Questions from Yahoo Yaks

Yahoo Yak Folks,

I can’t say how happy I am that  yakbreedersowners@yahoogroups.com got going! I wish this level of interaction existed when we started with yaks. I wish I could answer the questions concerning  health routines, vaccinations, and such definitively. If you come from a cattle perspective, you will find that there are more than a few points of view, from Joel Salatin, to my family in Montana (not homogenized at all), to the view point of those who manufacture vaccines. Vets are just as varied. We are working with a bovine that, in its native, domesticated state, has experienced little attention from schooled vets, let alone any injections. That said, we have a huge database and experience from the cattle men and women here on the North American Continent, not to mention the folks who raise native Bison. The important thing, in my opinion,  is the obligation we have to the yak’s genetic potential. For yaks to fully express that potential requires minimal interference from us. That doesn’t mean we should not care for, and ensure the health of, individual animals, but we should allow natural advantages of yak genetics to express their superiority over mass marketing power. For those of us committed to advancing the incredible potential of yaks, we must always ask. “How does this choice improve the yak?”

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