Jonathan Whynot

I always mix and match my various farm critters. Out of all of them... pigs are the ones to keep your eye on the most. They can and will kill other farms animals. Most of the time, its one of the males that gets bloodthirsty, but I have seen it with a mature female also.

For the most part, the llamas don't like the pigs much. But if the pasture is big enough, there shouldn't be any problems. Just keep your eye on things at first.

I've raised Yaks in California successfully. Although it does get cold and a little snow, it is still California. The summers are brutally hot. The yaks do just as well as the other breeds of cows in the area, but you have to give them access to ponds. On hot days, the yaks will soak in the ponds for 20-30 minutes a few times a day. In this hotter climate, the yaks have much less fur than the pictures I see online. They grow a thicker coat in winter, and then rub on trees and with their horns to shed their fur in the spring.

I purchased my yaks when they were young adults, and had seen no human interaction before me. I slowly worked with them everyday, and now I have earned their trust. I do not milk them, because I think dairy products are a last-resort human food... but I could see it being no more difficult than milking a goat or sheep. Just needs the proper imprinting and training and equipment.

Hope this helps. All in all I would raise Yaks over boring old cows any day.

I am in the slow process of closing down my permaculture operation in California, and starting a new farm elsewhere. I've started putting my animals for sale locally, but also wanted to list them here... I can provide more pictures and information if you email me or PM me.

Yaks - Herd of 7 yaks... Bull is proven sire 5 years old. Two heifers 6 and 4 years old. Three young bulls of 2 and 1 years old. And a brand new baby I have been able to check the gender. Asking $15,000

Emus - A breeding pair of emus, that supposedly have produced offspring on their own with a previous owner. Beautiful and really tame. I can pet both of them, and hand feed them. Good coyote protection! Asking $500.

Sheep - Painted Desert Sheep (a shedding breed). I have 3 ewes all less than 3 years old, and a beautiful ram with large horns. Two babies born last week making for 6 sheep available for sale. These animals were my favorite of all the critters Ive raised on the farm. Asking $1,300.

Goats - Pair of bottle-raised Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats (3 years old). The female has produced twins every 9 months, and lots of milk. Sale includes one of their daughters born this spring. Asking $500

Pigs - Gloucester Old Spots and Pot-Belly - I have two pink females of the Old Spot variety, one male Pot Belly who is really tame and friendly as he was raised in a house in the city for the beginning of his life. And two of their offspring (1 year old, and 3 months old). All trained to follow me around with feed, and are easy to move around the property. Asking $1,200 for all 5 pigs.

Dogs - Anatolian Shepards. I have a 2 year old female (fixed) I am reluctantly parting with. She comes from a line of working dogs and has spent all
her days protecting my flock and sleeping with the livestock. She is also trained to work on an overhead run-line. I bred her with my Poodle/German Shepard, and have held on to 2 of the puppies. They have spent their days guarding the livestock like mom. They are currently 9 months old. Asking $900 for the mom, $500 for each boy.

Horse - 3 year old Red Dun. Has been closely exposed to all of my various farm animals. I train her a little everyday. She has not been saddled or ridden yet. Asking $1,000

Llamas - family of 4.  *** sold

I am willing to split up some of the families if you are interested in one or two specific animals, we can work that out! Looking forward to sending these critters off to their next home!

I have 4 dogs, two of them are Anatolian Shepard LGDs. Two of them leave the property sometimes to go on long adventures, and two I can trust to stay here no matter what.

I've bread dogs for about 8 years now, and I've learned that there is a lot of variety that comes out of any given litter. Just because a dog is a certain breed doesn't mean that it will have certain behaviors.

I've noticed my dogs that run away are way more independent thinkers. They do not enjoy learning tricks and making their owner happy by studying me to see what I want. They are genuinely interested in protecting the property, but they want to do so in their own way. If that means exploring the nearby mountains then that's what they do. I really do not think this is something you can change with training, because they will start to sneak away when they think you are not looking. I do think training will minimize the frequency of off-property venturing.

So my advice is to get two more puppies. It's always better to raise two dogs at once. Don't let the older dog train the puppies to leave the property. Hopefully with the new puppies, at least one will remain on the property with no leash. Then the other dogs that like to run away can still be utilized in enclosed areas or on an overhead run. I've noticed that my dogs that do run away are also the ones who engage with predators in battle. They each have strengths and weaknesses that you can use to your advantage.