Donkeys and cattle
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Category: Allis Chalmers
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URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=155905
Printed Date: 20 Jun 2025 at 5:45pm
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Topic: Donkeys and cattle
Posted By: Ranse
Subject: Donkeys and cattle
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2018 at 8:55pm
| Does anyone have a donkey with your cattle herd? This is something I thought about a little before. I had two coyotes take a new born calf last week, so I'm starting to think about it again. I'm just afraid it wouldn't work and I'd have an animal around for nothing. Why would a donkey run off dogs and coyotes? Is this something all donkeys do, or do you have to find one that will? I'm also concerned about my own dog's safety. I've had people tell me a donkey will trample a dog to death if it gets a chance. That wouldn't make my wife happy if that happened. I have other questions too, but I'll see if there's any response first. Thanks Ranse. |
Replies:
Posted By: dawntreader74
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2018 at 9:06pm
| a good old mule' will end that crap; |
Posted By: SteveM C/IL
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2018 at 9:12pm
| Fido will soon learn to stay outa the cattle pen..It only becomes a problem if decides to stay. |
Posted By: concretepumper
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2018 at 9:15pm
| We have a mini mule out with our cattle, he doesn't get along with our ole lab or any dog at all, we haven't had any problems with coyotes and they run in packs around here |
Posted By: JoeO(CMO)
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2018 at 9:32pm
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a person I have worked with was going to do that but haven't heard yae or nay ------------- |
Posted By: shameless dude
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2018 at 10:49pm
| not cattle, but my neighbor has a lhama in with his sheep. says he don't have any problems, we do have 2 packs of coyotes running around here right now. |
Posted By: Ranse
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2018 at 11:20pm
I did a little internet research on this subject. Surprisingly, llamas are good guard animals. My wife would be all in on a llama, she's crazy about them. One of the things I read is chasing coyotes is something not all donkeys will do. I was afraid of that. Apparently, some will run or only chase them when they are attacked themselves. I'm 99% sure that I would end up with one that could care less what happens to the cows. |
shameless dude wrote:Posted By: 1955CA
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2018 at 11:27pm
| Yes, a donkey fits in well with cattle and they keep predators away. I know a few people that do that. |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 4:40am
Get the right donkey and Fido will only go in the Donkey's field one time and will have to be carried out to be buried.
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Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 4:45am
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I have Great Pyrenees dogs to protect calves and goats from coyotes they work fairly well. Eastern Coyotes are bigger stronger and more aggressive than Western coyotes not uncommon for a 60+ lb coyote be killed in my area.I know people that say Donkeys work for them but the problems is sometimes they will want to kill the new born calves because they are different form the cows.
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Posted By: DiyDave
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 7:19am
Said, "There is one thing that I do know: Now, women are fine, And sheep are divine, But llamas are numero uno." |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 7:45am
Dave Dave Dave.....
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Posted By: Ranse
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 8:49am
I never would have thought it, but there's actually a lot information on the internet about llamas as guard animals. I even watched a video. A woman had a llama and donkeys. It looked like the llama did most of the work, heading off the coyote from the herd. I don't know if they would fit in with cattle. It looked like it's just a sheep farmer thing. Besides, donkeys are fairly common around here with cattle. I can't say I've ever seen a llama, and I don't believe I want to become the first. People in the community might think I'm a weird-o. |
Posted By: Alberta Phil
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 10:11am
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My neighbor has both donkeys and a llama to keep coyotes away from calves. He says the llama is the best and it's not as noisy as the dang donkeys! |
Posted By: TimCNY
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 10:39am
| What breed cattle? A local guy, similar acreage as yours, raises Galloway. They have the reputation of extreme aggressiveness toward predators, especially canines. There's a story of a man that raised Galloways, his neighbor's shepherd used to go after sheep when he raised them. The dog, it's said, only made the mistake of going in after the Galloways once. All that was left of it was the trampled spot of blood, guts and brown dog hair. They heard barking, then the cows bellowing, then sounds like a dog screaming, then nothing. The local guy claims that he knows this person in the story I read about through the Galloway Association (or whatever is the right name) and that the story, along with dozens of other similar stories, are verifiably true. I can't personally say. And we do have a substantial coyote problem around here. He's never had any issues with coyotes or dogs. |
