Best Fence material?

Sunbee · #1 01/27/12, 08:42 AM

So Santa Claus (AKA Daddy) promised #3 son a horse next Christmas if he takes riding lessons, etc, and the place gets fenced. My husband is also very fond of goat meat. The neighbor confesses that her dog killed most of her chickens last summer (she has no other animals). Oh, and we've sighted a mountain lion and a bobcat within the last month. The dog already here is a very good hunter, as several neighborhood house-cats, some squirrels, and a raccoon have discovered too late to do them any good, and the boys don't always get the yard gate closed (the dog is fast and watches her chance as well).
There's some old, falling down wood fence. There's some old, falling down barb wire. There are some young fruit trees fenced against moose and beaver with 2"x2" wire fencing, and some old fruit trees fenced just against the beaver.
What kind of fencing should we be getting for this menagerie? I'd prefer that the wild cats and the domestic dogs stay on the outside and the potential horse and goats stay on the inside.

BarbadosSheep · #2 01/27/12, 08:59 AM

I'd use that woven wire that has 2" x 4" holes. It's safer for horses because they can't get their hooves stuck in the fence and it will do a pretty good job at keeping most smaller predators out. A strand of electric wire on top will keep predators from jumping over and will keep the horse from leaning on the fence.

Alice In TX/MO · #3 01/27/12, 09:21 AM

If you have goats, you'll have to run a hot wire on the inside of woven wire to keep the goats from 'climbing' the fence with their front hooves and ruining it.

You can't keep wild cats out with fence.

RWDitto · #4 01/27/12, 09:21 AM

Add a donkey inside of the 2x4 welded wire fence, takes care of the dog problem. Oh, and nothing works 100% of the time.........

Sunbee · #5 01/27/12, 09:37 AM

Electric is not reliable here--would that be a problem with the hot wire? Also the three-year-old child? I was wondering about goats cutting the fence with their hooves. The 2"x2" on the fruit trees is left-over from a pigmy goat pen when I was a kid, but we didn't know much about goats except that pigmy got out of everything under the sun (now I know he was lonely, and likely scared by the neighborhood mountain lions, but then I didn't).

We were thinking about a LGD next summer--Grandma is in a puppy mood. If we're going to have a puppy, it might as well be good for something (besides killing the neighbors' cats, that is!).
I understand that I can't keep the mountain lion out--but I'd like to discourage it. All livestock will be secured at night, it's the daytime discouragement I'd like from fencing.

Alice In TX/MO · #6 01/27/12, 10:52 AM

The goats don't *cut* the fence, they walk it down.

Three year old humans learn quickly about HOT wires.

Nothing discourages a mountain lion with a buffet in front of it. They LGD may help a bit on that, .... maybe.

LisaInN.Idaho · #7 01/27/12, 10:58 AM

We also live in Idaho and have cougars around and have seen them and their tracks on our property. The LGD's worked perfectly and the predators give our place a wide berth. They'd rather find easier pickings elsewhere.

fantasymaker · #8 01/27/12, 11:24 AM

LOl As Ive said so many times before.
8 feet of 2x4 woven wire with hot wires inside and out about a foot off the ground and TWO hot wires ON A SEPERATE charger above the fence.
It wont keep everything out bu between it and the Dog it should do a pretty good job.

BarbadosSheep · #9 01/27/12, 11:27 AM

If electric is not reliable in your area, then get a solar charger. And yep...I agree with the others who have said hot wire inside to keep the goats from destroying the fence. My fences have 3 wires...one on top, one inside to keep the sheep off the fence (and to keep the LGDs from digging out) and one outside to keep dogs from digging in.

OkieDavid · #10 01/27/12, 12:30 PM

FM- That fence should just about do it......LOL

FWIW- My opinion of goat fencing is this- if you can see daylight through it, a goat WILL get out of it. I also believe mine have a 6th sense and can tell when the electric fence is de-energized.

HilltopDaisy · #11 01/28/12, 12:06 AM

Yeah, all I will say is that with 10 years of fencing experience, go ahead and spend the big $$ up front.

