But that wasn't the real story for today. The real story was things that happened while I was trying to move the fence. Like this pigs getting out. Pippy, our biggest pig was the main culprit. I had barely started moving posts and the wire was on the ground while I was trying to move a post and pull it tight. It was like she was right there waiting. As soon as that wire was down, she waltz right across like... Well, I don't know like what. But I swear she was waiting for it. I was able to get her to go back in with an offering of food.
Then the second time she and Boris got out. The bottom wire was up and tightened. You would think just the fact that it was there would have stopped them. But she and he stepped over it anyway. I think he was just following her. But since it was two pigs, I ran and got the hubby. And Pippy was not going back in for nothing. Boris ran off into the runoff. I was finally able to grab Pippy's back legs and basically walk her backwards back under the fence.
I had to chase Boris out of the runoff. Luckily there weren't too many briars there to try and fight my way through. I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, mind you. Not much protection from briars. But I was able to get him out of the runoff and he managed to walk back over that strand of wire and went back in once he saw the girls.
I'm sure all the chasing and grabbing and yelling scared the pigs pretty good. So to make it up to them I turned on the hose and let it run for a while. Made them a big ole mud hole. They spent most of the day in that so there were no more escapes.
I won't even start on how much the electric fence wire got tangled. There was a lot of yelling and cussing with that. Not to mention all the times the wire got snagged on all the little sticks sticking up from all the saplings I cut down this year. I swear I would have been done in just a couple of hours if it weren't for the tangles and sapling sticks. Instead it took me all day.
Then some time in the afternoon, the sky decided to provide a downpour. During one of the worst tangles I've ever had to deal with. So I'm out there, soaking wet, water collecting in my muck boots, can't see through my glasses because of all the water on them so I had to look over them, thunder in the background, electrical wire in my hands and tangled all around me. I could just imagine the scene my family would find with me wrapped in wire and fried to a crisp. It then started to lightening so I went inside.
20 minutes later, it stops raining. facepalm
So I went back out to finish the fence. And you know what? I won. I got it done. Just before it was time to feed all the animals and put them to bed.
Tomorrow will consist of cutting a path across the runoff to bring the electric wire across. I just need one line to carry the current across. Then I string it through the posts to make a fenced in area. I'm hoping to be able to move this a little each day to create a bit of a rotational grazing system.
Then the boy sheeps will be able to run around in the electric fence area on this side of the property. And once the girl pigs get closer to farrowing, I can put them in the boy sheeps welded wire area to keep them and their babies safe and give them privacy. Boris will still be close to the girls though because he'll be in the electric fence area with the boy sheeps.
But that was pretty much my day. I don't think I gained much wire to use for the girls sheeps new area. Not sure how I managed that. But I think I might just buy one more roll of wire to give them a decent sized area.
Right now, it's late, I'm sore and worn out. I'm gonna got to bed and sleep like a rock. But before I go, here is a picture of some barrels hubby got me at his work. They usually have things like hand soap in them. But they have a number 2 on them so they are food safe. The one on the left is the sheep food, the one on the right is chicken food and the one in the middle is pig food. The metal rings clamp on REALLY tight. No more scavengers getting into my animal feed.
No comments:
Post a Comment