I was recently having problems with escaping lambs, an inevitable consequence of a cold electric fence, but once I got the juice flowing again, I figured the lambs would stay in.  I figured wrong.

Several times I’ve found a single lamb (still not sure if it’s always the same one) on the wrong side of the fence from the rest of the flock, and tonight was the latest instance.  I’ve been religiously checking the fence charge since my grounding screw-up — tonight the fence was carrying about 4800 volts — so I know that it was hot enough to get a sheep’s attention, even through the fleece.  In the recent escapes, the fence hasn’t looked disheveled, like someone tried to push through, so I’m a little stuck to explain the escapes.  Without resorting to supernatural interventions (or some weird quantum phenomenon), I have to assume that the lamb is jumping out, but that doesn’t sit right either.  I can’t imagine what might motivate the lamb to leave, since I’ve always found it pining next to the flock on the other side of the fence, and if it jumps once, why not jump back?  I’m almost curious enough to set up a game camera to catch one of the buggers in the act, but in the meantime I’m hoping someone else sees the act and reports back.

And sorry for the devil eyes, which I may or may not be able to blame on quantum mechanics.  The phone’s flash seems to have caught every tapetum in the neighborhood.