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Most people are excited to have a three day weekend to rest and relax. That is when the work begins on this farm. I look forward to the long weekends because it is time for us to catch up on farm work.
I keep thinking that sooner or later all work will be done. Funny never seems to be the case. It seems like something always needs to be cleaned, fixed or built. This Memorial Day weekend was no different.
When most people see our farm they only see the animals running around playing. They may see us feeding and cleaning stalls. No one sees what goes into making the farm a farm. Here is a sneak peak at some of the tasks we were able to complete over the long weekend.
Saturday’s Work:
Saturday begin by building a dog kennel for the remaining three puppies we still have. Until these little cuties are sold, I wanted a space for them to run during the day while we work. A space that was outdoors in the middle of everything. A space where they are surrounded by livestock on all sides. These guys are being raised as farm dogs so I want them to be acclimated to all types of livestock.
The puppies ended up with a pretty decent space. 20′ x 20′ gives them enough space to run and play. It also allows them to have shelter and a swimming pool since they love the water.
Once the dog kennel was complete, it was off to flipping all of the kennel panels currently surrounding out goats. We have temporarily set these up until we can build the permanent fencing. (Another “To Do”). The problem is we also own pot belly pigs that like to push through the fence and escape. Once the pigs escape then the goats follow.
A total of nine panels had to be dismantled, flipped and reinstalled. Needless to say the goats were not happy spending the day in the barn. Once all panels were flipped, the goats were happy to run in the outdoors.
Sunday – Monday’s Work:
The biggest task for this weekend, was building an outdoor shelter and fencing for our sheep. We needed to get this completed asap so we could relocate my ram and pygmy buck back to the pen the sheep were currently using. These guys have been housed on the backside of the barn until we could complete this. Moving the sheep into a new and larger pen would free up a pen and give us a chance to clean out some of the other outdoor pens from over the winter.
Once the area for the sheep was marked off, in two days we were able to dig holes, place posts, run hot wires and then build a temporally shelter for the summer. The hardest part to all of this was fighting the weather and making sure the fence was electrified. This required running a new ground wire to our ground rod thanks to a goat that loves to eat wires. Once this was complete the fence fired right up.
In between building the sheep pen we also had to take our baby lamb to the vet to have surgery on a herniated umbilical. She has now had a few days to recover and is back to running around.
Now that the sheep are set up in their new pen we have been able to clean out their old pen. We have one final pen of bucks left to clean out. Normally all of the cleaning is completed during April-May. Given our weather has been a lot of rain this spring, it is making it a little more challenging.
The Reward:
Do I hate always having work to complete? Not at all. I could not imagine my life any differently. Is owning a farm hard work? You bet it is. It is more rewarding though to see what you have accomplished. Seeing what you have accomplished is the best feeling. Everyday we are still learning but we are getting better at building fences and shelters.
The best part after completing your “To do” list…enjoying a relaxing trail ride with your favorite horse. I love this life.
