Indian Mixed Species Backyard Acreage???

Sarus Crane

Sarus Crane

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
So I am hoping one day to have have a big field exhibit of Indian hoofstock & large birds as my backyard, kinda like the big Asian field paddock at Disney's Animal Kingdom except that the animals won't be able to become invisible by going over a hill. I am planning on including the following species:

1.3 Gaur (Bos gaurus)
1.3 Barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii)
1.1 Sarus Crane (Grus antigone)
1.1 Bar Headed Goose (Anser indicus)
1.1 Red Crested Pochard (Netta rufina)
1.1 Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
1.2 Blue Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)

I plan on having a holding area and barn for the Gaur like the Toronto Zoo's Indian Rhinoceros pavilion, but scaled down a little with a stall for the cows and a smaller one for the bull. The deer might need just a holding yard. I'm planning on living in the South where it doesn't get too hot or too cold. In terms of the Chronic Wasting Disease that says you can't have cervids such as Barasingha, I 'm planning on either becoming an AZA partner or getting a permit to have them and the Gaur. How many acres would you suggest at a minimum? I'm not looking to go all out like San Diego or Lion Country Safari but would like to give the animals an adequate amount of space with large trees and tall grasses to give a sense of being in their native habitat along with a water-type moat. I'm using Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh as my inspiration.

I also hope to have some space for a pumpkin patch and garden to grow crops and create revenue for the property. This way I can save money on groceries and get money in when I invite people to pick out pumpkins for Halloween. Also once I get established (if it ever happens) I may invite school groups out to see the wildlife and create more revenue that way. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. I just figured if ordinary people can afford to live on a farm, why not focus on exotics like the exotic Texas ranches??? Since exotics are usually hardier than domestic livestock, it seems like a reasonable and cool idea right?
 
Sarus Crane said:
So I am hoping one day to have have a big field exhibit of Indian hoofstock & large birds as my backyard, kinda like the big Asian field paddock at Disney's Animal Kingdom except that the animals won't be able to become invisible by going over a hill. I am planning on including the following species:

1.3 Gaur (Bos
1.3 Barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii)
1.1 Sarus Crane (Grus antigone)
1.1 Bar Headed Goose (Anser indicus)
1.1 Red Crested Pochard (Netta rufina)
1.1 Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
1.2 Blue Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)

I plan on having a holding area and barn for the Gaur like the Toronto Zoo's Indian Rhinoceros pavilion, but scaled down a little with a stall for the cows and a smaller one for the bull. The deer might need just a holding yard. I'm planning on living in the South where it doesn't get too hot or too cold. In terms of the Chronic Wasting Disease that says you can't have cervids such as Barasingha, I 'm planning on either becoming an AZA partner or getting a permit to have them and the Gaur. How many acres would you suggest at a minimum? I'm not looking to go all out like San Diego or Lion Country Safari but would like to give the animals an adequate amount of space with large trees and tall grasses to give a sense of being in their native habitat along with a water-type moat. I'm using Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh as my inspiration.

I also hope to have some space for a pumpkin patch and garden to grow crops and create revenue for the property. This way I can save money on groceries and get money in when I invite people to pick out pumpkins for Halloween. Also once I get established (if it ever happens) I may invite school groups out to see the wildlife and create more revenue that way. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. I just figured if ordinary people can afford to live on a farm, why not focus on exotics like the exotic Texas ranches??? Since exotics are usually hardier than domestic livestock, it seems like a reasonable and cool idea right?
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I suggest you increase the waterfowl, six birds isn't going to be enough of a supporting cast for the hoofstock. You could add small groups of Comb Duck, Ruddy Shelduck, Spotbill and Fulvous Whistling Duck to create more of an Indian wetland atmosphere. Red Junglefowl and Kalij would also be nice.
 
FBBird said:
I suggest you increase the waterfowl, six birds isn't going to be enough of a supporting cast for the hoofstock. You could add small groups of Comb Duck, Ruddy Shelduck, Spotbill and Fulvous Whistling Duck to create more of an Indian wetland atmosphere. Red Junglefowl and Kalij would also be nice.
Click to expand...
That's a great idea! Hopefully the Gaur nearby would discourage predators like coyotes and raccoons from trying to access the waterfowl.
 
FBBird said:
No they won't. You need predator proof fencing or all your birds will get killed.
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8ft welded wire with an electric component? Also, would the Gaur tolerate the Sarus Cranes in their same yard? Or would you have to introduce the Gaur last to the exhibit?
 
Sarus Crane said:
8ft welded wire with an electric component? Also, would the Gaur tolerate the Sarus Cranes in their same yard? Or would you have to introduce the Gaur last to the exhibit?
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I've no experience with Gaur. However, cranes with hoofstock is generally a bad idea.
 
What you plan to do is actually perfectly attainable by a private individual! However if I may suggest swapping out the Gaur and deer with Water Buffalo and blackbuck or nilgai, you will have a much easier time achieving your goals. While there are a small amount of Gaur and deer in private hands, they would be a considerably harder to acquire.
 
Hyak_II said:
What you plan to do is actually perfectly attainable by a private individual! However if I may suggest swapping out the Gaur and deer with Water Buffalo and blackbuck or nilgai, you will have a much easier time achieving your goals. While there are a small amount of Gaur and deer in private hands, they would be a considerably harder to acquire.
Click to expand...
I knew that there are lots of surplus Barasinghas on private hunting ranches that are often sold for about $300/hind, $400+/stag but I thought that Gaur were pretty much only in AZA institutions. Please PM me for info on what ranches & farms raise/sell Gaur if you know of any as it isn't allowed publicly on the forums. Thanks for your help. Also, I found this list of the mammals that can live with Gaur from the AZA mixed species manual. You can find the full manual on the AZA Ungulates website.
Gaur AZA Compatible Species.JPG
 
If you want a cheap, easy to manage backyard with all the species you listed, just move to the Indian grasslands and build a house :p

All jokes aside, I hope you manage to accomplish this. I can’t really offer much help but maybe if you want cranes and gaur near the same area without any issue you could make invisible barriers like other zoos do. Or maybe depending how large the space is, you could let them coexist with no issue like the African animals of the safari park in San Diego. But that’s just me though.
 
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