Now that we’re into our second week of rotational grazing, I’ve take the time to get the Gator, my “grazing-mobile,” prepped for the season. 

We rotate animals to new paddocks every 3-4 days. I like to have my go-to-supplies on hand so I’m not constantly running back to the barn or the shop for things, and then back again.

So, here’s what’s usually in my office-on-wheels:

• work gloves
• goat mineral (in the plastic dog food container)
• sodium bicarbonate (in the plastic dog food container)
• dog food (in the plastic dog food container)
• fence tester
• disposable gloves
• livestock marking paint
• hammer
  
• permanent marker
• duct tape
• wrenches
• fence connectors and repair connectors
• tow strap
• chlorine tabs
• dog brush
• nail clippers
• tape measure
• hay/twine cutter
• utility knife
• crowbar
• bug spray
• small bucket & scoop
• electric tape
• dog treats
• tin snips
• halter
• pen
• basic vet meds/supplies
• sunscreen
• not shown: crook (usually 2), Kleenex, water bottle, hat, Gallagher Smart Fences

This season I also spray painted some of the harder to find in the grass items blaze orange in the event I misplace something.  I should be ready for just about anything when it comes to fence repair, waterline repair and working with my goats and guardian dogs.

I've recently received a number of questions about the portable paddock fence system I'm using. In the past I used an electronet fence, which has worked well.  However, now that my herd is larger, I am grazing three groups of animals: breeding does, breeding bucks/buck kids, and dairy buck kids. It takes time to move each group of animals, including fence set up/take down, shelters and water stations. I depend on our John Deere Gator to help move everything as efficiently as possible. With a larger number of goats, I decided to start using Gallahger's Smart Fence, an all-in-one four reel poly wire system. It's lightweight, simple to set up/take down, doesn't tangle as easily as the eletronet fence, and travels well in the back of the Gator.

As I've talked about in previous blogs, it's important to fence train the animals so they learn to respect the electric fence and stay inside. The fence training allows the animals to "experience" the electric fence, while I supervise for any issues. Just a quick touch of the nose on the poly wire once, will teach the animals to stay away. On a very rare occasion, I've had a goat get out. But, they usually don't go far since they're herd animals and the fact that this fence is used inside our woven wire perimeter fence.  I'm ok with rounding up an occasional goat or two, versus having a goat kid get hung up in the electronet fence.

I set up our paddocks in Ls to maximize the fence length and always be set up for the next paddock (see picture above). Each group of animals uses three of fences, so each time we move a group, the previous fence can be taken down and set up for the next move. The video clip below give a little more information about the fence system.