AMHERST FARMERS' MARKET
  • Home
  • Marketblog
  • Products
  • Sponsors
  • Vendors
  • Contact & Application Info
  • Home
  • Marketblog
  • Products
  • Sponsors
  • Vendors
  • Contact & Application Info
Search

Little White Goat Dairy - "Livestock Labor Force"

10/30/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
Little White Goat Dairy (LWGD) has been a member of the Amherst Farmers' Market for several years now and what a wonderful addition they, and their offerings, have been! A little history/story about LWGD and their reliable workers; their livestock guardian dogs!

"Our farm is graced by Pearl (black dog in photos) and Buck (tricolor in photos), our livestock guardian dogs. We got Pearl as a 6 year old who'd lived with goats her entire life. Her trip to our farm was only the second time she had been in a car!
She is a Maremma/Karakachan cross. Maremma are an Italian breed with records of them back into the Roman Empire. Karakachan, from Bulgaria, are even older, beginning in Thrace and early Greek civilization.

We were so impressed with Pearl's bear and coyote chasing, and her calm devotion to the herd, we brought in Buck, a purebred Karakachan puppy. It was fascinating to watch Pearl teach him how to be a good guardian. And her stern lessons on how not to be bad were impressive. They need to be calm around the livestock by day, and be vigilant by night.
We have acclimated them to people and they are very happy to greet visitors to the farm store. (Human visitors. Other dogs are considered threats to their herd, so do come visit without your dogs). So are, much to our surprise, birds of prey. No hawk is carrying off a goat, and someday Buck will figure out that robins aren't going to either.

They will patrol the perimeter and chase away predators. They do not pursue in order to attack. After the threat has been moved off, they head back to their posts at the barn. It's been great for the goats to not be shut in behind locked doors overnight.

They are totally different than the house dogs we've had. They live outdoors year round. They are innately independent and extremely intelligent. This combination makes for the ability to perform their duties without human guidance, but... they are not in the least bit interested in learning standard dog commands. Buck kinda sorta knows "sit" and "come" . Pearl, no way.

The remarkable thing is how rarely they require human direction. They know their job and take the responsibility very seriously. With great personality and temperaments they have earned our greatest respect and our deepest affection....which leads us to the new puppy, Otto!"

​Come to the AFM tomorrow/Saturdays and see and stock up on the fruits of their labor!

1 Comment
Sabira karim link
5/24/2023 11:09:35 pm

I want a live got

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    AFM Marketblog

    Bringing you organic, grass-fed, pasture-raised, locally-sourced blog posts on a semi-weekly basis from the Amherst Farmers' Market.

    Join the conversation and like us on Facebook!

    Archives

    December 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    July 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2014
    April 2014
    June 2011
    September 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009

    categories...

    All
    Amen
    Chase Hill
    Dan Pratt
    Genuine Enthusiasm
    Golden Days
    Hope
    Instruction
    Justamere Tree Farm
    Knowledge
    Lobbying
    New Market Blog!
    News
    Parking
    Planting
    Public Radio
    Radish
    Recipe
    Spring Plants
    Sunbow
    Video

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Marketblog
  • Products
  • Sponsors
  • Vendors
  • Contact & Application Info