairs for both companionship and also if there is a threat, they can assist eachother. Both sets of llamas are purposely in with what I feel are our two most vulnerable groups.

We also own two mini donkey jacks that live in our "bachelor group", but I'm not sure how good they are against predators. I think the main thing they'd do is send out an ALARM to us if something was wrong.

MA

 

[anyssapark]

Thanks so much everyone. This has been really informative and interesting.

I would seem that (seen i really cant have guard dogs) the donkey seems to be the most popular herd protector. I will have to keep searching for someone around here that breeds or owns them.

I have found a few llamas for sale close to me, all gelded boys, the breeder told me he thinks they should be suitable for the job, but i want to do this right the first time.

I dont think there is too much around here that is a threat to my horses, i live only just down the road, and we have never had any problem other than our own dog - who has now been put down due to his attacking and killing a horse. So they may well not have much to guard off, i would just be most comfortable knowing that there was an alert guard in their paddock if needed.