Cushy doesn’t like walking downhill to get at the fresh grass in her field. This is probably due to her advanced arthritis. So, instead, after eating the grass on the flat part of her field, she started to lean over the electric fence and eat the (obviously much greener) grass on the other side. This comes with the added bonus of a wee peppery kick from the electricity flowing at random times through the tapes. All was fine until she leaned over too far, put her foot through the fence, and got tape around her leg. The result was carnage for the fencing. I went out to feed the animals this morning and my first thought on opening the field gate was, “where’s the fence?”
It was in an almost perfect straight line on the grass in the field, see if you can spot it in the pictures. GS and I spent a merry morning putting the fence up across the next field so the horses could access the grass there (obviously much greener). We have been keeping this grass all summer to use as “standing hay” during the winter. I suppose with this being the first day of November, it was time to let them graze it, but I think it might have been better if we had been able to move the fence when we planned rather than being forced to alter our schedule for today.
where’s the fence 
I know it was you, don’t act all innocent 
Grazing the standing hay
The new fence 
Do horses dream of electric fences?
RIP Trixie
Sad news – one of the hens died last week. They all started to moult a few weeks ago and stopped laying eggs, but Trixie never seemed to recover herself. She spent her final few days a bit hunched over and sorry for herself and then seemed back to her old self for a while. Then one day we found her deceased.
I was going to do this post in Monty Python style (this parrot is deceased, it has ceased to be) but GSS thought it was not appropriate. So…
Goodbye Trixie, you were a good hen and thanks for all the eggs.
The Geordie Smallholder 