It’s pretty crazy how he can name all these birds, their social cliques and their family trees. I just see chicken, weird chicken, fast ducks, and slow ducks.
Former zookeeper here with a few suggestions for your cattle interactions: 1) I would start bringing a stiff stick out with you, as you interact with the cattle (*this is not for hitting*). What the stick is for, is to help give you a safe extension to your arm, so you can direct the cattle, ask for more space, etc, while you’re able to stay a safe distance from the horns. You would need to spend a far bit of time with them and the stick to allow them to understand that the stick is safe, you are safe, and the stick means nothing besides being an extension of your arm. 2) Just like Kurt Cobain, you will want to start directing the cattle as to whose turn it is. It is absolutely appropriate to let Kurt Cobain know that you are in charge-if you want to give treats to Anne Shirley, you’re gonna give Anne Shirley treats, and you can ask Kurt to back up and wait, using your stick as an extension of your arm. Your lady cows will appreciate you telling Kurt to quit bossing them. You will become a safe person to them, someone that they have protection and positive associations with. 3) you’re doing a great job letting your cattle know you’re good and safe! Now it’s time to enforce a little law and order, and make sure the herd dynamics while getting treats is fair and calm.
And to add to be clear, this isn’t to say you can’t hand feed, pet, and do all the things-but there are plenty of times you’ll need to “say something” to a bovine that is either out of reach, or acting too feisty for comfort. The stick allows for more precision and distance in the cues you give them.
This comment right here. If Morgan continues treating them like big puppies , he is going to lose an eye or he is going to lose a cow to the bull goring it.
Spanky stick! That's what Lester at Ima Survivor Sanctuary threaten to get & actually uses with his cattle. Obviously he doesn't hit them with it. It's just a way of talking to your animals in a fashion, body language, that they can understand easier. Unfortunately Lester has to also explain that every time he threatens to get it out or actually uses it. Probably because his family calls the tool a spanky stick. It's just what his family has always called it.
Morgan seems to have very mild cat allergy, because I never seen him even sneeze, when he interacts with his cats~ My mother, on the other hand, can smell a cat even if it hasn't been living at a house for couple of weeks, and she's allergic to the point of suffocation, if stayed at that house - we rented an apartment for a holiday... and relocated immediately when we confirmed the owner had a cat, because those couple of days were torture for her, she couldn't even sleep. My brother is also allergic but milder. It's really a pity, since I absolutely *adore* cats! 😩
@@BLAQFiniks i find different cats have different allergenic profiles. My yellow tabby is horrible, but my very allergic mom can snuffle my tortie without a problem
@@rebeccaburrow7199 yes, I heard that to be the case with some^^ but to my mum it seems to not matter; she's been exposed to different cats throughout her life... and every cat had the same effect~
Yeah it turns out Ginnie is a good buddy for him. Pablo is as Pablo as ever. But he ain’t a shoulder cat. A fence post cat. A dog food cat. But not a shoulder cat.
The doghouse is perfectly big enough for both dogs - as a child, we had two large great danes, and 2 giant doghouses (probably each a bit smaller in square footage than Toby's). And without fail, both dogs would go into one house and leave the other vacant, and there was still enough room for me to climb in with them at age 5. ☺
My wheaten terrier was an indoor dog but had a crate he liked a lot. One time we babysitting & dog sitting. I still don't get how that big crate held a 55 lb terrier, a shi tzu, a nine year old & a 5 year old. Yes the door still closed too. I know because I came up & locked them in when they weren't looking. That lasted just long enough for them to open it ten seconds later.
I had the male father who made his male son sit out in the snow even though there was room for both in the heated doghouse. I think it is always smart to watch and be sure all needs to succeed are met. All experiences are different.
Keep bees cold until queen starts laying eggs for new generation, around beginning of February. Bees will reduce metabolism and eat less if kept cold, this will prevent pooping inside hive = healthier hive. Keeping bees too warm (and wet) is one of main beginner mistakes. P.S. -20C is noting to bees, we get -30 here and my bees only have light insulation till end of January.
7:17 It's not twice the work. It's like three times the work to train two at the same time. One at a time is definitely the way to go with work dogs. And yes, an older trained dog will end up being a huge help in training a puppy.
