Good Fences Make Good Neighbors When You Can Get One Built.

Moving is always a chore. No matter if you are moving from a tiny house to a ranch or to a smaller space from a larger one. If you bring goldfish or Angus it will present challenges that nothing else does.

Moving from Ash Creek property in Shasta county comprised of 40 acres totally relying on totally  solar to the new farm on 3.64 acres back on the grid was no exception. Bringing livestock with me (goats, chickens, dogs and cats) presented its own set of issues. First was all the fencing needed to be replaced as it was either not Pyrenees, goat or Border Collie strong. It was old for the most part some I swear us from the time the pioneers came through. Much of one stretch is almost none existent let alone sufficient.  I cannot lie both the street side and the common fence between my property and my closest neighbor was ok. But there is more to the story on that.

So when I had to move in a "greyhound" fashion I had to plan for keeping everyone safe and healthy as I knew the fencing would take awhile. That involved improvising with corral panels left to me on the property. The previous owner had horses so to make them work for goats and Pyrs each one we used had to be reinforced with a 16' ft long 5 ft tall cattle panel. Corral panels are usually 10 - 12 feet long and are a pipe construction making them stand alone when linked to each other . Cattle panels cannot stand alone and need support from either T post or being attached to another panel such as corral panels. The photo below shows part of the area we did to give the dogs and goats a reasonable space in addition to the custom build "mare motel" that came with the property. But only temporary. 

Like all well planned parades something always goes sideways and this theory proved to be no exception. I couldn't find anyone to start the fencing prior to my taking possession of the property. In our first move to Mendocino county we were able to do so with a hold harmless clause but no one in our new area was willing to jump into that potential snake pit. I can't say I blame them as litigation has just about become a spectator sport in last 25 or so years. Then I found as I called company after company that apparently a large part of this central California foothill community had fencing done this year. So the wait time was a unheard of 3 - 5 months. With the stress of moving plus into spaces smaller then usual this wasn't acceptable.

So I continued on my search and found a seasoned fence guy but with one draw back . His real job is with Cal Fire. I was content to go with him even knowing the process may be slower but a better shot than the options. That was until the fire opps. Although he has been able to do several equipment drops the "real" job totally took him away beginning October 6th to the fire lines of the Briceburg Fire . https://fire.ca.gov/incidents/2019/10/6/briceburg-fire/

At this point my anticipated finish date of end of November for all the livestock fencing is realistically now the end of December. The critters are doing well even though our day to day routine is limited. With the bad western fence none of the dogs can leave the barn / pen area without being on lead. The house dogs haven't left the house without the same restriction.  The last thing we need is search and rescue on any of them. Do I trust them yes with some hesitation on the house dogs as we have too many cottontails and squirrels to make it a very tempting opportunity. So everyone gets at least one walk about a day . The house dogs have a 10 x 20  ft kennel they can use to be off lead outside and since they love me so much they like to be where I am and they can see me from their kennel if I am out doing chores, yard work and so forth.


For now we will patiently wait and continue on as best we can manage. Knowing this is not forever makes it easier and in a few months it will all be a distant memory.

Stay tuned. I am hoping to churn out a post today or in a few with the debut  of  the best kept secret of the month "Do my neighbors have coop envy?"