|
Getting Started
- Facilities and Fencing
Fencing
Now, here's a subject I am well-equipped to discuss,
especially to say, it's
finished!
There are
certain things I can recommend regarding
fencing. First, and most important, hire good help - preferably help that
knows how to
put up fencing. Second, measure once, measure twice, and measure again!
But back to the process. We
worked out a layout for the fields and had a big picture
of how we wanted the pastures to function. For us, it was important to
have several medium-sized fields so that we could rotate animals, rather than
one or two large fields. We also determined that
we wanted a "boy's dorm" and a "girl's dorm" which would be situated apart from
each other. And last, we wanted an enclosed training field where the children
could safely work with the animals without fear of one getting loose and being
outside of the fenced in area (alpaca, not child!).
Then we needed to
consider how we planned to manage the daily care of the animals. We liked
the idea of a fenced aisle running the length of the fields. At the
end of the aisle, tubular gates were added to transform one end into a ready
catch pen. This aisle-catch pen combination would allow us to safely move
animals from one field to another when rotation was necessary. It would
also allow us to easily move animals into a smaller catch area at the end of the
aisle where we could comfortably administer shots and other herd health duties.
In the catch pen we could halter animals for moving them outside of the fencing,
and the aisle-catch pen combo makes a great breeding/behavior testing pen.
We also purchased some portable panels so that we can create catch pens where
ever we might want them. These come in handy all the time.
Now, there are some options in fencing that boil down to personal preference.
For us, the two main concerns were safety and visibility. We were able to
accomplish both by using 48" tall, 2"x4" woven, no-climb mesh fencing and 4" x
4" treated fence posts. The mesh is a good deterrent to most predators and
it does not obstruct the fields from view. Because where we live is rock
heaven, we decided that digging the post holes would be a thankless and time
consuming job, so we hired a professional hole driller.
We staked off the fields with tomato stakes and string. We determined
where we wanted gates and how wide we wanted those gates to be. Then we
measured 10 foot intervals along the string and painted the ground for the hole
driller. We learned that hole drilling and fence building are not exact
sciences. The position of what we liked to call "the crust of the earth"
rocks lurking a foot beneath the surface could dramatically change the nice neat
row of holes in a hurry.
Once we had our holes dug, it was time to put in the fence posts. We
went a little overboard with the number of holes we filled with concrete.
We made sure that both posts on either side of a gate and the posts in each
corner as well as the next one, which would bear the pulling weight of the
come-along, were all set in concrete. Later we also went back and poured
concrete in any hole that had to begin a new roll of fencing.
We did the low-budget,
do-it-yourself, learn as you go method of fence building. It was much like
the blind leading the blind, as I had never put up fencing and neither had the
young men who were working with me. And we worked like dogs. And we
made mistakes. But, in the end, we had posts in holes, they were fairly
upright, and almost in a straight line, so it was time to pull the mesh.
Barry and I did most of the mesh pulling. His job takes him away from
home fairly frequently, and even when he isn't traveling, he works very late
hours. So he was not on the post-hole portion of the fence patrol - a fact
which I am frequently reminded of when we discuss the "wows" in the fence line.
Those "wows" were much more apparent when we actually began installing the mesh.
But, in the end, the fencing went up. We used a come-along and our
tractor. Then gates were hung, the latches put on, and the animals don't
seem to mind the mistakes.
All we had left to do was build the shelters in the fields and we'd be good
to go.
|
