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AdvertisementCouple raises yaks in Berthoud, ColoradoBERTHOUD, Colo. (AP)--When someone mentions yaks, thoughts surface of hardy, cold-weather animals helping Sherpas carry gear up Mount Everest--not grazers on land west of Berthoud. But if you think you spot the long-haired pack animals in the Colorado country, don't blame your glasses. Jason and Allison Gillette have started a yak herd on his parents' rural land--a herd they believe has a unique niche in a specialty market. "It's even better than we thought, especially all the interest,'' said Allison, who along with Jason is moving to Larimer County from Crested Butte this month. "Our neighbor has already asked if he can get one.'' She added, "It's definitely up and coming.'' The Gillettes started with three yaks--Max, Maddie and Maggie--and plan to expand. Eventually, they hope to sell babies, meat and specialty wool online and at farmers and wool markets. The smallest of the Gillettes' yaks, 6-month-old Maggie, hungrily accepted a plastic bottle of milk from Allison on a recent morning. When the woman reached down to stroke the black fur on her head, Maggie wasn't fazed; she kept eating. Her docility is one of the major differences between a yak and a cow, said Jason. In fact, the Gillettes continue to bottle-feed Maggie after she could have been weaned to make her more friendly, said Stephen Gillette, Jason's father. Even the two older yaks will come right up to Jason and Allison and eat treats from their hands. That will come in handy, they said, when the animals are older and the Gillettes harvest their specialty wool. The Gillettes' yaks are fairly small still, but will eventually reach between 600 and 1,300 pounds. When Jason went to a routine health fair in Crested Butte over a year ago, he was surprised to learn he was borderline for high cholesterol. Not wanting to give up red meat, Jason turned to the Internet to research low-fat, healthier options. There, he learned of a specialty meat popular in certain niches--yak meat. "The meat is good for you, and they don't need antibiotics,'' Jason said. "You can really control what you're taking into your body.'' At first, the couple planned to raise yaks for themselves, for meat, milk and cheese. But then Jason continued to research and met a yak breeder in Montrose who sells calves and meat. "He can't keep up,'' Jason said. So the young couple decided they would expand their herd and market meat, wool and eventually calves. The yaks they bought--among only about 10,000 in the United States--are domesticated versions of the wild yaks in Tibet. Those animals, true to stereotype, cannot survive for long below 14,000 feet, explained Jason. The yaks the Gillettes have, however, were crossbred with cattle. So while they prefer colder weather, the yaks can live happily in Colorado. "When it's warm, they eat more and go in the shade,'' Jason said. "In a blizzard, they just go outside and stand there.'' And the Gillettes--Jason and Allison and Stephen and his wife Katherine--are happy to have the yaks. Advertisement
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