
Australia Deploys Sheepdogs to Save a Penguin Colony - credo
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/05/world/australia/australia-penguins-sheepdogs-foxes-swampy-marsh-farmer-middle-island.html
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giarc
I did some research in sheep farming a number of years ago. One farmer told me
a story of the incredible skill and instincts of dogs (in this case, Great
Pyrenees). I'll give a brief re-telling here.

Farmer had two large flocks of sheep (500+ each). They lived a few kilometers
apart. The farmer had about 15 Great Pyrenees dogs that lived with the flocks.
Without any training, the dogs would divide themselves amongst the flocks. A
'sentinel' dog would travel back and forth between the flocks and if one had
suffered some recent coyote attacks, the sentinel would adjust the number of
dogs to increase 'security' at the affected flock. The dogs would remain with
the other flock for days until they were able to fight off the coyotes. After
the threat was dealt with, the dogs would naturally re-balance between the
flocks and the sentinel dog would continue mobile surveillance.

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ZeroFries
I've always wondered what you can train animals to do that you'd need insanely
complex robots to reproduce.

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adrianN
Walk, run, in unknown territory; turn dog food into energy...

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ndespres
I keep 2 maremmas on my small farm to guard my livestock against predation.
They are magnificent at what they do, chasing off ground predators as well as
aerial ones. They immerse themselves in their flock and guard fiercely,
working as a team to keep my chickens from getting eaten. I love how
independent they are in their work, though in my case they aren't alone for
more than a day at a time: one thing the maremmas can't do is milk my goats
for me!

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escherplex
Return the favor and offer them homemade chevre as a treat.

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ndespres
Worry not, the dogs get plenty of goats' milk and scrambled eggs that their
charges produce for them!

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escherplex
Dogs, chickens, and goats are a good mix from personal sustainability
standpoint. Particularly nutritious milk plus eggs to supplement produce. Cows
are way too ungainly. Wondered though whether there were particular goat
breeds with more docile dispositions than the ones I've seen which also don't
exhibit a wanderlust.

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ndespres
My goats are a Nubian/Alpine mix. They produce a fair amount of milk, are good
browsers (they're part of our crop rotation plan) and a few shakes of a bucket
of grain is all it takes to get them to come in. We have perimeter fencing as
there are some things in the garden that would be poisonous for them to eat,
and I don't want their snacking to cut in to our floral arrangement sales
profit.

With a small herd of just 4 milkers (last springs' kids were given to another
farm business who make money leasing goats as natural weed trimmers) they are
incredibly friendly, like a strange type of dog. They respond to their names
and love a good back scratch from their people!

Now if only the laws in my state (NJ, USA) weren't criminally restrictive when
it came to selling raw milk products.. well, more chevre for me!

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escherplex
A good read. Thanks for sharing the information. NJ always seemed like a
micromanaging politico's paradise. Ever consider relocating to PA, which seems
to have no farm raw milk sale restrictions, or even FL along the Gulf? North
of Tampa there is a raw goat milk dairy farm which goes by the name 'Fields
Place Goats' and maintains the same breeds as yours.

URL:
[http://www.fieldsplacegoats.com/lineage.html](http://www.fieldsplacegoats.com/lineage.html)

Just a few idle thoughts. Good luck with your animal husbandry! (and whip up
some gourmet Bleu du Bocage for your friends over the winter, but age for a
few months before serving)

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chris_wot
I watched the film _Oddball_ with my son, it was actually pretty awesome. It's
got Alan Tudyk, and the guy who played _Kenny_ (Shane Jacobson), which is a
guy who has a passion for portable dunnies (key movie quote "There's a smell
in here that will outlast religion") [1].

Watch them both if you want to understand Aussie culture :-)

1\.
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822389/quotes](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822389/quotes)

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protomyth
When we finally make it to another planet, we will probably accidentally bring
rats and cockroaches, but I cannot imagine not having work dogs along for the
rest of the ride.

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yitchelle
Saw this on the BBC last night. This is taking the idea of re-purposing to a
new level.

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dwd
Warrnambool native here.

The problem with Middle Island is that it is occasionally land-bound. Building
Warrnambool's iconic breakwater causes siltage to build up at the mouth of the
Merri so it's not so much that foxes got onto the island but that they have
access when the sandbars build up. Culling the foxes has never really worked
either, so it's good to see something else being done to mitigate the damage
we cause. There's a number of islands there but most are constantly land-bound
so the penguins don't have much of a chance against foxes and feral cats.
Middle island is their last refuge in the area.

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anotherevan
Some friends of mine have alpacas to protect their chooks and other animals
from foxes. They will just stomp them into the ground.

