Uvalco Blog

Fall is just around the corner (hard to believe with the temperatures still hovering in the 90’s) and for those of us who love fall and winter vegetables – squash, pumpkins, zucchini and such – the time to plant for fall harvest is now.

Our first task is to get our garden – worn out from supplying many great summer vegetables – into shape. You should relinquish all your non-producing plants to the compost pile and check your fence to be sure it’s in good shape to keep out the deer, bunnies and other creatures who love a fall garden as much as a spring garden. Visit our new fence website to see the best kind of fencing to tackle this job for you.

If you like decorative rock around your garden, we’ve got a good supply of that as well, including Hill Country Stone, Flagstone and Patio Stone in several different shades.

We’ve also got some beautiful metalwork signs that will lend extra beauty to your garden:

After you’ve planted those seeds, it’s important to keep the ground moist, especially since summer stays around so long here in Texas. This tall sprinkler stand will do the job for you:

With just a little effort now, you’ll be harvesting fresh vegetables well into the Fall.

“Oh give me land lots of land

Under starry skies above,

Don’t fence me in.

Let me ride through the wide

Open country that I love,

Don’t fence me in”

The old favorite western ballad sung by Gene Autry speaks to the freedom we all love about living on a farm or ranch. What it doesn’t take into account is the need to fence in your livestock and fence out the wild critters that may cause damage to crops. Uvalco can help you enjoy life on the range while securing your stock with our comprehensive line of fencing products, including cattle fence, horse fence, goat fence, sheep fence, hog fence, deer fence, dog fence and more.

Finding the right fence for your application doesn’t require that you become a fencing expert – that’s what we’re here for – but it does help to understand some of the basics:

Cattle Fence — Barbed wire (4 or 5 strand) and net wire are the two types of fence typically used for cattle. The initial cost of material for barbed wire is about 30 percent less than that for net wire, but barbed wire generally requires more maintenance and has a shorter lifespan than net wire. A good choice is a combination of the two: Heavyweight net wire fence with one or more strands of barbed wire on top makes an excellent cattle fence. Fence height should be at least 39”; Uvalco’s premium cattle fence lines range from 42” to 120” tall.

Barbed wire fence in South Texas

Horse Fence – Finding the right fence to protect your equine investment is extremely important since horses, more than any other livestock, tend to “challenge” fencing by trying to climb or step through the barrier, and by leaning and rubbing against the fence. A good choice for horse fence is a closely spaced, galvanized non-climb net wire fence with smooth knots so the animal’s coat is protected against damage. The minimum recommended height for perimeter pasture horse fence is 60”; this height deters most horses from trying to jump. For paddocks, corrals and stallion pens, the top of the fence should be at the horse’s eye level. This height discourages fighting over the fence and helps prevent horses from leaning over the fence.

Goat Fence and Sheep Fence – Net wire fence is the best choice for goats and sheep, primarily for predator control. In addition, net wire fence stands up better to the constant pressure that goats normally exert on fencing and it has no barbs to pull at a sheep’s wool. Goats are notorious fence-jumpers, so be sure your goat fence is at least 42” tall for small goats and 49” for larger goats. Net wire square size should range from 3” to 7” to keep predators out and to prevent goats and sheep from hanging their heads in the wire.

Hog Fence — Barbed wire and cable fences are not effective for confining hogs and pigs. Medium and heavyweight net wire fences with one or more strands of barbed wire provide good hog control. Maximum fence height should be 54”, and the fence should be built close to the ground to prevent hogs from escaping by rooting underneath the fence.

Deer Fence

Deer Fence – Fixed-knot, high-tensile deer fence is required by law in many states for use as an effective and humane deer barrier. Properly installed, this hardy fence can last 25 years or more. Since deer can jump great heights, the fence needs to be eight to 10 feet tall.  The fence also needs to be built close to the ground, since deer can also wriggle under fences.

Dog Fence – Fixed-knot fencing is an attractive alternative to chain link fencing for dog kennels and dog runs, and is also more cost effective. It comes in heights of 48” and 61” and should be installed all the way to the ground to prevent escape by wiggling under the fence.

Still confused?  Contact the fencing experts at Uvalco for the best in fencing products and expertise for your farm or ranch.

