Emus and Aussie Sheep Dogs = Emu Oil

Recently, there has been a great amount of talk about emu oil in the media. A Current Affair Quotes: “It promises to treat aches and pains, soothe sunburn and even repair skin” and “now celebrities are turning to Emu Oil in their search for a flawless complexion”

Demands for our Emu Ridge emu oil are increasing and we love receiving orders from our great online customer base. We found this adorable story about an Aussie sheep dog, who is a very talented emu herder, and thought we would share it with you.

Not just a sheep dog: Chip deals with all the emus at one farm

This Aussie sheep dog herds 8,000 emus every day

Chip the 8 year old kelpie is a third generation emu dog.

When it comes to mustering, it probably looks like emu dog Chip has one ruff job. But owner Jeff Long says the third-generation working farm dog’s daily efforts in rounding up the more than 2000-strong flock is an invaluable labor of love which keeps Longview Emu Farm running without any ruffled feathers.

Jeff says Chip has a soft mouth and has never hurt one of his valuable birds.

Chip plays at Kerang in northern Victoria.

Jeff chained the keys of the bike to the handle bars after one of the birds stole them.

It used to take Jeff and his partner Bev hours but with Chip they can be tucked away in ten minutes.

When the chicks are four months old they are ready to leave their pens and taken to the paddocks where they live for two years.

Once in the paddocks the emus can no longer be herded.

Organizing 8,000 emus is all in a days work for Chip and Jeff.

The eight-year-old kelpie can be found in the paddock of the northern Victorian emu farm — one of the biggest in Australia — ducking in and around emu chicks, herding up to 2500 of them each morning and night. If not on the ground, he is usually on the back of Mr Long’s quad bike, guarding both farmer and vehicle from the pecks of adult birds.

What he can do in ten minutes, Mr Long said would take he and partner Bev Littlejohn hours.

“He’s a really top dog actually, a really smart dog, he’s a good mate,” said Mr Long. “It would be nightmare to do it without him, we’d need two or three people without him.”

He said the hardworking dog had a natural affinity with the birds — he’s gentle with the chicks, who can be herded until they reach four months, and firmer with the older birds who have been moved out into the paddock.

But it’s not all work for the playful pooch, who plays his own tricks with the birds, running to the wire fence to poke his feet under for the birds to peck.

“He loves them pecking at his feet,” he said

Chip is not imune to the emu’s pecking – but won’t retaliate.

This adorable story was written by  the Daily Telegraph on the 18th of October, 2014