Pigs #20 - Progress!
Major breakthrough yesterday - I sat down in the pig's barn with some food in a pan, poured it out on the floor next to me and sat quietly until they plucked up enough courage to come and eat it right next to me! After a minute I was able to scratch behind their ears - only for a few seconds before they backed away, but it was really nice to be able to interact with them like that, its the closest I've got to them so far. I think if I keep this up each night from now on, and spend a bit more quality time with them on the weekend we should be able to get them to bucket-following stage pretty soon.
James from Morris Free Range Meats & Horticulture (https://www.facebook.com/#!/morrismeats) came over on the weekend and had a look at the pigs' outside enclosure. I've been a bit nervous (understandably!) about putting them out into their pen, so a second opinion was really helpful. He thought that with another strand or two of wire here or there we should be able to safely put them out. I can't wait to see them out there, rooting around and enjoying exploring and ploughing up the area!
Ancient David Brown Tractor, Ben - Head of Sales!, The Great Oak, Monmouthshire Tymawr Farm
Monday, 12 November 2012
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......
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......
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