Baymule’s Farm

[baymule]

I’m tired. Back, arms and shoulders are sore. I guess I’m out of shape. I built a sorta fence today from the lot where the hoop shelter is in front field to the property line fence.

I have some Red River cattle corral panels. They were at the back of the back yard so I dragged them up to the front. @Ridgetop and I were talking last night, WHEN did this stuff get so heavy? I opened the gate to the front field and dragged them inside. I had 9 that weren’t being used elsewhere.

I started with a hog panel because I had one.

I put up 2 Red River panels. I pounded T posts on each end of each panel and securely tied it all together with hay twine.

I drove Tposts, hung a walk through gate, with lots of hay string of course.

Gate looked pretty good. I didn’t have enough Red River panels, so I closed the gap with—what else? PALLETS

The sheep found the gate and used it. Never mind that there was an opening all the way to the other fence, this is a GATE.

The sheep checked out the panels laying on the ground.

I had panels laid on the ground to the fence. Sheep went back out on the field through the gate.

It took me all day to get this put up. I’ll have to cover the panels with some kind of wire so the lambs can’t walk under it. I have some welded wire, it may be enough. I pounded T posts, dragged panels around, zig-zagged them across the field and tied the whole thing together with hay string.

I have the pins that link them together, but it takes level ground to get the pin sockets to line up and it wasn’t level. Hay string don’t care if it’s level or not.

I can’t work on it tomorrow, I have errands to do, not Thursday, it will be raining. Hopefully Friday morning, after it quits raining, I can get wire on it. Then I can leave the gate to their hoop shelter open and the sheep can use the new Pallet Palace and will be able to access the hay bale. It looks like crap but it will be an improvement for the sheep.

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

@baymule more amazing animal management techniques. Is there anything you can’t do. And oh yes those gates are heavy. I use my tractor to pull them around . I try to be mindful of techniques when doing projects and time to save our bodies from unusual stress. I hope you feel ok tomorrow.

 

[ducks4you]

@baymule, don't lose the pins! You can dig out to level the round pen panels feet OR use pieces of scrap wood, then retie with baling twine, but I would go back and run the baling twine from the tops to the bottoms, like wrapping them together. Baling twine is SO TOUGH!
15 years ago or so I made two stalls from 3 round pen panels and a gate panel--one is 12' x 12', the other is 10' x 12'. The pins are attached to the panels with chains, BUT, it's the pins that create stability and yours are outside, where the wind could hit them. Even in my condition I managed to move several panels outside of my barn after my barn died in one of the stalls.
You are SO lucky to find those on the property! I have a section of my property that I would Love to fence in with round pen panels! They run about ~$150/each, depending on where you buy them, 5' high, 12' wide, also 10' wide and 8' wide, and various widths and heights. I bought one panel several years ago to replace the wooden wall on the other stall. It was 4' high, 12' wide, which was too long, and I didn't measure correctly, so I went back and bounght one 10' wide. I stored the 12' wide one on the other side of one of the other round pen panel stalls, and then we lost a post that held a 4' wide metal gate up, so it's currently being used to keep that closed. It's a great temporary fix for any broken fencing.
Here are my two round pen panel stalls, from one angle and without the gate panels:

 

[baymule]

@ducks4you Pins are in a bucket in the shed. I don’t have them all, never did. Not going to dig lower or raise level either. There is a T post at each end of every panel, that fence ain’t going anywhere. It’s temporary, maybe a year, maybe 2 years. When I build a real barn, the hoop shelter and pen will come down. This panel fence will come down too.

One thing about all my temporary and make do projects, I get to see how and where things work before putting up permanent structures.

These panels made the property line fence in back of the house. I have 3 more of them. I took them down and put up sheep and goat wire. I’m adamant about keeping MY dogs in and everybody else’s out.

I also have a 60’ round pen with walk through gate, BUT it has straight legs, doesn’t have the “foot” these panels do. Sheep can walk right under it, the bottom bar is high off the ground, for horses. High bottom bar also gives one a “roll under” escape route, if needed. LOL Those panels are leaned against a H brace, out of the way. Some day I’ll get another horse or two, I’ll put it back up and use it again.

 

[baymule]

@baymule more amazing animal management techniques. Is there anything you can’t do. And oh yes those gates are heavy. I use my tractor to pull them around . I try to be mindful of techniques when doing projects and time to save our bodies from unusual stress. I hope you feel ok tomorrow.

Thanks for the encouragement! I was raised with a “I can do anything” attitude. There isn’t much I won’t tackle, although at 69, be 70 in May, I have learned to temper that with more sensible actions. But not always…..

I don’t mind the heavy work and sometimes elect to do just that, I push it to the limit.