Pink Fox: its Raining...IN MY HOUSE! :/

[pinkfox]

well did some more work on the fenceline.
todays jobeneded up being finishing the weedwacking along the pasture sides, then chainsawing out a secton of the large brush pile that I didn't feel like burning so I coud route the fence through a much better ocation (I still have all my fingers! GO ME!) I think theres just one more downed log up in the woods I mayneed the chainsaw for.
then I took the bypass pruners and pruned out everything that looked like it was growing in the line of the fence that was too small for the chainsaw...
and I added some insulators on a couple trees where the line kinda hit the trunk ect due to angles not lining up quite right.

ill probably have a little more pruing to do as I add in more lines.
but I think the majority of rht "heavy" work is done.

tomorrow I should be able to run the other 3 lines fairly quickly compared to the first, will finish clearing out any brush that might interfere and ground out and add insulators as nessicary.
once im sure that's all good ill add the section of fence I need to put in across the gully where the run off area is
and then its ust a case of attatching the new fence to the old fence, resecuring old lines as nessicary and removing lines that arnt needed.
that has to bethe final jo though because at that point theres reay no going back and I have to have everything good clear and working at that stage lol.

I did also pick up some stuff ot make a new pig waterer...large barrel, some t-posts and some ruer bungees to secue the barrel to the t's so they cant knock it over.
im going to make this one a gravitywatere like their bucket so ill simply steal the nipple off the bucket, dril a hole in the barel and reattatch the nipple to the barrel...

im still going to have to figure out a pig safe water trough for the goats since the pigs will still dump any buckets they can find... I need somehitng wide enough it wont get pushed over/toppled easily but deep enough that the pigs cant just climb in it like a hot tub lol.

BUT...all in all, im making deacent progress

got my reuest for apointent form the lowes HVAC guys today, need to call Sears too as I need 2 quotes minimum, will probably try and se fi theres a oclay based HVAC company too and see where hey come in price wise.

have to contact tn dept of health and have them come draw upmy leeching feidl as a just in case for that bid then get my guy and another quote for the septic issue...
and need at least 1 more quotefor both the insulation and the backdoor
and need an electrician quote to upgrade me to 200amp system...

so tonight ive got some yellow page scouring to do ready to make some calls tomorrow. so we can realy get this ball rolling.

 

[Denim Deb]

Sounds like you're really making progress.

 

[pinkfox]

progress was a tad slower than i hoped today...

i have 4 lines of electric fence up on the left hand side of the gully which is the .3 acres that hooks behind the neighbor...to be honest that's the worst part because that spot had the most brush and that's DONE short of hooking it up to the existing fence.

wanted to get all 4 lines done on the large pasture however it just didn't happen today...i got 1/2 the 2nd line up before lunch, ra out of wire on he spool so i tookthat as a "break time" sign as it was getting hot.
cam in had lunch but it was still too hot so i worked on the new pig water barrel...i couldn't find a water barrel in cgood codition at a doable price..so i bought a big plastic trashcan instead. and its BPA free (which means technically its drinking water safe lol) so took the nipple out of the original bucket, ill be re-using that bucket eventually and rigged it to the trashcan. wrapped the thread in plumbers tape first then sealed inand out with aquarium safe silicone...itll take about 72 hours to fully cure for water, so i wanted to get that done Now...

after that was done it was almost 4pm so had a drink then headed out to do the rest of the wire. finished line 2 and got 1/3rd the way round with line 3...managed to get into the woods but then i heard the high pitched attack call of the native skeeters,i wa sweating o bad the deet did NOTHING and i think one bit my eye ball...soi called it quits for the night.
came in,removed 4 ticks, and took a cool shower...right now im exhausted.
gonna done some comfy clothes in about an hour so i can go put everyone to bed, then i think im going to curlup with some Chinese food leftovers and a movie, and after that....a early night.
ive not been sleeping well so i need to try and get a full 8 hours tonight.

the plan for tomorrow involves:
getting the last 2 ines finnihsed and blocking off the gully
attatching the new fence to the old fence and re-working the old fence and orchard fence a little
getting the new fence turned on.

I also need a quick trip to goodwill in thee to buy a cheap sheet. i NEED to figure out a way to righ up some kind of sling system for lilly, she needs to get up and on her feet and im nto strong enough to hold her. figure used the sheet to rig up a harness will need something to criss cross under the ches and something WIDE for under the belly, is needs ot be as wide as possible so it doesn't put undue stress on the stomach itself.

the next challenge then becomes what do i hoist her up on. the beams in the barn i don't think are storng enough to hold her weight even with the weight loss shes had and shes too heavy for me to carry across the field to the patio and back to the barn each night. so im on the ook out for a metal porch swing with a frame. the swing will go under the patio and the frame would be plenty strong enough to support miss lazy legs i can set it up IN the barn and leave it there for now hook her up for a few mins here and there for the first few days and increase time..and as her strength builds back up give her a litte more time and sloey reduce the amount of support in the harness (ill use some good strong rope a a ort of pully/hoist system.

