Here, my friends, is the wood to build a goat fortress!
At the moment Bubba and Bazza spend most of their day tethered on the creek bank. I can never say that I have solved the tethering issues...because as soon as I do, Bazza will find a way to thwart me! Enough to say I have been through a range of chains and fittings requiring four or five trips to the hardware store before settling on the latest arrangement.
I am tethering them to big tent pegs now, that I can hammer right into the ground, eliminating the opportunity for tangles. Mind you, if I am not careful about setting them out they still manage to wind themselves around saplings, each other, sticks, grass tussocks, logs, vines and sometimes, it seems, on thin air!
And of course, the first thing Bazza does each time he is tethered is test the strength of the chain by pulling on it at every point in the 360 degrees available to him.
Only after he has ascertained that I have done a good job, will he turn his attention to his real love ...eating.
They do spend some time in the back yard...but only when we can supervise.
Any lapse in attention results in one or the other going over the fence or somehow gaining access to the vegetable garden. Of course, when the goats are in the back yard, the chook coop must be closed. Bubba, particularly, adores layers pellets...but they do not agree with her and she ends up with the runs.
At the moment Bubba and Bazza spend most of their day tethered on the creek bank. I can never say that I have solved the tethering issues...because as soon as I do, Bazza will find a way to thwart me! Enough to say I have been through a range of chains and fittings requiring four or five trips to the hardware store before settling on the latest arrangement.
I am tethering them to big tent pegs now, that I can hammer right into the ground, eliminating the opportunity for tangles. Mind you, if I am not careful about setting them out they still manage to wind themselves around saplings, each other, sticks, grass tussocks, logs, vines and sometimes, it seems, on thin air!
And of course, the first thing Bazza does each time he is tethered is test the strength of the chain by pulling on it at every point in the 360 degrees available to him.
Only after he has ascertained that I have done a good job, will he turn his attention to his real love ...eating.
They do spend some time in the back yard...but only when we can supervise.
Any lapse in attention results in one or the other going over the fence or somehow gaining access to the vegetable garden. Of course, when the goats are in the back yard, the chook coop must be closed. Bubba, particularly, adores layers pellets...but they do not agree with her and she ends up with the runs.
When it is raining, or we have to go out, the goats are locked in their shed.
As the weather begins to deteriorate, new arrangements will need to be made for their comfort (and our sanity). New, stronger fences will provide a yard, with access to their shed, for those 'in between times'.
The wood in the picture below was scrounged but I had to buy the posts.
Behind this naked lady lily is an example of the makeshift methods I have thus far engaged to keep Bazza from hurdling into the front yard.
If he ever realises that it is more of an illusion of a fence, than a real one, I will be in big trouble!
Mmm! Maybe I should also consider putting a balustrade around that deck on the back of the house. Bazza looks as if he has just about worked out how the door handle works.
Lol, your children grew up and moved out, so you got some new ones!!!
ReplyDeleteHave you seen those dog tether's that you screw into the ground? They are like big springs. I haven't had any experience with them, but I remember them being advertised as the ants pants.
Yes..and did those screwy things work? No! Bazza just pulled them out of the ground. *sigh* But I do not wish to talk about it too much..he might hear me!
ReplyDeleteNo end to their ingenuity, more smarts than a classroom full of kids!I'm not demeaning kids here!Good luck with the fence it's looking promising with those posts.
ReplyDeleteMy chickens have learnt how to pry open the back door if I haven't shut it properly, so I won't be surprised to hear one day you walk into your kitchen to find the goats helping themselves to tea and scones. ^_^
ReplyDeleteI suppose this is not the right moment to suggest that you ought to have gone for Rabbits rather than goats..? :)
ReplyDeleteYou'll be on a carpentry / building course next.
change their names to Harry Houdini and David Blaine
ReplyDeleteBazza is so cute - he just loves you so much that he wants to be with you all the time. Give him a chance & he'll be up on your lap for cuddles!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your fencing - everyone will be much happier once it's in place. It's so nice to wake in the night to the sound of rain and know that the goats can go into the shed on their own rather than you racing down there in your pj's (or laying awake the rest of the night fretting about them because you don't want to race down there in your pj's). ;)
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