I always secured my younger boy a short distance away while I worked with my older girl and he’d watch us the whole way through. Eventually became I became proficient enough to train both at the same time, but they are both little ‘uns (jack russells.) Big dogs are quite a bit more challenging! Esp if they can reach the treat pouch on your waistband! 😆
I think the runner ducks are hilarious to watch. I've never seen a duck stand up so straight. 😂 With the pig hooves you just want to be careful because sometimes hooves and antler chews can break teeth depending on how aggressively they chew on things. Toby has such a soft mouth that I'd be surprised if that happened to him.
I'd recommend giving Toby a chemical castration shot until the time comes to breed him and the new lady, you def don't want to end up with puppies and a reaaaally young mother just a few months after you bring her home. I work with a few dogs that are all chemically castrated, but they're also pedigree males for breeding purposes, especially the Lancashire Heeler we have, he's got a lady waiting for his chem cas to run out. It truly is a great way to avoid accidents when having dogs of opposite sex, been working with dogs for over a decade now, and we've never had an accident because of chem cas.
I wouldn't recommend that. There is so much that could go wrong with that. Did you never have an accident with chemical castration not reversing or causing other health issues in the long run ? IMO it's best and safest for the dogs to separate them when she's in heat.
My dog told me that he has no preference for grass fed beef over grain fed. In fact, he even said that once he is done licking his own butt, he can't tell the difference.
The moments with Ginny really make me smile a lot. It's so sweet to have a shoulder cat hang out with you while you work. Luckily the jacket and clothes you wear protect you from the claws on the way up!
Back when I was in high school my dad had allergy testing. The day he got his results he came home, picked up our cat, and was snuggling into her neck. He says guess what? I'm allergic to cats! LOL We laughed at him and asked if he realized what he was doing just then. He didn't care, he loved her. He still love cats and has had a couple over the last 10 years. :)
@@blammer My dad used to take a nasal spray steroid (Beconase apparently now known as Qvar which I take) along with an oral antihistamine. It made him a much happier person all around. He is also allergic to barley and hops which sucks because he loves to have a beer every now and again. He just sucks it up when he drinks that though. At 74 he figures he can just handle a little sneezing and watery eyes to be able to have the things he enjoys.
@@blammer i find cats have different allergy levels, so if you want a cat, i would just go to a shelter and find one that works for you. My yellow tabby is horrible but my tortie doesnt cause a problem at all. I do not know if coat color/sex correlates w allergenicity. It would just be trial and error to find the right cat.
I got desensitized with allergy shots, but my allergy unfortunately never went away. I still work with them occasionally and double-mask and glove up. But when they need bathed, I ask somebody else to dry them, as the fur and dander goes everywhere! Can’t go back in the drying room after that, until the ventilation has been on for a while, to filter all the particles out of the air.
@blammer I think I might have a very mild allergy (not tested mind you). I grew up with a bobtail manx and never had any problems cuddling with her. However, I've noticed when catsitting that my face tends to get red itchy and runny. While it might be the breed I'm pretty sure (for me) it's the long tail hitting my face and rubbing extra oils/dander on me that's the reason for the agitation. If you do get a cat id strongly recommend keeping an eye out for one with a short or no tail to adopt.
I have seen family dogs showing human babies how to crawl, when they started moving around, and looking out for them. So yes, toby will teach the new pupper the ABC of this farms life :)
@@animsai35 we brought home a 3-4 week old German Shepherd puppy from the pound. We were keeping an English Bull Dog for a couple of weeks that had just gone through training. By that night, that tiny puppy knew Sit, Stay, Down and was house broken. He watched that older dog as if she were a god. The bull dog was equally serious teaching. There was never even a bathroom error. It was shocking. I know this sounds like such an exaggeration, so I seldom tell it. The German Shepherd was a brilliant dog. The bull dog was a devoted mom and adored that puppy. But the teaching between the dogs was unmistakable. And yes, my daughter was extremely guarded by two herding dogs. She was a preemie, so slow to crawl, walk, etc. They were between her and almost everything when she began to really move around. She would get so mad because they would block her, even tho she fell into almost everything at first and would be equally mad that she had fallen. The dogs were on each side with every movement for awhile.
