The Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-03-17, Page 61FARM
P -
Llama is novelty and predator controller
•t'rom page 4a
May.
"1 bought it as a novelty for the
kids," he said. Mr. Baker has three
children, Racheal, Rebekah and
Benjamin. Racheal .is the oldest at
about four -years -old.
But he didn't just buy it for the
kids;. he said he also bought it for
predator control to help the donkey
he already has.
"I lost some sheep to wolves a
few years ago," tie said,• so he
bought a donkey to help chase
away animals like wolves or stray
dogs.
He said the llama is supposed to
do the same thing. If a dog got into
the field and was after one of his
goats, the llama is supposed to
.chase the dog away.
When he first got the llama, Mr.•
Baker would tether him close to
where he was working on the farm.
He said he made it a point to talk
to. the llama when he passes by to
get him •used to being around
people.
"I had him in the barn in the
winter and fed him by hand." said
Mr. .Baker who kept the llama
inside for the first couple of month
of winters: •
Now, Jeremy is back in the field's
and Mr. Baker said he can still feed
him by hand. '
Before this; the llama was shy
and wasn't like. his daughter
Racheal's buddies. .
Several of the -sheep; goats and
cattle are "buddies" to Racheal. She
calls them that because she can
walk up and pet them.
When Racheal was a baby, Mr.
Baker - said they would have- her
outside' and one of the,.goats would
.hang around her stroller all the
time.
Even the pot-bellied pigs are.
friendly.
The two pigs that roam the barn
yard are like pets. Mr. Baker said
they can even behouse-trained. and
kept inside like pet dogs•but he still
keeps them outside: •
"With three kids and a dog, we
don't need a pig in. the house," he
said.
The female pig is the most tame
andlikes to have .its belly rubbed;
something • Racheal . is more than
willing to accommodate..
Although the animals are
somewhat unusual, they are' still
farm animals and are raised that
•way. The animals live off the land
and Mr. Baker grows hay, for them.
on part of the 30 acres he's cleared.
He said the Nubian goats are not
that uncommon and, similar to the
sheep and cattle, are hardier
Ag Canada's
predictions
animals that are better suitedcto the
more rugged land on his farm.
The rest of the cleared land, not
used for growing hay, is pasture
where the ' cattle graze in one
fenced -off field while the sheep,
goats and llama graze in another.
Because they are hardier, most of
the animals stay outdoors for the
winter and don't need to be housed
in huge barns.
The rest of his land is bush and
the animals can use it for shelter in
the winter.
Slowly, Mr. Baker is getting the
bush area thinned out. There is a lot
of undergrowth and he said he's
fenced off sections of the bush to
let the sheep and goats graze.
They have cleared out a lot of the
gndergrowth, including poison ivy,
Taking it easier for Mr. Baker to
work in the bush, cutting cedar for
things like fence posts or the chairs
and picnic tables he's made.
He said the animals clear out
areas of growth up to about four
feet high and in the fall he lets the
cattle roam through part of the
bush, breaking down some of the
lower branches. •
Little by little, the thick
underbrush is being cleared out and
the bush is beginning to look like a
park.
Mr. Baker grew up on a farm
near Tiverton with beef and dairy.
cattle and bought his own farm in
1986.
He started out with three Nubian
goats and some chickens. Each year
he would buy a new billy goat to
breed more.
He said the numbers increased
fast because Nubian goats generally
have twins.
The next year he purchased two
of the highland cattle and for the
next few years, would buy more
animals as he could afford it.
Recently, two Scottish Highland
calves have been born.
He purchases the animals in
various places including an auction
sale in Barrie and a place near
Niagara Falls.
Most of the goats and sheep are
sold and sent to Kitchener or
Toronto for food but some animals
even get sold!i for pets.
Half his cattle are registered at
the' Livestock Registry in Ottawa
where the lineage of the cattle is
kept on record for the buying and
selling of the animals.
Aside from his "exotic" farm
animals, Mr. Baker also has
"regular" ' farm animals like
chickens, rabbits, and geese; all of
which keep him busy when he's not
working 12 -hour shifts at hydro.
With so much on the go he said,
"I•. can just come out in a day and
pick what I want to start Working
at. •
Farm, Cash Receipts
• 'In 1993; total cash receipts are
expected to decrease between zero
and eight per cent to from between
$21.4 to $233 billion.
• In 1993, program payments are
expected to decrease slightly to
'between $2.6 and $3.6 billion. Most
of the decrease is attributed to the
completion of. FSAM I and 1I.
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