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  • From: Mike Rock <mikerock AT mhtc.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Animal and neighbor problems
  • Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:28:56 -0500

Wyatt,
Which fencing law does your state have, right or left hand? Find out.
When you or your neighbor views the fence, each is responsible for their half (right or left). Even if they don't have livestock and you do, they must maintain their half of the fence. You are responsible for roadway easements, township, county, etc. Even though you own to the middle of the road in most cases, they get their one or two rods easement and YOU fence it.

Electric fence at around piglet nose and hog nose high, two wires, good ground, will absolutely STOP pigs. They are terrified of electricity and it seems when one gets his nose zapped they all learn from it.

My wife and I raise American Mulefoot hogs, the rarest indigenous breed in the country. They do indeed have only one toe, or hoof. Not cloven hoofed. Lovable cusses, their meat is red and marbled and wonderful!!!

WE were the folks who had piggies getting out and one neighbor claimed one hog ate two acres of corn..... the county court awarded him $800.

HIS fence is non-existent on his half of the line. You can find remnants of it and I have flagged every post. We are fencing this spring around the whole property, 151 acres. $22,000 worth of Red Brand posts and 9ga.-11ga. hog wire, plus the wooden post every fifth one. Horse high, pig tight and bull strong!!!!!! And a cattle guard at the road. Sheesh.... Oh, the neighbors on three sides are paying their shares. It's the law. Not happy, but it's the right thing for them to do, and for us.

We learned from this experience.

My draft horses would take off and break the fence too so that made us popular for a bit. Met the sheriff once and made nice. They are friends of mine from many years, so was not a big deal. Just that three coal black Percherons on the road at 3 a.m. is rather exciting. Oh, the pigs are coal black and have long hair too. Turned out we had coyotes running the horses for sport. Dead coyotes now. They had run the neighbors horses and they clued us in. The sheriff agreed as they had more reports of that happening. I don't drink any more (21 years!~!) and missed the bar room scuttlebutt on coyotes.

So, document what is happening call the sheriff. It's his job. Sounds like your neighbors are a whole lot worse than ours.

Pigs are easy.. Few hundred bucks and his pigs will stay home. They won't even cross the ground after you have taken an electric fence down....still fear it that much.

Smile.....

Oh, pigs can raise pure hell if they get into a thousand plant asparagus bed....trust me! We are making another bed this spring, another thousand plants. ANYone know where to get three year old rather than two year old roots?

Most respectfully,
Mike Rock

By the way, hog panels and two fence posts cost slightly less than good woven wire and posts. A friend of ours fenced a hundred plus acres that way and came out at less than our price per foot.





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