Yep, I never trained my younger pup, because my older pup took over and he’d follow her when she went outside! They are now 14 & 15 and he still pees on top of where she has just peed! So cute, even as a little old couple!
Be careful of your bull. I've heard stories of them being perfectly fine, then just turning on their owners out of the blue. Also just be careful, I can't tell if he's just getting use to you or is testing to see what he can get away with. Granted I haven't worked with bulls very much, but was always told not to pet them so they don't get use to you so you appear to be the boss. Thats the thing with bulls, once they know your not the boss that charade is over and it's hard to control them.
@@jeno264 They don't really learn to be calm without incentive. Aggression works on the cows, in the steer's mind it will work on the farmer. Morgan is giving him treats when he comes running, and giving him more when he pushes the cows out of the way. It's kind of scary to see how bold the steer is getting.
@@GoldShawFarm thank you. I am healing very well. Keep up the good work and wonderful videos. I am excited to meet the new puppy. Any idea of her name?
stay the course with the PT. try very hard not to over do the activity. i'm 10 months into my new knee and all is going well except for some residual soreness. be patient, you'll heal up well.
I certainly hope so! The hardest part of getting a good working pack is training up the first one. Active herders like Heelers need mentoring whether from you or the older dogs but even livestock guardian dogs need some direction. I predict that Toby will train up his little sister just fine. What a super breeder you have hooked up with! Looking for the temperament that fits your situation best. Your concerns about having a pair of littermates was entirely appropriate from my 50 years experience breeding and training dogs. That chalk marking is great for puppies that look alike. Wish I had known about it when I was breeding all black Patterdale terriers.
He absolutely will be able to help train the new pup. He has good manners. My German Shepherd, Freya, learned her best manners from my old Rottweiler, Ava. Toby will be a terrific mentor to a pup.
YES YES YES! Having had many generations of dogs of many breeds they learn the good stuff and whatever bad stuff you may be hoping to avoid. LOL I did master level dog agility. I would let my adult dog do X then break out the pup.. poof trained. Tobie is amazing and will be a GREAT trainer. All the many training hours that you put into him will now pay off.
Since I know nothing about cows, my bee input is to install a windbreak for the hives. Also looks like you didn't peel protective plastic off the telescoping covers and one is peeling on its own. I did wrap my hives with "bubble foil" before our arctic blast this year, just leaving the entrance reducer uncovered but we don't have such sustained cold here. Love the weird chickens since we have assorted bantams, weird chickens and conventional layers. We enjoy your videos Morgan, ty
I haven't heard you mention this in your puppy training so I just want to plant a seed in your mind. You don't want to breed a female for her first one or two heat cycles, I even worked with a vet that recommended not breeding large breed dogs until after their 3rd heat cycle. It will be a difficult task to keep Toby away from her when she goes into heat. Males can smell a female from up to a mile away and their drive to breed can chang their behavior in ways you may not expect, even in such a calm dog like Toby. It will be necessary to find a place to keep her away from him for a week during each of those cycles. I would recommend the house because then you can keep an eye on her during the day and make sure that Toby's nose isn't guiding him into the barn or something. But even if you don't use your house, expect this same space to be where she goes when she nests right before having a litter.
Contacted the rescue place you talked about in another video but haven't had any response. I am VERY interested and have a 5 acre farm. We treat our animals similar to you, they are our friends and family. Any suggestions on how to get a response? Thanks.
I suspect many places are still very back-logged due to everything being locked down, previously. My local shelters are still recovering, as well. Good luck with your application! When the right opportunity comes around, you will know it!
loved the video but realized that a lot of your birds have angle wing. You can fix it by adding more vitamin E when the birds are young and putting a sock over the body over night a few times for adult birds
I feel these are the sides of farming one doesn't usally see. Even though I live on a farm, I have not seen nor have i thought about all of the things a farmer has to do. Thank you for allowing us to see all of these sides.
Omg, we have used Open Farm dog food since 2014! My dogs absolutely LOVE it. My sister in-law adopted a Boston Terrier that had horrible skin allergies and digestive issues. I told her about Open Farm, and after trying it, it is now the only food she uses for her dogs as well. Also very happy to report it helped with all issue her Boston Terrier was having. Luna now has a beautiful shiny coat and no more digestive issues. BTW, I absolutely love your channel!!
