More alpaca mowing and one lesson learned

So far, we haven't mowed anything with our mower. Okay, maybe we did mow over a path that I'd cut with my scythe. But that was just to test the mower.

We are still trying to figure out how to create an easy to move temporary fence for the alpacas. They are pretty good at mowing and it seems a shame to waste all this food - alpaca food, that is.

Our latest attempt uses fiberglass, step-in posts and plastic snow fence.

The boys enjoying a morning munch of fresh grass.

As you can see in the photo it's a little floppy. For the most part, it worked. Until Loki discovered clover on the other side of the fence. He must have found a low spot and then reached over. And, before we knew it, his neck had pushed the fence low enough that he just hopped over. I'm still hopeful that we can use this to divide the larger pasture and rotate them onto new grass. It's pretty light and easier to move. But for areas where they could be loose, like the front yard, this won't be secure enough. :-(

So the real lesson that we learned was in regard to the chickens - and it has nothing to do with fences, really. Remember how I mentioned that Doogle (our beagle) might not be safe around chickens?

A mouthful of feathers - Doogle's mouth.

Our free-ranging chickens came up close to the house one morning. And Sunny, being a little slower than the rest, was relieved of a few beautiful tail feathers by our sweet dog.

Whew! That was close and, for me, relatively painless. Not sure how Sunny feels about it.

So, really, we learned two lessons and, luckily, neither one cost us much.