Posted By: ocharry
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 11:44am
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my daughter has horses,,,raises sell trains rides and what ever else she has had a mule in the field with them for years,,,the reason she got the mule was a coyote problem,,,my daughter told me to date Iris has killed 3 coyotes she says the moms and babies dont go out in the pasture with out Iris you can take it for what its worth,,,,this is my daughters 2nd mule,,,Iris is getting old now and daughter is looking for her replacement,,,,she believes in them,,,she calls them the field monitor my .02 ocharry
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Posted By: Dennis J OPKs
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 12:54pm
| My daughter-in-law has family ranching in west central Tx. They have had a pair of donkeys running with cattle. They have had them for several years and I doubt they'd be there if they weren't doing some good. They also have a problem with feral hogs and unfortunately the donkeys don't help with that. |
Posted By: BillinAlberta
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 2:32pm
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I never would have thought it, but there's actually a lot information on the internet about llamas as guard animals. I even watched a video. A woman had a llama and donkeys. It looked like the llama did most of the work, heading off the coyote from the herd. I don't know if they would fit in with cattle. It looked like it's just a sheep farmer thing. Besides, donkeys are fairly common around here with cattle. I can't say I've ever seen a llama, and I don't believe I want to become the first. People in the community might think I'm a weird-o.[/QUOTE] I'm laughing at your comments 'cause it is my ambition in life to have the rep as the neighborhood loon  . We raise a lot of sheep in "cow country" and have done so since my grandfathers time. Over the years we have had donkeys mules llamas vicunas and dogs as well as hunters and trappers and poison.You have to find what works and every situation is different. Maremma dogs work best for us and llamas and donkeys don't.Donkeys founder on good grazing and our resident coyotes and wolf/coyote cross just eat the llamas . Two legged coyotes are just as big a threat around here.
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Posted By: cowkicker
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 6:28pm
| I heard those tales years ago about donkeys keeping coyotes out of the cattle pastures, so I just had to get some. Believe me, they were nothing but trouble. Not only were they useless, some of them would actually chase the cattle and bite them on the neck as they were running them. Might have been part of a mating ritual? Also when you decide it is time to move the cattle to the pen or to another pasture guess what animals will be the first to break and run in the wrong direction causing part of the herd to follow them. Didn't take me long to decide that they had to go. On the other side, I did meet a gentleman last year that said he had donkeys that would get a coyote by the neck and shake him to death or back up to one and kick him to death!!!!!!! Kind of thought to myself that if coyotes were in bad enough shape to let a donkey do that to them, the coyotes weren't in any shape to harm a cow or calf. I promise he really did tell me that story expecting me to believe it. And I will add that the man is a politician, he might just believe himself. |
Posted By: cabinhollow
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 8:11pm
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Most guard animals will cost you almost as much in lost livestock as coyotes will. A few years ago, a large cattle farm close to me, got a guard llama when his cows were calving. Came time to put the bull in "$8000 bull". Three days later he found the bull dead. Went and bought a new bull "$7500". Two days later it was dead. Bull number 3, " $6000" they unloaded it and as it walk away, the llama ran up to it and bite it nuts off. It died 3-4 hours later. That's one way llamas fight. That weekend the llama was BBQ. One local farmer had a guard donkey, if you went in the field, you had better have a baseball bat in your hand. Almost all the farmers I sheared for, that had guard dogs, had to chain them up during lambing/kidding season or they would kill some of the lambs/kids. I have over 160 head of sheep and hear coyotes all the time and do not lose any to them, with no guard animals. It is all about management. |
Posted By: DiyDave
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2018 at 8:25pm
A little brahma in the momma, and you don't need no guard... When the dnr started releasin coyote's here, about 15 year ago (they still deny they do it), we had 1 out in the pasture, and all the cows were on point, calves under them, standing in a tight circle. When I saw that, grabbed the ole trusty .22 mag, and finished off the mangy mutt that thay had been chasin around the pasture. I whistled, and he stood up from the afterbirth pile he was after, as if to say, put me outta my misery!
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Posted By: john(MI)
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2018 at 12:20am
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I would get the mule. A lot less work. I think you have to shear llamas!