Seeing Toby get harassed by that goose reminded me of another duck channel that's now history.. big livestock guardian dog Dug, would nuzzle his nose in a duck's feathers in the dead of winter in Canada. The duck, Magoo, was blind and didn't seem to mind much.
Kurt Cobain is making me nervous. His growing happiness and comfort with his new home is starting to be expressed as hops, jumps and swinging his head more vigorously. Those horns could easily crack a couple ribs or worse. Be careful.
You might consider halter training those cows. I know it sounds kind of silly, but it eliminates the need for a chute. They can be trained the exact same way a horse can. Also, be careful about that boy running up on you. Even though he's a steer, he's the dominant in the herd from what I can tell, he may start trying to bully you.
My day is not complete without listening to you, Morgan, As you walk through your farm and do your chores and talk to all your animals and pet them and get tickled by the things they do especially the cats and I love it when you feed the pellets to your cattle and see the improvement over the shyness amongst all the heifers!!
First thing I have to say is MORGAN YOU ARE AWESOME. When the cat knocks down the camera your laugh had me giggling away. I love how you are with your animals. Most people who don't farm or have animals just don't understand why people have relationships with their animals but it shows in your videos how much it means to you. Your heart grows each time you are near them. I lust love to watch it. Breeders know which animal should go to which people.
Morgan, training 2 puppies at once wouldn't be 180% of training one dog, it would be 300%. They keep interfering with each other and any trick one comes up with, the other will learn instantly. Best to do what you do, getting a puppy with an already trained and mellow, well balanced dog like Toby. You will see that training the little one will be a lot less work, because Toby definitely will teach her a lot. I've done this with my dogs. I used to be a dog breeder, so I do have some experience. As long as the age difference isn't huge (like I have right now, 16 yrs vs. 1 year), the older one will definitely step in and teach the puppy a lot of stuff and help you train her. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Yep. It's three times the work because you have to train each pup separately as well as both together! I always caution people against getting two puppies at once. It CAN be fine, but I've seen it go badly so many times. Usually one dog ends up being super bold and the other super shy (bad for working dogs!), but the worst case I've heard of was two chihuahua siblings with severe separation anxiety; they couldn't even be in different rooms or they'd scream. That's a major problem if one dog needs to stay at the vet (or, in the worst-case scenario, dies).
@@llamacran, we did 3 puppies from the same litter at one time. Yikes! It was pretty busy, but absolutely one of the best decisions we ever made. Truly amazing dogs. Total wt of all 3 was 250 lbs+.... had all of them at the vet one day w/ me, thought we'd have to wait so made one of those Keurig cups of coffee, & the moment it was done, they handed me my paperwork. I had all 3 leashes in my left hand, and w/out thinking, moved the steaming hot uncovered cup of coffee into the same hand as the leashes, and headed out towards the door to load them up without a thought, until I set the cup down on my truck's hood - when I realized what I'd done, & that I hadn't spilled a single drop. Those 3 were THAT good together. We've adopted a number of serious abused/neglected dogs over the years, and those 3 were wonderful with them - like therapy dogs for other dogs, the newcomers would pick up on how calm and confident they were. Now, we have a Maremma, trained by a pair of Golden Retrievers, with 100% recall, who adores fetching tennis balls, LOL! (NOT typical Maremma traits, btw)
OMG, I am so glad you are talking about littermate syndrom, so many people think they should get two puppies together so they can play togther, and it's such a bad idea!
It’s not always the case. My daughter took two pups from a litter and they have done very well. You just have to pay attn to temperament. She got a dominant dog and a more submissive dog and they are quite the team. They are 11 now and still going strong.
Good points all around. Got my two just under one year apart and after the craziness of the Christmas holiday, once the household and routine had gone back to normal. You can’t always control everything, but you can stack the deck in your favour!
Our chow-shepherd mix (regal, beautiful red) dog was a picky eater, too. We would heat canned food and mix it with dry food. Smelled like beef stew! No way would he eat just dry food. Yeah, we spoiled him, but he paid us back with love, loyalty and guarding. Miss him so much.
You might like Charles Dowding's No Dig gardening channel as well (educational, but very pleasant to watch), and maybe liziqi's channel (pure, beautifully shot and edited rural fantasy in southern China).
