This content was created by Victor Justin Rhodes. This content was uploaded by Victor Justin Rhodes. This is a YouTube video titled "Moving Turkeys Across the Yard (and beyond)" (created 2021-08-02) containing an English, diarized transcript of informal on‑farm activity and chores. Multiple participants (a primary narrator labeled SPEAKER A, SPEAKER B, Jessica, Jeremiah, JD, Josiah, Jonah and others) talk while moving turkeys, sheep and a calf, milking a cow (Phyllis), managing water and fencing, addressing parasite and feed issues, planning castration, and discussing making mozzarella from milk. The excerpt captures hands‑on animal handling, logistics of herding/transport, family interaction, and practical farm maintenance.
Chapters
You hear that bellowing? That's Phyllis. We separated the calf last night, so she's gonna have a lot of milk. Although mom is right next to calf, it's still a little different for them for the first couple of days, and they bellow. But then after, I don't know, 2 or 3 days, they get used to the routine and It's all good.
The mama sheep ran in with the calf, so the sheep ran and the calf ran with them, so they all went in together. Okay, so the calf and the baby— the calf and all the baby lambs and all the mamas are together.
We've been weaning the baby lambs, but I figured it was okay. Probably a lot easier to do calf separation if we have all the sheep in one area, right?
It is.
I'm pretty sure the ewes are dried up. It's plenty safe to put them back with their babies. How are we not out of water?
They don't drink out of here.
All right, the ever flows down right now. We gotta wait till we have some time to gain another siphon. The filter got clogged up there. She broody?
Nope.
She is broody. She didn't really growl at one egg in there or bite me. We'll go ahead and get it. So she might not be broody, she might be about to lay an egg. Let's get our sunflowers from— we got destroyed in that storm the other day. Hey, I have good and bad days on this reactive arthritis. Today's kind of a bad day. I don't know, maybe we'll just break it and then we'll pull that up later.
Papa, I'm pretty sure we always let the sunflowers die.
There. Well, I want to put them in the chickens while they have seeds on them. The chickens will eat the sunflower seeds and maybe some of the greens. At least scratch it in. They do something with it because that's a fresh one we put in today. That's one we put in yesterday. The help has arrived. Jessen, I like to call him Sweet Maya. That's what I like to call him. Jeremiah, you and Rebecca just chatting, or the man friends just call him Sweet Maya. They've grown a little bit, Jess, since you saw them last. It was last winter when you were here, wasn't it?
It was, uh, well, when was— when was Henry born?
Uh, February.
February. So it was like 2 weeks before he was—
wow.
Yeah, right.
All right, well, yeah, they've like tripled. We got a fun job today. We've got to get the big guy out of there. She's gonna have babies. Oh, really? Anytime. So what we're gonna do, this gate opens This gate opens. Somehow we've got to get them separated and kind of lead him out with maybe— we'll get two feed pans. Well, we got two feed pans. Josiah, where's our pig board? That would help.
Um, I think it's out in the field.
All right, let me go get the pig boards, guys. No drama on these ankles. Good thing I got a pig wrangler here. You know a little something about that, Jeremiah? I'm an amateur. Let's go. Oh, that was easy.
All right, I built a cross fence out of hog panels or cattle panels and we had them in a small square. It was getting them to choose to go in the trailer. They wouldn't do it. But what I— my mistake was is that I started with just opening the slide door and they couldn't see enough, so they didn't trust it. So what I did after a couple hours and frustrations is I just pulled the trailer forward and then we built a chute and opened the door completely.
They ran right in. When that happens to you and you chase pigs for 3 hours, you figure out— you take your time and you figure out how to make it go real smooth. I barely even got the camera on on time for these guys. This has gotten wet, uh, from the water spill, and that's just parasite breeding ground. So we're gonna put some wood chips on top of that. Let me pour this barrel out. Hopefully I can get right here and we won't wash any of this material away.
Why don't you start dumping it out?
Because, um, we need to replenish it. Here's some apple cider vinegar. Now that's a happy place. Let's put some hay in there for her. All right, we've got some apple cider vinegar in the bottom of that, a quart for 50 gallons, just a health maintenance. Time to move the fat chicks. Jonah's normally in charge of this, but Jonah is way up on the mountain setting up for the cow's paddock. We're waiting your lead, JD.
All right, I don't know what we're doing, but you know, we're gonna get these moved and, uh, you know, onto the dinner plate probably tonight.
