At Green Cedars Farm we utilize Livestock Guardian Dogs to prevent predation by coyotes, foxes, raccoons, bald eagles, hawks and other predators. Initially, we incorporated donkeys to protect our sheep, but we quickly found that while the donkeys were very effective against coyotes, they did not perceive other predators as a threat – particularly bald eagles. We lost eight lambs the first season to bald eagle predation. Once we identified the problem with the help of a professional trapper, we introduced livestock guardian dogs. (The dogs do not kill the bald eagles, they just bark at any bird that flies over and discourage them from landing – or catching lambs).
Name: Walker T.R. (Texas Ranger)
Born: 2008
Breed: Maremma mix
Job: Head of Farm Security
Our first dog was a four month old, inexperienced Maremma cross puppy that we named Walker, T.R. The T.R. stands for Texas Ranger. Walker provided some security, but went through a stage where he would kill chickens when they got out of their assigned areas. I think he actually was trying to get them back into their pens, but didn’t know how to do this without killing them. We also had a series of dogs that didn’t work out for various reasons, including killing goats and chickens. Then we found Buck. Buck was living on a farm in Alabama with a flock of goats. The farmer said that the dog was free, but I had to buy all the goats to go with him. So, I did. Buck was very partial to the goats in our mixed sheep/goat flock. As we transitioned from mostly goats to mostly hair sheep, Buck lost some of his goat buddies but made new friends with the sheep (although he still has Santa Goat). He was maturing and also taking on more livestock guardianship characteristics. We have had no predation by coyotes or bald eagles since Buck moved in.
Name: Buck
Born: 2007
Breed: Great Pyrenees
Job: Head of Sheep Security
Buck and Walker make a good security combination. Buck is a 90 pound Great Pyrenees and is assigned to the most valued and/or most vulnerable livestock. Buck stays in the pasture that he is assigned. Walker, on the other hand, is smaller and can come and go under most of our gates and can react to threats anywhere on the farm. When out on the farm at night, it is almost eerie to suddenly become aware of Walker’s presence in the dark. He always shows up when I am out and about at night, indicating that he is aware of all that is going on around the farm during the hours of darkness. He doesn’t necessarily do this during daylight. In fact, during the day, all of our livestock guardian dogs appear to sleep all day. However, at night they are ever vigilant.
Name: Strider
Born: 2011
Breed: Great Pyrenees
Job: Lamb Securitry
Our newest security asset is Strider, a Great Pyrenees puppy. Strider was placed in a pen with a group of weanling lambs to bond. The lambs were not aggressive, nor were they big enough to physically hurt Strider. After less than a week, they were seen sleeping together and hanging out together. With this bonding during the critical socialization stage between 8-12 weeks, we expect Strider to be closer bonded with the sheep than either of the other guardian dogs. As we wean more lambs, Strider’s flock will grow and we will eventually allow him and his flock out into increasingly larger paddocks. Strider’s parents are rather large and we expect him to mature at over 100 pounds. Buck and Walker aren’t sure what to expect from the new puppy, but they have been mostly accepting.
