Pigs and Sheep On the Move
#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk
As we finish this week, we are only five days from the Thermopolis Wool Festival. This means we are in a final rush to finish projects before leaving. I learned how to finalize the rugs and pelts we have made over the past weeks. This includes cleaning and brushing the wool to ensure it is in good condition and ready to sell. I learned how she is preparing the animals for when we are gone. We moved the sheep closer to the house and to a more accessible location for the people watching over them. This week, I also learned how to move the rams on my own by connecting the electric fences and having a lot of patience. We were having trouble with the electric fence getting a good charge, so I learned how to test the different components of the charger. It is vital to make sure the fence is very hot for the sheep as they can get their heads stuck in the fence. This would kill sheep, so we needed to figure out how to get it to work. There are multiple ways to troubleshoot this, such as making sure the fence is not stuck underneath the post and not touching any plants or objects. This is also important for the pigs as it would be bad if they got out and into the road.
This leads me to my challenge for this week. My host moved a small pig onto this property, which caused some issues. This pig is smaller and not the same breed as the rest, so it gets bullied by the other pigs. The small pig does not want to stay in the pen with them and has become an escape artist. We increased the height of the wire by adding another strand onto the fence, but he is still escaping. He goes between the wires and does not seem bothered by the charge. I wonder if we could increase the voltage of the wire to ensure he does not get out or possibly separate him with two other pigs like he was back at the other property. In theory, this could make him less inclined to want to escape the pen and would allow him more access to food without being bullied.
I have a lot of questions about the electrical fence energizer. My host and I spoke about the different components of the energizer as she decided to take it apart. She believes one of them is not working correctly. I would like to know more about the different parts inside the energizer and how to change out the parts. This would help me understand maintenance on the part and how to tell what electrical part has gone faulty. I want to understand more about how the solar panel chargers the batteries and what parts you could change to make the fence hotter. This knowledge would help me troubleshoot and see the possibilities available.
Thus far, I continue to surprise myself with how much I learn each week. Seeing the products I have worked on over the past seven weeks in the final stages is exciting as I will see the hard work pay off. Preparing for the festival has taught me what entices customers to buy your product. This is important because I want to understand how products are viewed from the customer’s perspective and how to make your products sell better. Learning how to move the rams on my own has given me more confidence in thinking a step ahead of animals’ behavior and anticipating it. Being able to hone into this is essential in working with any animal, as you want to be a step ahead of their next move. When trying to contain animals, figuring out how to troubleshoot the components of an electrical fence is essential. Seeing how different pig breeds interact is interesting, as this could carry over if I am in the position to buy animals. I’m always looking forward to what I can learn next and excited to see what I will learn at the Wool Festival.
Submitted by: Elizabeth Herman
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