Here at Uvalco Supply we hear a lot of requests for solutions to problems.  One of the most frequent is “what can I buy that the wild hogs won’t destroy”.  As one of the most destructive creatures ever, it is every farmer’s, rancher’s and hunter’s quest to find ways to keep hogs from tearing up their equipment.  Every year wild hogs destroy thousands of conventional waterers that are expensive for the land owner to repair, not to mention the loss of thousands of gallons of water until the damage is discovered.  With Texas being in the worst drought in decades, now is the time to conserve the most precious resource we have–WATER!!   Therefore, in addition to other hog control related items such as hog traps, hog snares and hog proof fencing we have added a hog proof wildlife waterer.

Weighing in at an impressive 480lbs., Uvalco Supply’s new hog proof wildlife waterer makes a formidable adversary for even the biggest wild hogs.  It’s tapered concrete base makes it nearly impossible to move without lifting and steel reinforcement will keep it from cracking under tremendous amounts of weight.  The reknown Fluidmaster fill valve is completely encapsulated in SCH 40 PVC, surrounded by concrete and is inaccessible by hogs yet convenient for humans to access for plumbing and water level adjustment.

With an adjustable fill valve, the hog proof wildlife waterer can be adjusted to nearly any water level making it perfect for deer, quail and turkey thus eliminating costly multiple water sources.  Also with sealed concrete construction it is almost maintenence free.  Contact Uvalco Supply to reserve your’s today.

Most of us here in Texas view the armadillo as a pest.  He digs in our gardens and flower beds and makes a general nuisance of himself on our roadways.  Still, the armadillo is kind of a defacto symbol of Texas and while a lot of us don’t like him in our yards, we kind of like the idea of them being around.

Armadillos are not territorial — meaning you can trap and transport them, and they’ll settle in just fine in their new environment, leaving your gardens and flower beds to the vegetation they were meant to host.  We carry several sizes of the Havahart animal trap that many of our customers swear by — and it’s a whole lot cheaper than hiring a critter catcher to haul them off for you.

While we’re on the subject, here’s some interesting facts about our armored friend:

• The name “aramadillo” is Spanish for “little armored one”
• Armadillos are considered a “threatened” species
• Their life span is 12-15 years
• There are 20 varieties of armadillo — all but one live in Latin America.  The one armadillo found in the U.S. is known as the nine-banded armadillo
• Armadillos can hold their breath for up to six minutes underwater
• When startled, the nine-banded armadillo can jump 3-4 feet in the air — which unfortunately makes them prime roadkill candidates (many are killed because they jump into the underside of moving vehicles)

We just read an article recently in the Dallas Morning News that talked about the latest in urban farming trends:  keeping chickens in your back yard.  Seems like the economy has brought out the farmer in a lot of us.

Did you know that Uvalco carries bee keeping supplies?  The buzz is that this will be the next trend for “personal” farming.  So if you need to trap a critter or want to raise some, come on by and we’ll make sure you get what you need for all your farming activities.

In case you haven’t heard, the general white-tailed deer season opens Nov. 7 this year.  It’s not on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website yet; they post 2009-2010 dates on Aug. 15 when hunting licenses become available.

Looks like we got that new feeder section up on the website just in time to help all you hunters get ready for the new season.  It’s chock full of all kinds of feeders including the Uvalco 400lb Quad feeder, tailgate feeders, ATV feeders, quail feeders and our large 2000 and 3000lb Grandote silo-style feeders.

Grandote Feeder

We’re your one-stop source for feeder parts as well, and keep a good stock of everything you’ll need to keep that feeder in good shape throughout the season.

Rechargeable Battery

Timer

There are 51 public Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in Texas covering over 750,000 acres. A $48 Annual Public Hunting permit gives you access for hunting, camping, fishing and other uses.  Those under the age of 17 are allowed to hunt free when accompanied by an adult with a valid permit. Here’s a link to the list of the WMAs in Texas.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has also created the Hunt Texas Online Connection, a free Web service that allows anyone to view hunting opportunities posted by private landowners across the state. Hunters can search more than 450 hunting opportunities by lease type, county, game animal, cost per hunter and other parameters. The service is free to both hunters and landowners.

Happy hunting in 2009!