YAY!!! The fence is done!

Jim S. · #1 06/12/07, 09:59 AM

Hung the last gate Monday morning and let the goats in. They had trouble following me to the new gate opening, since they cross drought-decimated pasture to get there. So Sue grabbed the feed bucket, and they followed her like she was the Pied Piper. I wish I had my camera!

They do not know what to do with so much space. Sadie the LGD does, though...she promptly checked all the fence lines and caught herself a rabbit. The goats have not yet ventured much farther back than the edge of the fresh browse.

Oh man, it feels so good to have the drought pressure off me awhile now. The goats had become quite crabby about the paucity of food. There's enough browse in the new pasture for the whole summer.

The vitals: 9+/- acres; 48 wooden posts; 50 80-pound bags of concrete; 45 pounds of wire staples; 48 brace brackets; 768 feet of high-tensile brace wire; 48 landscape timber braces; 1 16-foot 4x6; 1 12-foot 4x4; 384 16-penny galvanized nails; 330+ T-posts; 2,750 feet of field fence; 8 gates; 6 stock panels for water crossings; 9 months of working on it most weekends.

Total amount of help? Setting 3 posts. The rest was all ol Jimbo. Which is why I say YAAAAAY!!!!

I finished it just in time yesterday to find a puddle on the bathroom floor in my house. A leak, in the wall, from my year-old pro-done replumbing job. It's still under warranty. Which, I would guess, is why he isn't returning my calls.

Guess what I'll be doing tonight?

**mygoat** · #2 06/12/07, 10:02 AM

Are the goats used to such green pasture? Be careful, watch for bloat.

YAYYYYYYYYYY! Don't you love it when you work real hard for something, and then see it in action?

Jim S. · #3 06/12/07, 10:17 AM

No worries, it's all mature. They go down there to feed, then come lay up in the old pasture.

I am just glad it is done. I drove myself really, really hard the past 7 weekends, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and took some days off to make three weekends into 3-day events. Constant work. I knew a bad drought was coming last fall, when I started it, and the drought drove me through a split with my business partner (who helped me with those 3 posts but would do no more) and all the exertion of then having to do it all by myself. It took way longer by myself, so I got caught out in 90-plus temps the past 3 weekends. (I had been trying to get it done by early May, back when I thought I'd have help, to avoid the hot months.)

After I saw the goats go in the new pasture and browse, I jumped in the truck, went to the house, took a shower, and collapsed into the bed for 4 hours of deep sleep. Woke up, stayed up 4 hours, went back to bed last night and awoke at 6 a.m. today. Once the pressure was off, I could allow myself to collapse. I'm still tired.

And now, the puddle.

That's life on the farm. It is never really done.

CountryHaven · #4 06/12/07, 10:31 AM

I can only imagine your relief, and the joy at seeing them finally out there. Congrats on a job well done!

Jim S. · #5 06/12/07, 11:26 AM

Thanks, Tami. It is one part joy, and one part hope that they don't get eaten while out of sight in back. But Sadie the LGD should help with that last worry. So far, they have not even been interested in going farther than the edge of the new browse. I am looking forward to a big jump in ADG on the kids, since browse is all they get.

This should provide me enough goat-quality fenced land to support 50 does in even the worst dry year. I have one more lane lot to fence this fall, and a line fence to replace, and then I will have a full circle rotation set up. Much easier to move them then. That's about 1,320 more total feet of fence. Then my capacity will be more like 60-70 does, should I want to go that high.

Here's a tiny piece of the land I fenced. This shot was taken in spring 2 years ago. Put a mental fence up to the far right...lol...

YAY!!! The fence is done! - Goats

You can see it's perfect goat land! It is even more grown up now than that.

Emilea · #6 06/12/07, 11:28 AM

Good job Ol Jimbo!!! i'm about to (well my husband is) tackle a new fence but only for 3 + acres!!!

ailsaek · #7 06/12/07, 04:18 PM

Wow. I'm in awe.

Sweet Goats · #8 06/12/07, 04:26 PM

WAY TO GO. I know my daughter and I fenced in 4 acres last year by ourselves. It is tighter and up better then the one my DH did. SHHHHH don't tell him I said that.

thaiblue12 · #9 06/12/07, 11:32 PM

YAAAAYYY you are done!!! I am still working on the barn

getting eaten by mosquitos. You know those mean Southern ones that are out during the daytime, which is against mosquito rules!
Jim I am jealous I want some of those trees!
Have a nice restful weekend.

topside1 · #10 06/13/07, 07:11 AM

Great to hear Jim, and I was just on my way over to help...dag it. Anyway how about some more photos of the fencing project and your good looking land...TJ

BobDFL · #11 06/13/07, 07:39 AM

Jim, Congrats. I'm right there with you. I just got done fencing mine this spring and I know what you went through.

mamajohnson · #12 06/13/07, 08:34 AM

woo hoo for you!!! I know your tired of looking at fence posts!
I have a big fence project needing to be done,,, and it just is not what I want to do. (wanna come help Jim???) Since DH went to work full time, I have to do the full time homestead stuff. Got the goat shed painted, now I need to roof it, then we are off to fence the buck pen....and I know what you mean about things not getting done... spent the last 2 days working on a washed out road. The last 2 years of drought, then this year of tons of rain, and my dirt road is going downhill, well, it all washed downhill! ugh...I had to shovel it back uphill...

I thought I would be smart too and take the buck and wether to eat some of the overgrowth on the road sides, while the kids (human) and I worked. All those silly boys wanted to do was converse with us while we worked! (lazy goats)

ahhh,,,, dont ya love the hard work....I know I am looking forward to a break today. All I have to do is get the car fixed... lol

Jim S. · #13 06/13/07, 09:28 AM

thaiblue, I should get a monthly check, I recommend Backwoods OFF so much. It saved me from zillions of chigger bites (I still got a few) while fencing.

LOL John! Yep, that's what ALL MY FRIENDS said, too. "Uh, I was GONNA help, but (fill in the blank)."

Bob, I recall you posting comments about how you fenced yours. It's some work, huh? I do like all the new muscles I have, though. Gotta figure out how to keep those.

mamajohnson, on yer fence project, uh, I was GONNA help but...

And you are correct, the projects keep coming. I put in two ball valves on supply lines for the bathtub that's leaking behind the wall, and just shut it off for now. Ahhh...I can wait til the weekend to tear into it! What luxury!

Came home last night and two dogs had wormed their way under the new fence in a spot where there was a kind of gap between the bottom wire and the ground. My Sadie the LGD had them cornered off, and we let them out and shooed them away. I fixed the spot, and dear Sadie earned some doggie treats for that heroic act!

I will probably wind up shooting those dogs or driving them to the pound, but I wanted to give them one chance to learn the lesson.