What Morgan is talking about with getting two pups at the same time is so true. It's called litter mate syndrome, this is where two puppies can do one of two things; bond so much with each other than they end up not listening to the owner and potentially being violent and aggressive towards the owner, or to bond so much with the owner that they end up being aggressive and violent with each other, which can end up with one of the dogs dying as they will fight to the death. I'm glad Morgan knows this vaguely and I hope he reads this and promotes this more during his puppy videos
I'll bet, yes. Years ago my husband's dog TOTALLY house broke my puppy. The older dog sat in front of the tv and stared at us, the puppy, and the door. It was perfect. No accidents at all.
I love seeing the farm transition to winter mode, and I’m glad to hear about the puppy plans! Is the breeding plan for the cattle similar to the breeding plan for the chickens?
When I foster kittens I also look for personality match for owners and their future home. Do they like or hate dogs, are they super nervous around kids, are they a lap kitten. Etc. I try to match up best I can.
It was a good idea to start with one pup. As soon as you add another, the work doesn’t double, it triples!! Giving one pup your undivided attention makes training faster and more effective (and less work lol). Plus, same litter pups can have a tendency to fight. Now Toby can be your training assistant! Also YES OPEN FARM!! I feed my SDiT golden retriever puppy open farm toppers on his meals. (He’s picky too haha!)
As someone that lives around sheep dogs. You dont get one dog to train the other as they pick up the bad habits of the other. Im sure toby is perfect but any bad habits he has the puppy will develop too
Your farm is one of the "Fowl"est lol I have ever seen! I love chickens and ducks, along with Toby dog and the Barn Cats :) Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
GINNY SHOULDERCAT 😭😭😭 aww your barncats love you so much :) Toby will be a good teacher! He’ll correct the puppy if they chase the poultry, and he’ll teach them to be a good dog :) Unrelated: what do the cattle think of pumpkins? Are those ok for cattle?
It's a pleasure watching and listening to your relaxed and kind manner. Clearly comes across as your enjoyment of this chosen lifestyle. Not a burden, but a labor of love. Wise man.
I have a little constructive criticism. I've noticed you more often than not speak continuously throughout your videos. I would suggest you think about taking one, or two in longers videos, short breaks in the narration and just feature the activity and beauty of the farm. Your narration content is so rich in detail a short break for your audience might be welcome. My warmest regards to you and your family and of course Toby Dog Esq.
Hey Morgan, have you looked at the channel Vinofarm for bee keeping advice, he has especially infomative videos about insulation of bee hives (including temperature measurements within the hives).
I feed my dog Open Farm. I previously tried SIX different foods. Open Farm was the only one that didn’t give her diarrhea even with extremely slow introduction. I feed her the dry kibble and top it with a small amount of their human grade stew. Can’t recommend it enough!
For Livestock Guardian Dogs, it is ABSOLUTELY best to start with one and train that one, then get another puppy. The lifestyle, for herding cultures, is that they have puppies coming up behind that are being trained by the older dogs all the time. So yes, the first one takes the most work, then subsequent ones are trained massively by the older dog. All best wishes. The breeder sounds fantastic! LGDs also need to stay with the biomom or parents through at least 12 weeks, 16 weeks is better, like you said to get all the good socialization they need. So you're doing the totally right thing! Great to see.
I might be tempted to keep one steer. They turn into a really rather beautiful creature for cattle. And mature steer might decide that he doesn't care for rambunctious kids and help keep aggression curbed.
yes, he will. 9 years ago, I had a 2 year old 55 pound rottweiler and adopted a 2 year old not very socialized resource guarder 85 pound rottweiler. The adopted dog watched my and my little Rottie interact and learn 'how to be a dog.' I'm serious. he had been left outside for 2 years, very little social interaction and totally ' learned to dog' by watching us. Adult dogs tolerate puppies but will correct them - make them chill out. it's not harmful. My brother's adult Rottie put my lil girl Athena in check if she pushed too much. dogs are social animals. the only concern is the puppy my bond to the adult dog more than you. I encountered that with my current set of dogs. The rescue puppy (English pointer mix) bonded to my 1 year old dog and tolerated me. He listened, but he idolizes his 'sister'.
