When it rains it pours...

Well the suck week from hell continues. 

Saturday morning while Patrick and I were getting ready for the Farmer's Market we got a call from a volunteer at Felix Neck. All the sheep and goats were out. Out of their new fence. The one I had just paid $1500 for.

We rushed up to there and found that he was right, they were out. Patrick used grain to lure them back to the pen but when we got there we found Nanny McPhee all tangled up in the new fence. It was wrapped around her neck multiple times and it was a miracle that she hadn't choked to death in the night. It took about 20 minutes to free her from the fence (a section of which was all but destroyed BTW) and the whole time I kept thinking that something wasn't right. Nanny McPhee had been trained to the fence for more than a year. Sometimes a new animal will challenge the fence but it just seemed really odd that an animal familiar with it would. 

We got her loose and she was fine. And then I noticed that all the clips that run from the electric fence charger to the fence were uncliped. All four of them

There wasn't much time to think because by then we were running massively late for the Farmer's Market. But on the way out we ran into Suzan Bellicampi, Sanctuary Director at Felix Neck.  Long story short, it turns out that someone, probably kids, broke into Felix Neck the night before, did doughnuts in the parking lot, chased our flock and left. 

I can't begin to tell you how angry this makes me. Just writing about it makes me see red.  Okay, I get it, they were probably teenagers and didn't think they were hurting anyone. But Nanny McPhee easily could have died, either by having her air cut off by the fence or from the stress.  

So the gate at Felix Neck is now locked at night.  I am comfortable that my flock is safe. But I really didn't need the added stress...

The next couple of days were blessedly uneventful. We moved the sheep and goats to a new area to eat. They are in a very brushy, overgrown area right now, which makes moving the fence a big project. It took Patrick and I almost two hours to set up the new fence, trim all the vines and branches around the fenceline and get the flock in, but it was totally worth it. 

Patrick  pretending to  be annoyed about all the work.

He goes first, crushing down the brush with his giant feet and dropping a fence post every 8 feet. I follow behind setting the posts and making sure there are no gaps for the escape-minded goats to sneak though.

The bittersweet vines make great eating for the flock but making fencing a pain.

Ta Da! Here is our beautiful, virgin fenced area. All we need to do now is add sheep and goats.

Remember that scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when the kids get their first look at the room with the chocolate river running through it? I'm talking about the old school Willy Wonka, the Gene Wilder version.  Everything in the giant room is eatable- the trees, the giant mushrooms, everything, and all the kids spread out and start eating. That's exactly what it's like when we let the flock into a new fence.

No matter how long a day it's been or how late it is, Patrick and I always stay for a while and watch them eat. They are just so happy. 

The day after a major move is really easy. All we have to do in the evening is feed the dogs, feed the bottle babies and give the flock a little hay to keep their rumens functioning properly. Last night when we gave them hay everybody came running over to the hay feeder and were quietly munching away when I heard a baby goat crying. I figured one of the kids had gotten left behind when their mama came to get hay. I went looking for her and found Rosemary laying on her side with a broken leg. 

We called our vet but his answering  service said he was off Island and had the on-call vet meet us at the animal hospital. We brought Bay Leaf along for companionship. Goats get very stressed when they are away from the rest of the flock and we wanted to minimize her discomfort.  

Dr. Atwood was great. He took x-rays and confirmed that Rosemary did indeed have a broken leg. The break was clean through just below the growth plate.

Dr. Atwood decided that the best course of action was to keep Rosemary and Bay Leaf overnight and set the leg in the morning when he has a vet tech on hand to help him with the anesthesia . 

Rosemary came through the ordeal just fine. Because she is growing so quickly I will have to bring her in to get a new cast once  week until it heals, but Dr Atwood thinks she will recover completely. But she can't rejoin the flock until her cast is off in six weeks since it will dissolve if it gets wet. "What you have here," Dr. Atwood said, "is a house pet." 

Rosemary seems to agree. She is sleeping on Gulliver's dog bed as I type and she has taken to a bottle like she's been doing it since the day she was born. You'll notice that in addition to a cast Rosemary is sporting a diaper. That is my concession to Patrick, who doesn't really like having a dog in the house, let alone a farm animal. 

Dr. Atwood thinks Rosemary got her leg stuck in a hole or a tangle of vines and panicked, breaking her leg in the process. Their bones apparently aren't that strong because they are still growing. He is a great vet and even helped us by keeping the bill under $500. Still, most farms probably wouldn't spend that kind of money on a kid, so I keep reminding myself how lucky we truly are. If it weren't for the shareholders we would have had to make a very tough decision last night. 

I hope you all know how grateful I am to you for investing in our farm. Sincerely and deeply grateful.

If you are a current shareholder and haven't yet emailed me about purchasing a Spring 2009 share (and you want one) please let me know ASAP. There is supposed to be a big magazine article coming out about the farm this weekend and I am listing some of the remaining Spring 09 shares on etsy. I've saved a few for shareholders but I need to know who you are.

Also, I'm told that the video that was shot when Salina gave birth to Truman will be posted on etsy a week from Friday. I'll post a link as soon as it's up.

In other news, I am going to be holding a raffle this weekend to raise money for a super-worthy cause. The grand prize winner will be receiving my entire stash of non-MVFF yarn. Yup, the whole kit and caboodle. I'll explain all  in my next post but I promise you won't want to miss this one.

Keep your fingers crossed that the rest of the week is uninteresting please!