Protecting the herd
Sheep and lambs in particular have always been a farmyard favorite, during the spring hundreds of people flock to farms around the UK to witness lambing days which are an event held so that everyone can see now born lambs enter the world. Sheep have always been valuable to us and not just because they are so cute to look at, sheep have been a livestock animal since the early ages of man and during that time we have come up with a number of ways to protect our fleecy friends. Some of these methods have been nicer than others but some of the most effective methods we humans have used over the years have involved having other animals protect our sheep for us so with spring fast approaching I thought it would be a good time to introduce everyone to some of sheepkind’s best protectors.
The protector most people familiar with farms will know is the Sheepdog, the classic sheepdog most will know is the border collie but other breeds also play this role including the Bearded Collie, Welsh sheepdog and the German Shepherd.
A faithful companion the sheepdog helps its human to keep control of his sheep, this protects the sheep from themselves. Sheep tend to frighten easy and run when scared, even the slowest sheep can give a farmer a run for his money if he tries to catch them, this is because of a survival mechanism sheep have evolved “if it's scary RUN!!” this can help them get away from predators but can be a nuisance on a farm. Uncontrollable sheep can be left out in the cold when night falls leaving them defenceless against the cold of winter which has claimed many sheep in the past. These sheep are also vulnerable to predators as they can't be moved into the safety of barns, so a sheepdog that can bring these flocks under control is able provide some of the best protection a farmer can give.
But there are other breeds dogs which you might not be familiar with who spend their lives protecting their wooly charges and these dogs are known as the LGD or Livestock Guardian Dogs.
These are breeds that are used for the protection of sheep and other herd animals, the way they differ from other sheep dogs like German shepards is that these dogs protect the herd by becoming a full time member of the herd. There are many breed of dog which hold the title of LGD and a few might be recognised such as the Komondor or the mop hair dog as many know it. If you look at these breed they are all very similar in appearance, they all have thick white fur and floppy ears they were bred this way in an attempt to help them blend in to the herd making them harder for predators to notice and easier for the sheep to accept as one of them.
LGD’s live as a member of the herd constantly watching for possible predators, if one does show its face then the LGD will jump into action. By barking and growling the dog will attempt to drive away the predator an if that doesn't work they will engage it in combat, but usually the presence and smell of the LGD will be enough to keep the predators at bay. One of the amazing things about LGD’s is that they usually don't kill the predators that threaten their flocks, this eventually conditions them to hunt other prey that isn't well guarded like local wildlife, effectively training predators not to bother livestock in the future.
It may sound like these amazing dogs live a very secluded life when compared to a normal sheepdog but don't worry they are not abandoned by their owners. A LGD is the result of daily training and handling from their owner and it takes years before a dog is considered reliable enough to be left alone with the herd, and it is common that more than two dogs will protect the same herd so the LGD has a partner to watch his back.
It's not just dogs that have been used to protect the herd, goats have been used in the past a famous case of this most will know about is the Fainting goats. Before they were a vital sensation Fainting goats were used as decoys, if a predator attacks the herd the goat will freeze drawing the attention of the predator away from the sheep and toward the goat, the goat would then be taken allowing the predator to be fed and the herd unharmed a win win situation. For everyone but the goat that is, thankfully this use of the goats has fallen out of practice.
But the position of sheep guardian is not only filled by Dogs, Llamas and alpacas have been used to protect flocks in the US. much like the LGD the guard Llama protects its flock by joining and living it's whole life as a member of the flock. This may sound like it would be less effective than a dog, Which can speak the language of wolves and other canine predators and even has the bite to back up its bark, but you can't argue with results. In a study it was found farmers who used guard llamas noticed a drop in livestock lost due to predation which fell from 21% to 7% and in other studies the presence of a guard llama caused the number of livestock taken by predators to be stopped all together.
If you'd like to learn more about these topics i have left some references below to get you started
Franklin, W. L., Powell, K. J., & Edwards, E. H. (1994). Guard llamas: a part of integrated sheep protection. Iowa State University.
Green, J. S., & Woodruff, R. A. (1990). Livestock guarding dogs: protecting sheep from predators. Agriculture information bulletin (USA).