How many elk do you have?
Currently, we farm a herd of between 20 and 40 elk. We generally have more cows than bulls (roughly twice as many).

What is a wapiti?
"Wapiti" is a Shawnee word meaning "white rump" and is often used synonymously with the word "elk". The scientific name for elk is Cervus elaphus. Elk are the second largest member of the deer family, smaller only than moose.

Where do the elk live on your farm?
The elk live on approximately 20 fenced acres separated into six pastures. The pastures range in size from a quarter acre corral area to a single pasture of roughly 9 acres of field and woodland. Most of the pastures have a combination of trees and grassy area. The elk live within this part of the farm fenced with 8-foot, high-tensile strength steel game fencing with posts 20 foot apart.

Do the elk come inside for the winter?
Our elk stay outside all the time, regardless of the weather. (They really don't like coming in to the barn). We provide them shelter in the trees during the heat of the summer, but in winter, they grow heavy coats that protect them from the subzero temperatures we get in New Hampshire.

The only time they come inside is to be handled for vet work or loaded for market. For that, we have devised a system of 16-foot wide raceways within the fenced areas that lead to the handling facility in the main barn. We can push the elk along the raceways into the handling facility where we have a series of push gates, slide gates and squeezes to safely hold the animals. We work to maintain the raceways to minimize damage from elk hooves that can create erosion problems.

Do they ever get out of the fenced-in area?
We have never had an elk escape, but we've had a couple close calls when large trees have fallen on the fence during severe storms. Some quick work with a chain saw and fence repair saved the day. If one were to escape, we would try to get it back, enticing it with feed and its natural desire to rejoin the herd.