Fences....

Some fences are intimidating. Some are functional. Others still are just kind of pretty. Unless you've seen my neighbors. I don't know what they were going for, but "pretty" is a far stretch! So are the terms "functional" or "intimidating" There is some really old picket fence, then a bare spot, well not really bare, there is an old chair laying there and part of a bike. Then there is more fence with tree parts and downed fence, then there is, I'm guessing, 12dogs laying in the road at the curve and spilling back into the yard. Lovely to look at. Really. The dogs like to find things to drag out of the "fenced" yard and lay them into the street at the curve. Well, I mention their fence because it makes mine look spectacular!! ;D Mine is a mish mash of garden fence made more goat-worthy by adding some wood pallets to the exterior, then other areas have cattle pannels. Another spot for the geese is hog wire with orange constuction netting to keep the pesky geese in. The south side of the property has some very old barbed wire, but goats don't respect barbed wire. Did you know that about goats?? I once read an interview with a goat in Mother Earth News and the goat said that you could just place the goat in the field and tell him to stay and he would. I think he is a big fat liar! So, I added some more, you guessed it.... wood pallets! There is one point where I ran out of pallets and decided that an old piece of barn tin would look nice along the poison ivy, so I slapped it up and it has held so far. It gives the place that certain ambiance! When the sun is just setting, the glow on the old tin is magical! The pigs are easy. 2 strands of electric wire. The problem with this is when an occasional baby chicken finds herself outside of the chicken coop, she tries to find a way back in and stumbles on to the electric wire! This is not good! This I know from experience. So does Sparky! I don't know if you have ever had the sensation of holding a hot wire for a second or 2, but try doing this while you place your free hand, (or head) on the chain link fence! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the chain link fence around the chicken coop! I had some 20 foot pieces of chain link that were just laying around, so I beefed up the chicken coop with them. Nicest looking pen that we have! Anyway, back to the electric wire and Sparky. I was in feeding the chickens yesterday evening and counting babies as I usually do. They move around fast! Have you ever tried to count a bunch of chickens? Especially when they all look about the same!! It's as hard as counting fleas on a dog! I suppose, although I have never done such a thing. So, here I was counting. 1,2,3,4,5,6....11. Hmmm... again....1,2,3,4,5....11. Really I think I saw 12. Again and again. Now I am fairly sure that there are just 11. I started out of the coop when I saw #12 just laying there looking at me with a quizzical look. Hmm... never saw her look quite so layed back before. I then realize that she is entangled in the hot wire! Jeez! Okay, I carefully balance the handful of eggs in one hand while I ever so gracefully snatch the sizzling chick by the scruff of her neck away from the wires that were actually twisted around her leg! Her head had been resting on the chain link. (like I was talking about earlier, in case I lost you) I took a bit of a shock myself in this harrowing rescue! She smelled of singed hair, which I thought to be odd since she does not have hair. ~Note to all of you city folk; chickens have feathers. Which leads me to believe that burning feathers smell much like burning hair. Just in case you ever wondered. So, there she was, looking kind of like she was poised to do some sky diving, her legs stretched out behind her, long and stiff, toes slightly curled... This is not the way chickens usually lay. They really like to keep their legs up under themselves. Have you ever woke up in the middle of the night with leg cramps? They hurt! You have to get up and stand to stop the leg cramps, and then you walk around a bit. Next thig you know, you are wide awake and it's only 2 am, so you go on line to see who else can't sleep... Oh yeah, back to the chicken. (Sparky) Did you know that chickens sometime require physical therapy? They are not too fond of either! I laid Sparky on my legs and did some passive range of motion and she was a little pissed about that and didn't mind telling me so! Chickens can get loud! I put the poor girl in a box for the night. Mainly because she kept singing too much and would have kept us awake. This morning I picked her up for more therapy and she suprised me by her quick recouperation! She could stand and looked really good! Sparky got to go back to the coop this morning, and I reminded her to stay in the coop! "See this fence?" ~showing the hot wire to Sparky, "Next time it'll be the last time!" With that, she snuggled in a laying box and ate some feed. Now, I'm sure that all of this discussion about fences and chickens has made you think twice about starting a small farm. Or maybe it has made you think of KFC for dinner. In any case, next time you see electric wire,think of little Sparky! She will no doubt grow up to lay hard boiled eggs!