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More About Yaks pages 1 | 2 | Yaks Video Ancestral yak herds are found throughout the Himalayas, as well as, parts of China and Mongolia. They are prized for their fiber, gentle nature, ability to serve as both as draft and pack animals, milk, and high protein content of their meat. Yaks were imported into Europe from Tibet in the mid-1800’s. From Scotland and Germany, they were shipped to Canada and the United States in the early 1900’s. There are now 3,000 domestic yaks in North America. The yak’s soft under-hair is very fine and similar to cashmere in terms of its warmth and softness. Two to three pounds of under-hair per yak can be combed out each spring. The coarser, outer-hair can be woven into ropes, belts, or bags. The coarse yak hair is also the official “hair fiber” of clowns belonging to the US American Professional Clown Association. The coarse outer-hair is used for the clown’s wild red, orange, and green hair pieces. Yaks have strong herd instincts and like to do everything together - stand, run, eat, drink, and sleep. When threatened by local coyotes or mountain lions, our adults form a circle, with their horns pointed outward and place the nursing cows, calves and juveniles in the center to protect them. At night, they form a similar circle of protection. During severe cold weather, they huddle for warmth, pressing so close together that the condensation from their breath rises as a dense column of steam - making it easy to identify where they are on the ranch. Adult yak cows range in weight from 600 to 800 pounds and stand 4 feet 6 inches at the shoulders, while yak bulls range from 900 to 1200 pounds and stand 5 feet 6 inches at the shoulders. Our primary breeding bull, King, is a 4 year old Black and is a mate to our 40 plus yak cows. Two other Black bulls, Number 33 and Number 58, are eager to help with the breeding duties when King is inattentive. Yaks bulls can breed with beef cows to produce cross-bred offspring that result in leaner, healthier meat. Peter likes to honk his truck horn when he has grain or alfalfa to feed them. When they hear the horn, the herd comes stampeding toward him from as much as a mile away. The earth shakes under their feet and a cloud of dust marks their route as they rush to get the treat that has just been laid on the ground. See the Hang Belly Yak stampede video! |