Electric Fencing Options: Goats are climbers, so you need tall, high tensile fences to keep them contained.What You Sell: Milk, cheese, meat, goat rentals (for foliage control), soap.
Yes, they’ll pay you to let your goats eat!
The goats will clear out heavy patches of vegetation. Gaining organic certification for your goat products will enhance your sales even more.Ī special sub-benefit of goats is that you can even rent them out to property owners. Beyond that, goat milk and cheese are considered a healthy alternative to offerings from dairy cattle. Here in North America, goat meat is still a bit of an oddity, but it’s catching on fast and there’s a big demand from ethnic markets. First off, know that 65% of the red meat consumed globally is goat meat. 3 – Goatsīelieve it or not, the market for goat products are on the upswing. Not only can you sell their meat and milk, but they can also be rented out for weed and foliage control. In this way you will gain a better perspective of the Maremma Sheepdog and its needs and whether this breed would suit your lifestyle.Goats offer plenty of income opportunities for a smart hobby farmer. They will be able to give you information about available puppies and also suggest dog shows where you can see the breed and speak to breeders. Before you make a decision, please make contact with the breed club or your State controlling body for purebred dogs. Now you know a little about the Maremma Sheepdog you may have think that this is the dog for you. This is best done from the beginning by an experienced Maremma breeder. The breed has a natural instinct to protect, but any puppy needs guidance and training to learn what not to do. The breed is probably best suited to rural properties and hobby farms, or to people who can take their dogs everywhere. However, all of the things that make the breed a great stock guardian can make it problematic as a backyard pet. The Maremma Sheepdog is loving and loyal and has a curious habit of ‘smiling’ at its owner. The breed’s life span is usually 12 to 14 years. Should the breed’s nose be lacking in good pigmentation, the Maremma has been known to experience skin cancer. Healthīeing a working dog still closely linked to its Italian history, the Maremma Sheepdog is usually quite a sound breed with no real breed specific health problems. The coat is usually straight but may have a slight wave. The Maremma Sheepdog has a thick, long, double coat which lies flat to the body with feathering on the tail and the back of the legs. The nose and eyelids should always be black to protect them from the sun. No other colours are permitted, although a biscuit colour around the ears and tail is acceptable. In order to easily differentiate the breed from predators, Maremma Sheepdogs only come in white. Females are slightly smaller, weighing between 30 and 40 kg and reaching up to 68cm in height. The Maremma Sheepdog is a large, strong breed, with males standing up to 73 cm at the shoulder and weighing between 35 and 45 kg. The Maremma Sheepdog also bonds very closely with its flock or family and the breed is not happy if left home alone. This can be a problem in suburban areas where the breed has been known to become a nuisance barker. More importantly, the breed is wary of strangers and suspicious of odd noises and anything unusual.
It is aloof and independent, so training, although not impossible, can be a challenge. While the Maremma Sheepdog is not an aggressive breed, if a predator persists, it will protect its flock by force. The breed’s first response is to put itself between the predator and the flock and bark and sometimes charge at the threat. The Maremma Sheepdog does this by territorial marking, warning barks and, when required, by displaying protective behaviours. Characteristicsĭespite the name Sheepdog, the breed is not used for rounding up sheep, but protecting them, or whatever stock they are bonded with, by living with them and keeping predators at bay. In Australia, the breed can be found on rural properties protecting all sorts of livestock, ranging from sheep and goats to alpaca and even poultry. It is sometimes know as the Maremmano-Abruzzi after the regions of Italy where it was originally found. The Maremma Sheepdog is traditionally a livestock guardian dog, originating in Italy, where it has been used for thousands of years to protect flocks from predators, particularly wolves.
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