her poop is complelty normal now...shes drinking and eating...but shes still very pale and weak, she WANTS to stand but cant get her legs to co-operate and i worry if i don't get her up soon shes never getting up...shes been down 2 weeks tomorrow... most goats would be DEAD after this long down...but shes alert and has the will so now its time for some real physical therapy.
ive been pulling moving an massaging her legs and trying to hold her up as best as possible...but y back wont et me keep that up alone so time to get dang creative, baby bouncer here i come! lol.

buttercup her baby watches me as i give lilly a bottle filled with sugar water, he calls to me and runs to the barn so i check on lilly ect...i told her im not giving up...i told lilly she doesn't get out of it that easy...so im living by that!

i cant wait to get this fence finished...
thatll be a huge weight lifted in itself, the goats and the pigs will have acess to weeds and brush a plenty and thatll help with the feed bill as well as both their mental and physical health.

and once that's done i can start focusing on the INSIDE the hosue stuff...like reclaiming and CLEANING my kitchen lol.

 

[Denim Deb]

Pinky, a while back RU had a mini that needed to be in a sling. She used a stall guard. It wasn't the greatest, but it worked. I've since seen ones that are made in a way that I think would probably work better. Here's what I'm talking about.

 

[pinkfox]

that's cool. I actualy made something that looks similar with a sheet lol.
the hardest part now is finding a frame to use to hoist her up...shes just too heavy to risk the beams in the arrow shed so im looking for a porch swing frame or something...

she wants to get upbut doesn't have the strength, and im sure her joints are sore right now too from not being stretched enough (im doing eveyrhting can :/)

didn't get ANYTHING done on the fence today, much much too hot
heck too hot to even do the housework i planned to do should itbe too hot to work on the fence...

got to go back into town tomorrow for my lady doc appointment...hopefully well come up with a treatment plan.
having dinner with a friend while up there...

Friday ive got the sears guys coming out to price the central air and the backdoor, gotta call lowes since I havent had a call from them to schedual their price quote...
gotta contact the septic guy and get him to write me up a quote and draw me out a field ine plan for the "should we need it" (aparentlyhe just needs to confirm a repair permit and how many linier feet of line we would need should it need to be replaced)
gotta get another septic guy into quote on that too...

gotta get 2 electricians in for the 200mp upgrde aswell...
seriously sooo much work getting intouch with anyone..

anywho.

 

[pinkfox]

WOOOT the fence wire is all run!
not finished yet...theres still a way to go, but THATS the fiddly part.

next up...drag fencing down to the gully and get that secured off.

THEN...take the pruning shears and the weed waker for a walk through the woods to ensure that bottom line is completely clear and figure out where I need to add step ins to maintain height (there a few spots where the ground changes elevation, those are the spot where the bottom line is likely to be too high or worse too low and ground out. right now I THINK I need about 10 posts I have some on the current fenceline that can be re-used when itweek that line.

once the line is absolutey certainly clear,ined to turnthe fence off. clip the existingwires, hook upto the new fence and steal the post that are currently in useand place them were we need the extra support. that's the very last joband then we can plug in and let the goats explore first.

iveused bright hunter orange ducttape around the fence on the top and 2nd from the ground lines none conductive, short enough it doesn't interfere with the other wires bright enough to beeasily seen so that should help them firuge out the ew perimeter.
once the goat seem settled, itll be time to start letting the pigs explore a little.

Found the remains of a deer fairy fresh,coyotes just on the other side of the old perimeter fence...
decided its realy time to start considering a livestock dog.
I thought about llama, but theres no guarente it would guard (and aparenlty rare as hens teeth around here), donkey are out after reading ALOT of horror stories about donkey and goat

got a frined whos frined has a little of pyr x Anatolians going for a song...so im looking into it a little bit...they were close enough last night and from whats left of the deer (which wasn't much) it sounds like a fairly large pack, nd id rather have a back up for the electric fence since I cant afford to redo the entire perimeter with welded wire.

IN good news.
I found a tile for the bathroom I REALY like, so I bought tneough to do the shower. still need to decide whts going on the bathroom floor, but as of right now im ALMOST done shopping for that rooms entire "re-do" lol. need mortar, grout, something for the floor and the hoses and possibly some pvc pieces for the sink plumbling...oh and a new light fixture too.

need to do the math fro the kitchen backsplash too... I know what tile I want to use in there and since I wont need that much of it...I think since I need ot do so much in the bathroom im probably going to work on the tile in the kitchen, and getting the back bedroom done next...then the bathroom when dadcomes to visit which wil probably be September-ish.

its coming together...slowly.

the sears guys are due at 3pm to price up central air and the backdoor for the usda stuff...*fingers crossed*
need to call the electrican again since he didn't call me back yesterday...
its never ending lol.

