[TheForge] Movable fencing for Goats (OT)

[Bruce Freeman]

Sheep were traditionally fenced in movable enclosures created with
hurdles.  Traditional hurdles are woven from ~1" branches and small
"wythies", and have a hole in the center so you can put a bunch of
them on a stick and carry the lot.  On either side, the post can be
jabbed into the ground, but they are by no means sunk in the ground.
I suspect adjacent hurdles were secured together, but I don't know
that for a fact or how it would be done.

It seems to me that much the same effect could be achieved using
modern materials (that the goats can't eat).  Best materials:
Anything lightweight that comes to hand.

Folks around here throw away aluminum-framed chairs all the time (and
at one point I collected them up because the metal is good for
casting).  The chair frames would make a good start toward hurdle
frames, and the holes for the springs, etc., could be the start of the
"weaving".  These would be even lighter weight than wood/wythie
hurdles and easy to carry.  They could even be made quite pretty, with
a little forethought.  Of course, wythie hurdles are inherently pretty
by today's standards.

If you want wythies, find an area full of willows, or other suitable
species, and cut the sapling trees severely - like to a foot or less
from the ground - probably just before the growing season commences.
You'll get "watershoots" or "wythies" in quantity.  This was formerly
a regular practice in parts of England that wove baskets, etc.
Prunings from fruit orchards will work too.

If you get serious about wythie hurdles, I can provide detailed
information on their construction.

Bruce
NJ

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 5:40 AM, Ruuf <ruuf at slingshot.co.nz> wrote:
> I can't see your fencing idea working for more than a week or two, as it is
> quite time consuming and a hassle moving fencing all the time, especially
> where the ground is hard.