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Staff Member
Thursday started like any other day this week - Snowing. So I got up for work, brushed off my car, put on all my winter clothes I had been so hopeful could be put away just a week ago and off I went to work in the snow! After a regular and mundane day I creeped home on the less than stellar roads and spun my way up the gravel road and into the driveway. Something was wrong though, something was out of place…. My black yearling steer was in the yard! Fencing is always a work in progress here so this isn’t a huge surprise but it has been a while since there’s been an escapee and it always has you thinking “Where did they get out?” and “Has anyone else figured it out?” and “How long do I have until they do?”
Well this time it was my luck that has run out. All year it’s been critters at work taking advantage of the snow over the fences. Once the crust got hard enough they would just toddle on over the top like there’s not even a fence there. At home my bovines have been content to stay in about 30 square feet of area between bale ring and waterer. When it started melting mid month they did go for a gander to find some emerging grass but at that point the snow was too rotten for them to go on the big banks. Unfortunately the bad part about wet, rotten snow is that it freezes really hard when it gets cold again, kind of like this week. Instead of being daunting snow banks, now they’re platforms for escape! Luckily in all the fresh snow it was easy to follow the trail of the culprit to find his escape route but dealing with it was another matter.
Panels wouldn’t work because they’re buried and there’s nothing to anchor them too - everything is much lower on ground level, under all that snow. Posts and wire would be easily pushed over and a hot wire wouldn’t be high enough to be effective although I do have some temporary fence stakes! Oh wait, those are buried right where they’re walking over at… I have some old pallets I could drag over there but again, they could just push them over. Think, think, think. I have no tractor or loader, no snow blower and no spare pen but I do have a shovel! So I launched what I refer to as my trench warfare and proceeded to dig. Conn the dog wasn’t very helpful but he thought I was making a wonderful place for him to have snow baths.
I imagine this would be perfect snow to make an igloo out of. I got some wonderfully sized bricks and added them to the top of the snow bank on the other side of the fence to build that up extra high. Underneath these bricks the snow is very dry and fine so it can stay where it is for all I care. I must admit that I had a good laugh when the original black steer came sauntering up his escape trail only to be met with the trench. He stretched his neck out as far as it would go to try and reach the other side but no luck! Then he stepped down into the trench to see if that would work but his bum was all of a sudden rather far above his head so down he climbed. Soon I had a trenchful of yearlings behind me with nowhere to go. Their legs are too short to climb out and I hadn’t dug an easy access ramp on the other end yet and they’re much too chubby to turn around so we had to practice our reversing. It proved that they didn’t think they could get out from the trench though which was good enough for me.
Darkness came with the screech of an owl supervising my digging. I’m sure he was enjoying the entertainment as much as my bovine audience. I had to call it quits while there were still a few spots that looked crossable but only time would tell. Of course, when I got home the next day my rogues had multiplied and I now had a heifer and a steer out. Guess the trench wasn’t quite long enough. The only lucky part in all this was that Stella, the biggest pita, figured it was too much effort to walk all the way with the other two and was just happy to have the bale to herself. So off I went to dig out farther and farther and pile the snow higher and higher. Soon I figured I had to be far enough, the fence was poking out of the snow enough that it wasn’t just an easy step over anymore plus the crust wasn’t as sturdy there and they were sinking a bit more. Fingers crossed this would work now!
Moment of truth came this afternoon. After an eventful drive home that’s a whole other story I was afraid to go out to the barn to see the renegades out again and further deteriorate my mood. So I stalled and had a nap instead. When I went out to do chores, what do I see? Everyone right where they’re supposed to be! It was a wonderful end to the day and I can only have good dreams that my trench doesn’t fill in and Spring decides to appear in an overwhelming force of warmth, Robin’s songs and days of grass!
About the author
@blaithlin is a Canadian member of TFF and kindly submits adhoc blogs to TFF News & Blogs
Well this time it was my luck that has run out. All year it’s been critters at work taking advantage of the snow over the fences. Once the crust got hard enough they would just toddle on over the top like there’s not even a fence there. At home my bovines have been content to stay in about 30 square feet of area between bale ring and waterer. When it started melting mid month they did go for a gander to find some emerging grass but at that point the snow was too rotten for them to go on the big banks. Unfortunately the bad part about wet, rotten snow is that it freezes really hard when it gets cold again, kind of like this week. Instead of being daunting snow banks, now they’re platforms for escape! Luckily in all the fresh snow it was easy to follow the trail of the culprit to find his escape route but dealing with it was another matter.
Panels wouldn’t work because they’re buried and there’s nothing to anchor them too - everything is much lower on ground level, under all that snow. Posts and wire would be easily pushed over and a hot wire wouldn’t be high enough to be effective although I do have some temporary fence stakes! Oh wait, those are buried right where they’re walking over at… I have some old pallets I could drag over there but again, they could just push them over. Think, think, think. I have no tractor or loader, no snow blower and no spare pen but I do have a shovel! So I launched what I refer to as my trench warfare and proceeded to dig. Conn the dog wasn’t very helpful but he thought I was making a wonderful place for him to have snow baths.
I imagine this would be perfect snow to make an igloo out of. I got some wonderfully sized bricks and added them to the top of the snow bank on the other side of the fence to build that up extra high. Underneath these bricks the snow is very dry and fine so it can stay where it is for all I care. I must admit that I had a good laugh when the original black steer came sauntering up his escape trail only to be met with the trench. He stretched his neck out as far as it would go to try and reach the other side but no luck! Then he stepped down into the trench to see if that would work but his bum was all of a sudden rather far above his head so down he climbed. Soon I had a trenchful of yearlings behind me with nowhere to go. Their legs are too short to climb out and I hadn’t dug an easy access ramp on the other end yet and they’re much too chubby to turn around so we had to practice our reversing. It proved that they didn’t think they could get out from the trench though which was good enough for me.
Darkness came with the screech of an owl supervising my digging. I’m sure he was enjoying the entertainment as much as my bovine audience. I had to call it quits while there were still a few spots that looked crossable but only time would tell. Of course, when I got home the next day my rogues had multiplied and I now had a heifer and a steer out. Guess the trench wasn’t quite long enough. The only lucky part in all this was that Stella, the biggest pita, figured it was too much effort to walk all the way with the other two and was just happy to have the bale to herself. So off I went to dig out farther and farther and pile the snow higher and higher. Soon I figured I had to be far enough, the fence was poking out of the snow enough that it wasn’t just an easy step over anymore plus the crust wasn’t as sturdy there and they were sinking a bit more. Fingers crossed this would work now!
Moment of truth came this afternoon. After an eventful drive home that’s a whole other story I was afraid to go out to the barn to see the renegades out again and further deteriorate my mood. So I stalled and had a nap instead. When I went out to do chores, what do I see? Everyone right where they’re supposed to be! It was a wonderful end to the day and I can only have good dreams that my trench doesn’t fill in and Spring decides to appear in an overwhelming force of warmth, Robin’s songs and days of grass!
About the author
@blaithlin is a Canadian member of TFF and kindly submits adhoc blogs to TFF News & Blogs