Oh Oh!

We had about an hour or better bonding with our new arrivals and decided to go up to the house and get some dinner. I told the girls we would be back to tuck them in before sunset. We got about 15 steps from the pen when Hope started being very vocal. I turned and took a pic of her standing up on the fence appearing to be giving us the what for! "Where you goin guys?"

Took about five more steps towards the house and turned around to this! "Doesn't matter, I'm goin with ya!"

Oh crap!!! Wasn't this fence specifically designed for GOATS? I'm thinking full size goats, not dwarf goats?? What on earth??

I led her back to the pen and explained to her that she couldn't go up to the house with us. Her domain was designed specifically for her and Susie's needs and mine was not. I got ten steps back up to the house and she catapolted over again! Took her back and coaxed her back into the inside pen. Shut up all the gates and doors and got on the phone to previous owner and told her what had happened. She said Hope LOVES her people. That she as a youngster had jumped the 4 foot fence and they had to go with 5 1/2 and some electric but that after she got pregnant she never jumped the fence again. Well...she wasnt pregnant now and we had just put up a 4 foot fence! Crap...crap...crap! She suggested maybe running some electric fencing about 2/3 of the way up the existing fence. I really didn't want to do that, but I couldn't have Hope running the farm ;-) Next morning we ran out to the farm store again and purchased the transformer and needed equipment to add a "zapper" to the fencing. Took the better part of the day to put up and two more trips to the store. We finally got it done and it was time to test it. I held my breath as the thought of 4000 volts running through my new babies did NOT appeal to me at all! As we walked away she immediately went to the gate, stood up on it, and got bit! Very apparent it shocked the poop out of her. She backed off and jumped on one of the spools. Very vocal. Very angry I'm assuming. I'm thinking....this might just work!! We go on up to the house and I watch from there. Took her about 10 minutes and I see her pacing the fencing to the side of the gate. I see her take about 10 steps back and come charging up and over the fence! Went outside and retrieved her and put her back in the pen. We noticed the wire was bent as if she had touched it. I had seen her jump and she gave NO indication that she had got bit. I insist that the wire wasn't working on that side of the fence. It was obvious she touched it! It was bent! Husband goes and gets his meter and we check it out. YES, there is 4000 volts running through this part of the fence. Okay....lets try it again. Go up to house and this time I actually see her USE the wire as the push off she needs to get over! This obviously isn't Hope's first rodeo!! It then dawns on husband that she is in mid flight or airborne when she's touching this hot wire and that she is NOT grounded and therefore NOT getting bit. Crap, crap, crap! Back to the drawing board we go and back to the inside pen Hope and Susie go until we figure it out.