Summer, and green grass, has officially come to an end and now we are thinking about making the best use of our grass before we begin supplimenting our cows with hay.
Our lower pasture is fenced off from the rest of our farm because it is our hay pasture and we don't want the cattle on it while we are growing the hay for cutting. But when the end of the season comes and the last cutting of hay is put up, it's time to open it up to the cows!
This year we didn't want to open up the entire lower pasture but we also don't want any permanent cross fences put in either as we need to make it easy for the tractors to cut the hay.
So we decided to extend our little weaning pasture into the hay pasture with some temporary electric fencing. Three years ago when we were living in our travel trailer on the hilltop we used one strand of electric fencing around our travel trailer and home-site and so our cows got very used to the fence and have great respect for it!
Eldon purchased these amazing heavy duty plastic stakes that he easily pounded into the ground.
Then he attached one strand of electric fencing to the existing T-post in the weaning pasture.
He connected this awesome solar charger, and he was finished! Talk about a quick way to build fence!
It's a great little pasture because it has a very nice grouping of trees along the property line that provide shelter for the cows. They love it in there.
They also really enjoy the change. There's something about "new" pastures that just makes cows so happy!
And Belle too... for some reason she gets so excited when the cows are in a different pasture! She would hang out down there with them all day if we let her! (This pasture is also pretty close to our Grand-girls house... and Belle always manages to make her way there if she's down with the cows!)
The electric fence ties in to our existing corral and has a great little insulator handle so that we can open it and drive through if necessary.
We leave the corral gates open so the cows can go through to their old pasture.
And to the pond!
That's our Angus bull, McKinley, standing there on the pond bank. Isn't he a beauty? We love him.
Well, I'm still in New Mexico with my parents and I'm eager to fly home to our wonderful little hilltop farm tomorrow. I have a feeling we have a long winter ahead of us and I'm anxious to get back home and do some winter crafting in our warm house!
Oh and CALVING!!!
We're really looking forward to some new little calves on our farm!
Happy (almost) December!
Hi there, Dori; Thank you for posting about your temporary fence on your farm. It is timely, as we are preparing our land for our cows. While we are in the process, our neighbor has graciously allowed us to keep ours in his pasture. So thankful for great neighbors! Love seeing Belle and your beautiful cows.
ReplyDeleteYou take care,
Emily
Emily, I'm so excited to think of you getting your land ready for your cattle! Email me the details sometime please! :-)
DeleteSo interesting! I had no idea there were solar chargers available for electric fencing. Do they work if you have a few days of very cloudy or stormy weather?
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DeleteKathy, the solar chargers are amazing. They don't require very much sunlight to charge. We have one on our automatic gate opener also and it is at the edge of the woods where there is a lot of shade. For the first few months Eldon kept expecting the battery to die since it seems like the solar charger was in the shade all the time. But it gets enough sun to charge even in very cloudy, rainy days. Kind of amazing. - Dori -
DeleteMy favorite time on the farm is calving...I love see those curious calves run and play. Have wonderful trip home.
ReplyDeleteTeresa, I love watching the calves play too. They are so darling! - Dori -
DeleteHope your mom is doing well and spending precious time with your parents, a gift in time. Fences are so important to keep livestock safe. Beautiful bull and I love Belle, happy, happy dog, as in Don't fence me in! Kathleen in Az
ReplyDeleteKathleen, my Mom is doing great. It is good to be home but I do miss my folks. It was a really special time. Thanks for thinking of her. - Dori -
DeleteOh how lovely it will be to be home!
ReplyDeleteBarbara, it is unbelievably wonderful to be home. I keep walking around my house just looking at things!! Ha Ha! - Dori -
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