Frustration Continued

I promised you the rest of the story. Here it is. While I was madly winding polytape and shooing steers, I was also chasing chickens. This was not new. I was spending about 2 hours a day crouched down waving my arms as I herded the flock back from the forbidden zones.

The problem was that there were way too many of these zones. I had to keep them out of the steers' paddock for fear they would electrocute themselves. I had to keep them out of the farm buildings for the damage they would do. And, most importantly, I had to keep them out of our gardens and the raised beds. To that end, I carefully squeezed myself through the gates to keep them contained in the chicken area.

You can see from the above  picture how well that worked out. They just flapped their (supposedly clipped) wings and hopped over. Now I was forced to keep the garage doors closed so they wouldn't join me for tea in my apartment. Since I provide the chicken feed twice a day, I am Queen of the Hill. They follow me everywhere! I can't move without them. And they're smart. By the time I have raised the garage door, they are lined up there waiting for handouts. So while I am frantically trying to contain the steers, I also have to contend with the chickens.

But that's not all, folks. We now come to the sheep. All 30 sheep were supposed to be getting to know each other in paddock #3. So imagine my excitement when I glance up the hill at #4 and there they are. Thrilled does not begin to cover it.

About 10 of them are strolling happily through #4. This is one of the paddocks which is 'resting'. Dan has an intricate system of grass rotation that kept our stock happy and well-fed even through the worst drought in 50 years. He plans to continue that success this year. But not  if we have errant sheep wandering around.

So in my spare time I hike over and shoo the sheep back into #3. I can't find any gaps in the fencing so I figure one of the neighbor's kids forgot to latch a gate and then latched it on a return trip. I was wrong. Several hours later, the sheep are back again. Only 4 this time but in a way that makes it harder to herd them. A flock with large numbers tends to stay together and a few scattered ones will just run all over the place.

But my big problem is to figure out how they are getting in. It takes a while but I manage to get all 4 of the Suffolk sheep back to #3. Then it dawns on me: the sheep were shorn last Sunday! Aha. Move over Mr. Holmes. Shorn sheep are much smaller than woolly ones. The little suckers were scooting under the gate.

While I am gathering wood to barricade the gate, some of the sheep reappear. This time I herd them while dragging a fair sized log. Strange to say, I manage this feat. Now my solution might not be elegant, but it worked.