Chickens # 10

After losing several of the new Tymawr-Farm flock to the fox after they flapped over the too-low fence, and having several more near-misses as I discovered them roosting in the hedge or even more inappropriate places, I decided it was time to do a proper job on their fence.  6ft high chicken wire (I use 2" mesh which is fine, and much cheaper than 1") is the ideal stuff for the job, although a bit more difficult to track down than the usual 3 or 4ft.  The weather has been wet for several weeks here, which makes the ground ideal for fencing (in the dry it is nearly impossible!) - I use a long, heavy, ancient and rusty iron bar to start the hole, bashing it in and twisting it around to a depth of 18" to 2ft or so.  Once I've done that I use an equally ancient fencing maul (a heavy sledgehammer with an oversized head) to hammer the stakes home (for a light job like this 2-3" round stakes are ideal).  As the posts I had were only 5ft long I then made up the rest of the height (to 6ft) with some of my store of scrap wood.  After cable-tying the wire onto the posts I finished the job with a nice tight single strand of barbed wire about 6" above the ground to hold the chicken wire down.

It doesn't look pretty but it looks effective!  Photos to follow......

Pigs #19 - Update

The Tymawr Two are still enjoying life in the Alpaca shed, full of beans and with great appetites.  I'm going to keep them in for 2 more weeks until they have grown a bit more and follow the bucket a bit more reliably.  They're getting a bit braver and more used to me, and are happy to eat their food next to me (if I'm safely the other side of the gate!), but are still far from friendly!


The Tymawr Two!

You may be able to get a sense for it in this photo, but a rule in pig keeping seems to be 'Lop Ears' = 'well behaved pigs' and 'Prick Ears' = 'naughty pigs'.  I think in future I will be exclusively keeping lop eared pigs!