Trip to the Vermont Yak Company

On Tuesday, May 19, I drove to the Vermont Yak Company in Waitsfield, Vt. to see the yaks. I've been talking about raising them but have never actually seen one. I arrived about 11:00 and walked around looking for Rob Williams who was to meet me. I didn't see him and I didn't see any yaks, though the Green Mountains were lovely.

Like in most of New England, this farm has lots of water.

Rob arrived and began by taking me to see his two bottle babies, just removed from their mother to be hand raised and tamed.

And this is Tashi, last year's bottle baby. He was certainly tame.

This is the main herd of yaks, some with babies. They don't come close and don't want to be handled. With those horns, they'll get their wish.

I resisted the impulse to take Vermont scenery photos but when I saw this young female moose alongside the highway, I couldn't resist. I only got a moment to snap her picture and then she joined a large male in the woods. The yak farm has recently had trouble with a moose breaking down their fencing. This young moose-girl made me wonder: If a male moose is a bull, a female is a cow and a baby is a calf, is this young lady a heifer? I don't think so!

If you want a scenic ride through rural Vermont, try route 100. This is a sample. Below is a video clip taken by the Vermont Yak Company of baby Tashi (seen above) when he was a baby running and playing with Rob's daughter. I found it quite charming and one of the reasons I thought yaks would be wonderful:



And a short clip which I took of the Vermont Herd on Tuesday: