🎙️ Barn & Soul - Episode 20
Farm Instincts: What Animals Know Before We Do (And How We Forgot)

Animals notice things long before we do - whether it’s a storm rolling in, an illness on the horizon, or even a natural disaster. In this episode, we explore the incredible sensory abilities of farm animals and how humans, over time, have lost many of the instincts we once relied on.

From goats pausing before rain, to birds adjusting flight paths hours before a storm, to toads leaving breeding grounds days before earthquakes - nature offers constant signals if we’re willing to listen. We’ll talk about how animals tune into barometric pressure, infrasound, and subtle chemical changes, and what their behavior can teach us about paying attention, reconnecting with our environment, and even caring for their health more effectively.

Along the way, we’ll uncover fascinating “fast facts,” like why goats prefer smiling faces, how rabbits sense seismic vibrations, and ponder why cows act like living compasses.

✨ Whether you’re a farmer, animal lover, or just curious about the instincts we’ve forgotten, this episode is a reminder that animals are often our earliest, wisest messengers.

🐐 Tune in for Episode 20 of Barn & Soul—and learn what your animals might already know.

We are back from hiatus! New episodes every Wednesday at 9pm EST!

#BarnAndSoul #FarmLife #AnimalInstincts #DalbyFarm

📚 References & Sources

1. Dogs sensing storms and barometric pressure
   Weather.com, “How Dogs Sense Storms,” 2025
   https://weather.com/nature/wild-animals/news/2025-03-25-how-dogs-sense-storms
   
   
2. Birds sensing infrasound and adjusting flight
   National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), “Five Faunal Forecasters: Can Animals Predict Weather?”
   https://www.neefusa.org/story/climate-change/five-faunal-forecasters-can-animals-predict-weather
   
   
3. Toads predicting earthquakes by leaving breeding grounds early
   The Guardian, “Toads Could Sense Earthquakes, Study Finds,” March 2010
   https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/mar/31/toads-detect-earthquakes-study
   
   
4. Dogs detecting lung cancer with high accuracy
   American Osteopathic Association, “Cancer-Sniffing Dogs 97% Accurate in Identifying Lung Cancer,” June 2019
   https://osteopathic.org/2019/06/17/cancer-sniffing-dogs-97-accurate-in-identifying-lung-cancer-according-to-study-in-the-journal-of-the-american-osteopathic-association/
   
   
5. Dogs detecting diseases through scent (diabetes, seizures, COVID-19)
   Owlstone Medical Blog, “Dogs and Smelling Cancer,” 2024
   https://www.owlstonemedical.com/blog/dogs-and-smelling-cancer
   
   
6. Animals detecting natural disasters (P-waves, electromagnetic shifts)
   Times of India, “5 Animals That Can Sense Natural Disasters Before They Strike,” 2023
   https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/etimes/trending/5-animals-that-can-sense-natural-disasters-before-they-strike/articleshow/121485792.cms
   
   
7. Dogs and storm anxiety statistics

Support the show