It doesn't make sense to replace/upgrade year after year.

The one thing I wish I had done differently, in ten years, I would have spent the money in the first place, to fence the critters tight.

heavyrebel · #12 01/28/12, 06:45 AM

Yeah, spend the money now. We have gone the route of installing wood post, wire mesh fence and livestock fence (depending on area useage), 6 inch top fence boards and electric. 3 strands for the goat area: One on top, with 6 inch insulators. Then Middle and bottom strands with 3 inch insulators. If we have mountian lions, I would have gone with a bottom stand outside and a 1 foot insulator on the outside, and the 5 foot livestock fence and Fence boards across the top for a few extra inches.

As a kid, my parents had a lot of land to fence, and didnt have the money I guess to put up all permenant fence, so we ran electric...thankfully my dad had me to maintain it...lol. I know he thought we were silly for setting post, wire fence, electric and fence boards...but I remember the 4am yelling that the cows were out and to get dressed...nope.

Dusky Beauty · #13 01/28/12, 11:00 AM

My father in law's "family business" was a fencing company. DH swears by chain link as a sturdy multi-purpose animal fence with a great deal of durability for the money.

fantasymaker · #14 01/28/12, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OkieDavid

FM- That fence should just about do it......LOL
.

LOL except maybe for that cats and something might try to dig under ,thats the reason for the hot wire down low on the outside.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy

Yeah, all I will say is that with 10 years of fencing experience, go ahead and spend the big $$ up front.

It doesn't make sense to replace/upgrade year after year.

The one thing I wish I had done differently, in ten years, I would have spent the money in the first place, to fence the critters tight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by heavyrebel

Yeah, spend the money now. .

Wisdom certain wisdom after giving up after raising sheep for over 20 years I wish the first thing Id done was build that fence....naw I should have required it be in place BEFORE I closed n the farm.

airotciv · #15 01/28/12, 03:40 PM

I use 2x4" welded wire and 4' high and metal t-posts. Two hot wires one on top and one at about 2' down. This is only to keep my animals in, I can't stop the cougars. But we do a farm watch, when anybody spots a predator, we make phone calls, to everyone with in a 5 mile area. Then we get the gun out. As for the 3 year old, as someone said they learn quickly. LOL No matter how many times you tell them not to touch the wire, they will and start to cry or get this funny face. But they don't go there again, just like the amimals. Once Zapped, not going here again.

Edit: spelling

susanneb · #16 01/28/12, 06:57 PM

Another vote for 2x4 mesh with electric top and bottom.

NO chain link unless you have electric to keep the horses back. Otherwise, horses will rub and can catch an eyelid. Not good.

fantasymaker · #17 01/29/12, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by susanneb

Otherwise, horses will rub and can catch an eyelid. Not good.

Really? Good grief how do they survive in the wild?

birdman1 · #18 01/29/12, 12:31 PM

Fenceing is very expencive for smaller pastures or dry lots web wire works well and lasts get the higher quality type with smaller spaceing at the bottom to help keep dogs and larger varmits out a strand or 2 of barbed wire on top help give it more height at little cost .horses and children are very senceitive to electric fence watch them carefully till they learn the lesson and a strand nose high will keep them in same with goats pigs dogs ect the solar powered fence chargers work well but you must do a weed patrol now and then to stop shorting it out this is less of a problem with the plug in type that put in a lot more volts and tend to burn through weeds .consider the high tensel wire with electric on every other strand of 8 or more this works very well for all types of livestock dogs varmits and is econmicly the best choice for fenceing larger areas wider spaceing of post and it will spring back if a tree falls across it and I recomend it highly.a weed killing spray in your fence lines controls weed problems and ends the temttation of grazing close to the wire . for the big cats your LGD will help tremendsly as they hate dogs espicily barking but they have to be kept in the pasture as they do no good sleeping in the house so do not make to big of pets out of them otherwise but they can be trouble if humans traffic is common .I use my mountain curs but they protect there area and me not the livestock .