------------- D14, D17, 5020, 612H, CASE 446 |
Posted By: allisrutledge
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2018 at 6:58am
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I never had a Jack that worked and out of 7 I had i got one little Jenny that is worth keeping. If you can trim their feet yourself a small Jenny is worth a try. The one I have left will stomp coons possums cats dogs turkeys.I've seen her stand at the fence for hours and stare at the neighbors German Shepard. As far as I know she keeps the coyote out as well. Older healthy cows don't usually need protection I've not had any turkey since I got donkeys. Now that I'm down to one on one place the turkey are coming back. As said before other things work but are costly to keep. If you can , during calving season if managed properly during breeding season, put up a cross fence to keep them close to home. This is your cheapest way and if you got a good watch dog all ready to warn you it would be a bonus. The bear population is increasing in my area faster than cubs can be born thanks to TWRA. I dislike them as much as I do the hogs , snakes,bears and mountain lions they are rehoming near me.but that another topic. I'm sure the wildlife folks do something right but I've yet to see it. Sorry for getting off track. Good luck with your problem. ------------- Allis Chalmers still exist in my mind and barns |
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2018 at 8:57am
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My cousin had a neighbor's llama chase his cattle herd out more than once one summer. About 60 head and then he'd fight against the llama to get them rounded up as the llama would constantly break up the herd and chase them off into the corn field or grove of pine trees. The llama went too far once with another neighbor and it ended up dead and dragged to the owner's driveway. BTW I know a real straight shooter that witnessed the dnr releasing a bear in his area while he was hunting. He later confronted a dnr fella that he knew about it and the fella denied that the dnr ever would do that. But this straight shooter was as straight as they come. If the government made a law to turn in his firearms he'd be right there handing them over. He's the kind of guy you want in charge of radioactive material because he is a by-the-book type (Which was his job btw until he retired in September) but not the kind of guy you want when SHTF with a tyrannical government in charge. How's that for going off topic? ------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Posted By: allisrutledge
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2018 at 2:02pm
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I would love to think I could have a 95% birth and survival rate of my calves and always shoot for 100% but never make it. Try farming next to a landfill . lost one all ready this year and going into the next birthing cycle around now thru December don't look good at all, weather, predators and all other sorts of issues. If it was ------------- Allis Chalmers still exist in my mind and barns |
Posted By: allisrutledge
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2018 at 2:03pm
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If it was easy everybody would have a cow. I'm dun now ------------- Allis Chalmers still exist in my mind and barns |
Posted By: Ray54
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2018 at 3:12pm
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Any of us in the livestock business are so luck those that came before about had predators under control. But it has really gone back to the wild west days in the last 30 years. I was always told to be careful of donkeys as many will chase baby calves. I am a little surprised about the lamas, and killing a bull. A neighbor had good luck with one and sheep. Now have several new comers trying sheep and goats with guard dogs. Last spring a young cougar got started and lived only on sheep and goat, and guard dog. I have lost 2 calves to coyotes in the last month. Part of it is cows that don't keep an eye on there calf. All it would take here is 1080 poison for ground squirrels control, secondary kill took coyotes and wondering dogs. But until there are hungry people up town we are all just greedy old fossils in the way of progress. And of course we now have vegetable protein turned into meat as well as test tube meat. So maybe we are a part of the past that will die.
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Posted By: Ranse
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2018 at 6:17pm
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I appreciate everyone's input. A lot of pros and cons stated. I'm still undecide. I guess I'll see what happens. This is my first coyote trouble, and the first time I've seen them on my property. I've lots of trouble with dogs in the past. Dogs usually chase cattle for amusement. It's no game for the coyotes though. I been taking a rifle with me when I go out now, but I figure I'm not likely to see them again. Not unless they are eating another calf. cabinhollow, had the nuts been bit off the first two bulls too? Just curious. |
Posted By: cabinhollow
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2018 at 7:25pm
They dunged one up and yes, it had been bit on the nuts too. I work as a shearer ( I have sheared over 150,000 animals) for 40 years, I know alot about llamas and other types of guard animals. Fastest shearing a sheep, under 50 seconds. A llama, under 80 seconds. That is shears on to shears off. $5 a head for sheep, $25 a head for llamas. If you are fast/good, the pay is not to bad. Now on a flock/herd bases, the best I did was 148 sheep in 3 hours 45 min. On llamas it was 15 head in 50 min. And 25 alpacas in 1 hour and 30 min. |