Yaklady - Please Tell Us About Yaks!

[Yaklady]

Yaklady, thank you for the through reply. I have just read it to my husband and we thought it sounded quite interesting. We have just moved onto 8 acres and are preparing for our first portion of pasture and have been thinking of cattle or goats but these sound so much more interesting. We do have quite a few spinners around here too who might go for the wool. How do you plan to sell your wool?

My husband asks what kind of fences do you need to keep a yak in? Do you supplement feed at all? What kind of pasture do they like? Any good Yak books around?

Perhaps its no coincidence that we live in Idaho, elevation 6,000 ft and very cold and windy in the winter. Can you tell me who you purchased from? PM me if you like. They sound just perfect for this environment.... but those horns! they aren't dangerous or mean are they... thy don't sound like it from what you wrote.

BYW my husband says that a steer is a a boy yak with his nuts cut off, but maybe we don't know much about Yaks.

You guys sound like me and my husband did when we first got our yaks. The puns never end. LOL!

I'll try to answer your questions. Please keep in mind that we yakkers are learning as we go along, so whatever info I give you is based on my own experiences, and experiences of others who currently have yaks.

Yaks do very well in Idaho. Most of the yaks in the USA right now are located in Idaho, CO, Montana, etc. The nake of the man who I bought my Idaho yaks from is Phil Wykle. I'm sure if you google Wykle Yak Idaho, it will pop up. He's an older, adorable man who has a huge ranch, and has been raising yaks for years. He actually used to be the President of IYAK. Mr. Wykle can no longer get around quite as much as he used to, and the girls we bought from him are much more wild in nature than the ones we bought from the ranch in Wisconsin. If you buy babies, though, they will be young enough to tame. I strongly recommend finding someone who is willing to pull some calves at around 12 hours old. That way, they have enough time to get some colostrom, but not enough time to really bond with their mother. I've met a few babies that were pulled in this manner, and they're like little pussycats. My little Bayak was pulled at 3 weeks old and took to me quite well. Even though, he is still very stubborn and spirited.

Yes, those horns are dangerous! Mr. Wykle himself spent some time in the hospital after underestimating the fierce protective nature of a new mother. He also lost a horse to a yak's horns. Just use caution and commom sense. They give many signals before they charge.

As far as selling wool, I haven't given it much thought yet. I just know that there's such a high demand for it that I won't have to try too hard.

Yes, a steer is a bull who has been castrated. LOL! No one knows yet if it really makes a difference in meat quality, or in temperament. We castrated a couple, and didn't castrate the rest. We'll see as time goes by whether or not it makes a difference.

Hope this helps!

 

[Yaklady]

Oh! Fences. Our property was a horse farm prior to us buying it. It was already set up with 3-rail split rail fencing. That works just fine. They are not fence testers. The babies will go anywhere they want, and will step right through the rails. They won't go too far away from their mothers, though. All I have to do is step outside and shout, "Hey! Get back over there to your mother!" And they do.

 

[valmom]

As far as selling wool, I haven't given it much thought yet. I just know that there's such a high demand for it that I won't have to try too hard.

Maybe in the spring you could market it to us fiber fanatics here?

 

[Yaklady]

Sure, Valmom. I'll let you know when I've got it brushed out. Then I've got to send it somewhere to be carded, or whatever the heck that's called. You know what? There's a new yak ranch in Vermont. If you're really interested in fibre, you might give them a shout. All I know about them is that it was a group of several people who partnered up to buy a farm and stock it with yak. They're doing quite well from what I hear. I'll try to find out contact info and send it to you. Oh! Just found it: http://www.vermontyak.com/

 

[vaill]

So a yak probably wouldn't do well in HOT Texas would it?

Do they eat hay ?
Linda in e. Tex.

 

[Mackay]

Hi Yaklady, hope you find your way to this thread again.

We are getting ready to plant pasture now. Won't be buying any animals until probably next year as we establish the grass.

I am still thinking a lot about Yak. My neighbor said she saw a yearling breeding pair for sale on Crags list in Shoshone Idaho for $500 each. I wish we were ready now!

I have more questions. When I told my son about Yaks he got insistant that they are very smelly animals. Can you clarify that?

I had read that they only eat grass or hay then one site I went to said that they were feeding them barley in the winter. So which way is it? Do you feed yours grain?

Do folks cut their horns for safety ever?

Thanks