- They are used for breeding stock, cross-breeding stock, pack and
draught animals, wool, hide, milk and meat production.
- Yaks are very easy to fence, requiring no special consideration.
They are content in a small area and mix well with other livestock.
- They are very efficient food-converting animals and eat about half
of what an average beef animal does.
- They are browsers and grazers and do well on a variety of pastures
with no supplemental feed required. A mineral block and that is it.
- A mature yak can do well on as little as 6-10 pounds of grass hay
per day.
- They alternate their day between browsing and lying quietly chewing
their cud.
- They make a grunting sound when agitated, hungry, or calling their
young. Otherwise, they make no sound at all.
- Yaks are intelligent animals each with its own distinct personality.
They learn to come when called and have a highly developed sense of
sight and hearing.
- They make good watch dogs curiously investigating any activity in
their vicinity. They can be halter broken upon weaning and learn and
retain behaviors such as trailering, packing, pulling, and being groomed.
- Quiet and gentle, 500-600 pound yak cows make excellent packers.
- The soft under-hair of the Yak can be combed out in the spring. This
very fine hair with a short staple is cashmere-like and can be blended
with silk for easier spinning.
- Each yak can produce two to three pounds of under-hair which can sell
for up to $16 per ounce when spun.
- The coarser outer-hair can be woven into ropes, belts, or bags.
- With a dressing percentage of 45-55%, Yak meat is deep-red in color
with the fat located on the outside of the carcass where it can be easily
trimmed. This makes for low marbling which creates the meat's unique
tenderness.
- High in protein, with one sixth the fat of beef, Yak is of a quality
of excellence to be appreciated
- Yak milk is NOT pink. It is a rich creamy color with a high fat content
of 5-7 percent. Being so high in fat, it is usually processed into butter,
cheese, or yogurt.
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