Did you see that? I picked up the net first time in like 5 weeks. 1, 2, 3. Cross our fingers the water didn't overflow. It overflowed. Decide where you dig a ditch there to let it out. I just need to put a float valve on this thing. We didn't even forget it, but we just didn't come back in time. Do we not have a pointed shovel? Nope. We got 25 minutes to milking. You think that's enough time to move the turkeys and the geese? Yeah, we got time. We got the turkeys and the geese right here. We need to go across the road, up through there, and about just above the, the well right there.
Oh, they'll herd.
You think they'll herd? You don't think we need to put up any nets? Journey, you go ahead and open it right there and we'll have that wall. Guys, let's start hauling, hauling their stuff. You go ahead with that, Jeremiah. Look, they're starting to come. Just hurt them with this. No, don't touch them with it. We don't want them to learn to touch it and it not work. There you go. Just tap them. There you go, Ben. No, it won't. This fence is good. Come on, off the road.
Let's go.
Come on, Daddy. There we go. Hey, Lily, you stay up there and don't let them go up into the yard. It's going good so far. I think they might have seen our Shaw. Come on, Lily, keep them up on the side. This is working really good coming behind them with the net.
Yeah, keep on going.
This is a really big move for turkeys. Okay, we're there. I'm so happy to be over here in this pasture. This pasture needs work. The pasture where they were doesn't. By work, I mean fertilizing. Bring this pasture up to speed with some of the better pastures on the farm, and their, their manure will do that for us. We got to get the ball off of Cubby. I think you might be going the right wrong way. Always, always turn it towards the open mouth.
Don't we have to pick this?
There you go. Now put it back on wheelie. Pull these things off the fence a little bit, Josiah, the grit too. You want to pull that off, Josiah? Thank you. Turkeys are good. Three little pigs have all stayed in. That's great. Just because they've knocked their pan or their water over, go ahead and rinse off their nipple too while you're at it. The waterer. Jona, what's your plan for getting the cows over?
Taking this fence up and setting up a cross fence.
Okay, good. I like it. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we got a big move today. It's not the easy old just right over there, so they don't know quite what to do. Calm, calm yourself, Jona. There he goes. Now he sees it. I think she's not gonna want to leave her baby. That's something new today. Jonah's got it. Cut her off, cut her off. That's good work, Jonah. Good lane. Phyllis does not want to go because she wants to be up near her baby. She's been bellowing all morning. Hey, Parley, how you doing? Jessica milking the cow. How's it compared to a goat? Milking a goat, it's harder.
It is a little harder to milk. I don't know, she— I think she's a little easier. She's got bigger teats. My goats just have really big teats.
Yeah.
And they just don't make as much milk, so it's not as high. So it's not as—
yeah, you're about to milk probably a gallon and a half out of this guy.
Yeah, I have to milk like 3 goats to get a gallon and a half.
Yeah, we brought the calf over after milking Phyllis. We're gonna loosen the collar. What do you feel like? The collar, it's just a little tight, isn't it? Yeah.
Yeah.
Can you straddle it, or let Jeremiah straddle it and you loosen it? It's a warm-up for tomorrow, Jeremiah.
Oh, there's a rodeo?
Because we're gonna castrate Oh cool, we'll castrate tomorrow. They loosen up the collar a little bit. That a little better, Joey? All right, Jessica's gonna open the gate for me. Jessica letting them over. This is one of the funnest jobs on the farm. So satisfying.
Such hard work here.
That was real hard to herd all those sheep over, wasn't it? Y'all know exactly what to do, don't you? Uh-oh, Maple, come on now. Little Maple's straggling. Come on in, girl. Come on in. How is that possible? Are these our mozzarella sticks right here, Jessica?
They will be. This is 3 mozzarella sticks.
She makes an incredible mozzarella stick. Oh my word, she does. So how many gallons is it going to take to make mozzarella sticks for our 2 families?
Uh, probably—
or should we just do an adult party?
Probably 3 or 4 gallons, I would say, really, like, to make that many. It will make We'll get it. We'll get about this much cheese out of 1 gallon.
Okay.
And then we'll spread that out and then put it in the fridge, let it get good and cold, and then cut it up and bread them.
Cool. I cannot wait.
Yeah.
Sad moments. We gotta say goodbye to JD. All good things must come. I already hugged you, but I'll hug you again for the people. Oh yeah.
All right, hug, hug Uncle JD. Well, he's not uncle.
Cousin. Cousin.
Love you guys. Love you too. Listen to your parents, all right? Keep doing good work.