 

[Britesea]

You never really know what might end up being a good LGD. We have a friend that had this to say about the dogs he has used for guarding their poultry...

"Our German Shepherd dog is a good duck and chicken protector now but, as a pup, he was responsible for many duck and chicken deaths. We had many come to Jesus meetings about that. We had a GS/Chow Chow dog that was such a good boy! I could point to a chicken, and he would follow it around until it gave up and went into the chicken house. Our Doberman bitch was a wonderful varmint killer/chicken and duck protector. When we came home, she would have snakes, possums, raccoons, rats, and the occasional armadillo and squirrel lined up on the porch for our inspection and be wagging her back end off anticipating our approval.

The very, very, very bestest chicken and duck dog we ever had was a bird dog cross, Odie. He would separate fighting ducks and chickens. One cold night, he wouldn't come to his food bowl. I checked to see what the problem was and nestled underneath his fur were chicks whose mom had disappeared, and were snuggling up to him for warmth.

So, you never know. Some mutt right off the street might be the answer to your prayers for livestock guardianship."

The same could be said about guardians of other types of animals too.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sounds like you are making amazing progress there Pink!

Britesea reminded me of a non-typical guardian dog I had many, many years ago. She was an English Setter and a hunting fool! Oh my, the look she would give my ex-husband if he missed a shot at a bird, lol. But, when we had chicks she would take over. When our GS had puppies she stole one and would fight like a demon if mama tried to take her back. She even adopted a kitten once (never found out where it came from) and actually lactated and nursed that kitten. She was amazing!

I say go for the Anatolian/Pyr cross!

 

[pinkfox]

oh my goodness...what a day! im BEAT
late night last night hanging with some friends, had a bast butidnt get home till after 1am...im not a late nighter lol


then this moring got up heaed to the fleamarket on a hint from a frined about a swing stand
whent got a good deal and it came with the swing itself. the swing needs some TLC, its a little rusted and the cusion/seat has seen better days (I doubt id want anyone sitting on it right now as theyd probably fall through the bottom...but nothing that cant be fixed with a ltitle ingenuity.

guy told me to "bring my car around" and his face kinda dropped when he saw my car...
hes like...ummmm...sooo....ummm....I don't think....ummm...howd you wnna do this?! lol.popped the top down did some fanaglgin, the frame was in 3 pieces so not a ig problem, a little wiggling and some bungee cords later the guy couldnt belive not only that I could...but that I did get it in my "little"car.
another lesson of "please don't tell my car shes not a truck!
shes a true transformer! lol.

got that home,dropped off the parts and whent to pick up my newest addition to the goat heard. my friend E has a lot of goaties is a little more than she needs or wants but she didn't want to lssoe the bloodline of this particular girl.
shes gorgeous and shes not much younger than buttercup, so we now have a morning glory. shes here on co-ownership and E ets first doe back out of a breeding with one of her bucks. andoh boy is she eye candy!!!
got her dropped off then out again...

picked up my 2 new LGD's
Bonnie and Clyde.
bonnie is from the frined of a friend...shes 1/2 Anatolian, 1/2 pyr. and to be honest iwanted to RESCUE them all, shes filthy, flea ridden and needs a serious bath (on the list for tomorrows jobs)
but she said the other puppies all wre spoken for...

but id seen a sign on the way up for "livestock puppies" and I couldn't help but stop in on the way home.
clyde could be Bonnies TWIN they look exactly alike (though hes a little cleaner) hes 1/2 pyr (turns out the brother to themother of bonnie) and 1/4 akbash (or mamerma, they wernt entirely sure, but it was a "big white dog that not a pyr lol"), 1/4 Anatolian.

theres about 3 days age difference too. (and he was free) so home they both came...hey are currently in a pen in the backyard with a doghouse...
tomorrow they'll get baths and frontline, gonna give em a few days of through the fence with the goats before starting real introductions.

home...
got lilies frame set up
got her slinged up...
I actualy realy need to work on that so it better distributes the weight ut right now she IS on her feet with the aid of the sing...I just don't think in terms fo weightdistribution it would work for more than 30 mins here or there...
she seems ok with being a lilly pinyata lol.

so im EHAUSTED and hot and sticky and itchy...
gonna go put everyone to bed, take a couple pictures too and then a cool shower.

tomorrow im hoping to work on the fence and get it finished up andwork on a better design for the sling for lily...im hoping we only need to use it for a few days...she sure as hell has been trying to get up on her own so...

anywho...time to go give glory her bottle, feed everyone else and then CHILL!

 

[Denim Deb]

Hope this works for her and that in just a bit, she'll be standing on her own.

And, I can't wait to see pics of Bonnie and Clyde! I hope they work out for you.