Turkeys roam free - under the watchful eye of ALPACAS

Daily Mail ^ | 25 November 2017 | Iain Burns

[mairdie]

A Berkshire turkey farm has recruited an elite team of security guards to protect its precious flock of birds in the run-up to Christmas.

King's Coppice Farm in Cookham Dean has 30,000 free-range turkeys, but has previously suffered hundreds of losses after foxes sneaked into their hutches - until the owner brought in some alpacas.

Managing director Tom Copas, 32, said foxes would leap over electric fences, evade armed men and dodge traps to get at their birds.

So, Copas told The Times, he had to take drastic measures - by adopting a couple of alpacas he named Sage and Onion.

Alpacas instinctively guard livestock and have been used for the purpose by farmers in South America for centuries.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Glanced at the title and first thought it said Al’s packin.

[mairdie]

Turkeys roam free under the watchful eye of Al’s packin.

That would be like Clinton, maybe, and Al Gore?

What other possible interpretations?

[niteowl77]

mortar of clay and horse dung

Horse manure was an approved contractor's material in those days- it was used well into the 19th Century as one component of a mixture to stop boiler leaks.

One suspects that alpaca manure might have been just as effective.

Mr. niteowl77

[mairdie]

But to close the opening in wine storage? Even if it’s not touching the wine, it sounds awfully unsanitary.

Very interesting about the use to stop boiler leaks.

[niteowl77]

A whole lot of dots weren't connected in those pre-Pasteur days. One wonders if the alcohol in the wine made the mix a repulsive but ultimately harmless application...

Mr. niteowl77

[texas booster]

Add a donkey to your herd of cattle and sheep to keep coyotes away.

Coyotes are a big problem all over the West. Had a famous herd of longhorns near downtown Dallas repeatedly attacked until the owner sold them all, just because he didn't want to deal with donkeys.

[mairdie]

Grandfather's article on burros, since I have no idea what the difference is between donkeys and burros.

Jack Bell Tells of Traits of Queer Little Animal Which Aided Considerably in Development of This Great State of Nevada; Entire Country Under Burden of Debt To "Donk"

The West is under a heavy burden of debt to the burro - that little tragi-comedian of the desert, under whose ragged and motheaten exterior there lurk qualities that have endeared the faithful pack-bearer to every genuine prospector.

The burro is the most misunderstood of all animals, probably for the reason that nature has stacked the cards against him in giving him the outward semblance of a Punchinello. A clown may be a hero, but in the eyes of the world he must always be a clown first. The burro is the strongest (for his size), most faithful and an intelligent animal, yet it is reserved for him to be the butt of coarse-witted and to have neglect and cruelty heaped upon him in the fullest measure. ...

[Yaelle]

The famous pic of Al’s airbrushed chakra

[gov_bean_ counter]

Perfect.

[texas booster]

From TBN Ranch @ https://tbnranch.com/2012/01/13/donkey-ass-burro-mule-hinny-what-they-all-mean/

Burro: A word taken directly from Spain. It means the common, everyday working donkey found in Spain and Mexico. It came into usage in the Western United States. As a general rule, the term burro is heard West of the Mississippi and the term Donkey, east of the Mississippi. Burro is not appropriate for use in referring to Miniature Donkeys or Jackstock.

[MarkL]

I wonder what the alpacas and turkeys think of one another. They seem willing to stand very close.

I couldn't begin to guess, but in an article I read years ago, where sheep herders who brought in llamas to protect their sheep against coyotes were interviewed, said the llamas seem to look upon the sheep as "their dim-witted, little cousins."

Mark