February 12, 2019 @goldenoakfarm
Female fox wishing and dreaming and planning last night
We’ve been seeing both the male and female fox since last summer. We’ve also recently started seeing a mangy coyote. Until recently, the fox have paid no attention to the hens, in fact, not even turning their heads as they passed by.
But as you see, in late winter, that is no longer the case. There are 3 hot wires on the chickens’ pen, at 8”, 16” and 32”. This insures they don’t dig, try to climb, or jump over. There is a dedicated charger on the fence. My husband checked it last night and said it was 6300 volts (I think it was volts). He had his brand new fence checker that told him that. His old one just registered up to 5 lights.
The fox tried to slip between the barn and the pen, right by where you see it. The hens, dumb birds, all had to come watch. You can see them bunched in that corner. The fox came out a whole lot faster than she went in, obviously having been burned on the fence.
We have between 5” – 12” (depending on what forecast you read) coming later today. That will cover the 8” wire, and hopefully not short out the fence. So far, it’s worked after snow storms….
This month is being devoted to finalizing house plans for submission to contractors. I will also be pricing up materials, as it’s only the shell being contracted out. So most of my mornings, when I usually write, will be devoted to that.
I’ve gotten all the drawings on graph paper. My husband needs to turn them into blueprints on the AutoCAD. I am waiting for his elevations, to see what happens to 2nd story windows on the existing buildings.
So not so many posts in future…. I am still struggling with this bug, whatever it is. Another trip to the doctor tomorrow….
