A camera has caught the moment a sheep got stuck in silt and had to be lifted out by an excavator.
Russell and Suzanne Nield, ‘Benilkie’, Balranald, NSW, were in the process of desilting tanks on their property when they noticed the sheep had become caught.
Ms Nield said silt builds up in tanks due to years of run off, and while tanks are usually desilted during dry times, the sheep could smell the moisture and thought there was water in the tank.
“Hence he got stuck in the silt,” she said.
But the crisis was quickly averted thanks to the smooth operating of the excavator driver.
She said it can take up to three weeks for silt to dry, so they have to check everyday to make sure nothing is stuck in the silt.
She explained that desilting tanks used to be done using a push and pull method, with both a grader and a bulldozer with a cable attached to a silt scoop.
“You pull the scoop through the silt in the bottom of the tank right over the tank bank, empty it, and the other tractor will then do the same the other way,” she said.
But this process was time consuming and labour intensive with usually three people involved.
So today, the tanks are desilted using excavators, which takes half the time and only requires one person.
Having the excavator on hand also helped get them out of this sticky situation.
Watch the video below:
Have you filmed or taken any photos of a funny event on your farm? Send it in via email, to joely.mitchell@fairfaxmedia.com.au.