I adopted puppies from the same litter. I agree about them bonding with each other and that did happen but somewhere around the 1.5 year mark, it changed and they became really well behaved. My male lived until 12 and my female until 15, not bad for large breed mutts.
You are rewarding kurt Cobain for his bad behavior. When he throws his head at the others you immediately toss him a treat. That tells him that's the behavior you want from him. Pretty soon he'll be nasty to the cows when he sees that bucket coming. You need to reward the behavior you want.
Side note...if you are located in the Mid-west, Pet Supplies Plus, a family owned pet store, sell Open Farm products. And offer return policy on opened bags Incase your picky puppy no longer eats it. I don't work for them, but with shipping messed up, you can locate your pet chow locally.
What a nice way to start my day! I live in Phx., AZ so I am in warm weather pretty much year round. Just the thought of 33⁰ sends me running! I worry about Toby Dog!!
As you do pasture moves, take Kurt through first and leave him with a bucket, then work with the girls :) Otherwise, Ariel and Annabelle are going to take forever to 'get it.'
Brace yourself 4 Toby's way of correcting the pup, which is pretty much the way a mother will do...this being where they will put mouth over head ,or neck a giving a good growl the worse thing they do wrong the louder the growl ...it may scare the pup into giving a loud cry !!! But don't worry !! It's just cried out cuz it got shocked !!! You mite say take it easy or be nice on the first few times ...but it's more 4 you than them !!! LOL
It’s so amazing to see how all your animals interact! They get along so well, Happy Thanksgiving Morgan and thanks again for all your hard work and then working again to let us be there in spirit 💜
It's not pumpkin flesh that's a natural dewormer. It's raw pumpkin seeds. Kurt's pretty aggressive with those horns. It's starting to kind of worry me. He's that way with the other cattle, with you, and with Toby.
My little brother showed me your channel because I mentioned highland cows and homesteading. You're one of two other farmers I watch that actually came from the city life. Everyone else was born/raised in the life and eventually came back which is a totally different experience. Thanks for doing what you're doing. Its giving me a little more confidence in doing what I need to do!
I really enjoyed this video for maybe the 3rd time. Kurt has really become your buddy. I love highlands. When you cull the herd I hope there is a market for their hides. I'm curious to discover if their long hair stays on the hides like the Indians would do with the buffalo.
Puppies can learn from older dogs and this is proved by an experience made by a farmer I know ; he brought an 8 months old German shepherd puppy that doesn't bark at intruders ; this puppy was kept for one month with guard dogs that have a good barking and guarding instinct. The result is that the puppy imitated the dogs
Puppies do definitely learn from their older mates/parents, they can learn their mannerisms and habbits which is very useful for hunting or tracking but nothing beats putting in the time and effort to personally train your puppy.
If u do decide for ur dogs to have pups do u know if u will keep any of them and if so than 1 I would assume but ALSO you did say that if there is a sis and a brother than they won’t pay as much attention to the farm and more attention to each other and I would assume that would be the same thing with the pup and the mother. So the answer to that is probably “no” so I just wasted lots of time writing this instead of doing somthing more important…. ;-;
Hi Morgan a little something, if you ever get quails separate the male and female quails because the male will beat up the female quails and males sometimes get to kill the female that’s why I’m telling you this because in case you want to get quails
50+ hours of driving and over 3,300 miles between Lemoor, CA (Prancing Pony) and Vermont. And I hope you bring your passport because the fastest route requires going into Canadia for most of the last leg of the trip. I live in San Diego about five hours south of Lemoor. I'd road trip it with you in a heartbeat but I've never gotten a passport. I've been all over the world. Visited most of the continents. But I did most of my traveling when I was in the military and the times I went to Canada and Mexico were before all the onerous passport requirements. I'm originally from CT and my family has a house in Wilmington near Mt. Snow that we spent a lot of time at so I'm sort of an honorary Vermonter as well. When I moved out here from CT in 2011 I did the drive in my old Jeep dragging a U-Haul trailer with my poor dear departed pet cat riding shotgun. Even though he hated the car once he settled in and got used to it we had a really lovely five day drive out to the west coast. Just jamming to my favorite music and taking in all the interesting things. I do love a good road trip.
