The unexpected reshuffle, refencing, relocating

We had a visit last moth, from the county.  It turns out that in the middle of all the EFU (exclusive farm use) land at this end of the valley, is small blocks of RR zoned land (rural residential). And of course, RR land is not approved for farm use.  SO, to make a long story short... we reshuffled the farm!

The primary offenders were the chickens and the sheep.  Both had to move. So basically we swapped the garden area with the sheep pasture and chicken spot.  It worked out well in the end, perhaps even an improvement, but that was a chore.

the county was nice enough about it, giving us plenty of time to make the change, but mother nature wasnt so kind. a planted garden does not move well, and we must get seeds in the ground soon, so this whole reshuffle became an emergency so that we could have a garden this year.

So, a little fencing later, some late night hours moving chickens (who only move efficiently after dark) and everyone is settled into their new homes.We still need to figure out all the access routes for feeding and such, and get a couple thousand feet of water hose restrung, but the animals are resting happily in their new spots.

The lesson here? never assume anything!  We assumed that the land around us was zoned the same, but surprise!

Look closely, you can see the chicken trailer in the middle back, the sheep are on the pasture on the right, and the goats in the far back left behind the pigs.