Women and Fencing

[tambo]

I would like to put up some fence but hubby doesn't really want to.So I would like to know if there are women on here that do fencing by themself.

I do have a few books that tell how to do it but I would like to hear how you do it to make it easier for you.

Tambo

[fordy]

...................I think I'm qualified to Comment on a Modus Operandi for getting your fencing "put up" . Very simple , prior to digging the postholes you MUST be "Properly Attired" , i.e . Work boots , Short Shorts , very low cut Halter top , etc. , you then pickup the Posthole diggers while your neighbor's husband looks on as he picks his jaw up out of the Dirt and he walks over and asks you . " how many holes do you need Honey"? ....By the time he has dug a couple of holes your husband will have showed up and assumed operational control of the Diggers and you can go start cooking lunch ...fordy...

[Thumper/inOkla.]

Doing cattle panels is easy enough. Doing barb wire is a major pain, you will need a reel for the spool to spin off of, or tie the end down and unroll the spool by hand as you walk along the fence line and a come-along, chain to hook the come-along to. A pickup truck to pull the wire helps if there is room to use it.

[big rockpile]

What kind of Fence? It can be done,but just better with two people no matter what kind of Fence.

big rockpile

[cchapman84]

Well, I haven't done much fencing myself, but a friend of mine put up a fenced-in barnyard by herself one day. Her husband had gone out with friends the night before and came in rather late, and didn't end up waking up until about 2:00 in the afternoon (they had agreed to spend the day working on getting the place fenced, and some other odd jobs around their property). Well, she was so p***ed that she went out, dug the holes, put up the fence posts, strung the fence, made a gate, and then proceeded to throw a bucket of freezing-cold water on her husband, who was asleep under a tree near where she was working! The fencing worked great, and she said it only took her about two hours to do it (the space was about 30' in diameter).

Another woman-fencing story: my mom was stringing barbed-wire fencing when she was 8 months pregnant with me. It was fence-repair I believe, but she was still out there doing it!

I say, if you want it to get done, do it yourself!

Cameron in VT

[Shazza]

It depends what you are trying to keep in or out? Skip the posts too hard to dig with the post hole digger if the grounds hard. Get yourself some star pickets (steel droppers) bash them in with hand held post rammer, put a top and bottom plain wire...roll of ringlock (4" x 4" squares) roll out on the ground along fence line..pick up top of laid out wire and tie or clip to top plain wire all the way along fence...tie off on one end around post and strain with the truck thumper told you ya needed.
The easiest fence to put up though is an electric fence...steel droppers, a few packets of wire holders, electric wire.

[AnnaS]

I've done electric wire with steel posts and put hog wire on existing wood posts.
If you're doing more than, say, 5 holes or posts, renting the power equipment is WORTH IT! Get that power posthole digger! It saves so much time.

I'll probably pay for the hydraulic post pounder the next time I do major fencing. I could do about 3 steel posts before my wrists hurt so bad I couldn't hold up that 20 lb pounder. But maybe you're stronger than me!

One of the summer projects is cross fencing 20 acres. I wish I had neighbors, then I'd try the Fordy Method.

[Shazza]

Do you use a "post driver" for your steel droppers...I just found one on the Flemings site....ours are the same but look to made of heavier material...about 15kgs?

[deberosa]

Hmm. I have done ALOT of fence by myself. Most of it T post and welded Wire. Have to have a post pounder for the T posts. The welded wire comes with wire hooks for attaching or if I am in a hurry for a temporary fence I use the plastic ties! Keeps in dogs and ducks. :haha:

[Jen H]

The metal t-posts really aren't bad by yourself. Just get yourself good and angry about something (make something up if you have to), heave that pounder up and whack away at it. If you just keep a steady rythm (sp?) going you'll be surprised at how many posts you get sunk in.

The woven wire goes on easy, just do it like Shazza said. I never get it stretched as well alone as if I'm doing it with someone else - but it's up and it works.

Don't be afraid to use your truck, tractor, atv, car, etc... any way you can think of. The internal combustion engine is just a marvelous thing. Oh, and if you have a tractor with a 3 point hitch - GET AN AUGER! That's what I got for Valentine's day and it's just a wonderful thing. It just chews into the ground like butter, then you nudge your post over and get it in the hole sweet as you please.

I did not know there were hydraulic post pounders! I obviously need to do some shopping.

[Jen H]

Originally Posted by Shazza

Do you use a "post driver" for your steel droppers...I just found one on the Flemings site....ours are the same but look to made of heavier material...about 15kgs?

I think your "steel droppers" are what we call t-posts. And yes, you need a post driver or pounder for them. Well, I guess you could use a sledge hammer or some such but that would make the job a whole lot harder.

I think 15kgs is close to 30 lbs? The post driver I have is 20 lbs. The extra 10 lbs actually would make the driver work better, but it would also be harder to lift.

[Shazza]

When it gets too heavy to hold the whacker in one hand and the post in the other...I lie the whacker on the ground slide the post into it and then stand the whole thing up....

[marvella]

yep, i do fencing. i get help every chance i get tho. i can drive the posts, put on insulators, run the wire and stretch it, drive the ground post and hook it all to the box. i always get help with the wooden corner posts, because if i do them, they won't stay. the only trick in know is to go as slow as i need to. it might take me all day to do one side of the field, but it's more done than i had when i started.

[Jena]

I cross-fenced this whole place...150 acres...but it was only hot wire. I do one (sometimes two) wires of high tensile barbed wire. I made a wire unrollerthingy for the ATV out of pipe, hang the wire, drive it out. Go back, pound the posts, start hooking insulators. I have a stretcher if I need it.

Other fences....use the post hole digger on the tractor. I HATE tamping around posts, but it's got to be done. That's the hardest part to me. I'll take a steel post any day over a wood one.

I hate smooth wire. Too hard to work with, it slides around too much.

There's a welded wire stretcher deal for that. A board with a bunch of bolts to hook the wire too, then a comealong on the board.

Jena

[TwoAcresAndAGoat]

I put up all kinds of fences by myself but it's a lot easier with someone else helping.

I've done stock pannels, post and board, post and rail, barbed wire, woven wire, picket fence (the proverbial white one ), wood posts and metal T-posts. Chicken fence with a wooden frame and top about the only one I haven't done is electiric. I put up chain link but with that one I did have help.

What type of fenceing are you planning.

[Jenn]

(duplic)

[Jenn]

I've only had to repair/ put up small areas, but my DH only helps when it's a twoperson animal handling job- about twice in 4 years- so it's always by myself or with a toddler watching. The metal poles and the post driver have to be easier than putting in wooden corner posts- if you dig a hole for a fence post don't you have to set it in cement to keep it in place? Or do you put 1/3 of the post underground or what?

Plan for more time than a pair of you might need; don't start a fence project the day before you get the animals it's meant to keep in!

For a long fence I've only added wires to existing fence (when a young dog moved in next to my sheep) and didn't bother tightening it but my predecessors (only around 3 acres so not very long a wire- under 1/8 mile in a straight line) just tightened it by putting a big stick in the two wires and twisting them tight. When that stick has rotted those wires will still be under tension!

Sure hope my next farm is crossfenced already or I'll probably have to hire in help. Might just use temporary electric fencing as I did in that 3 acre pasture when I wanted to get the sheep to graze a bit more intensely (or let them into my orchard but try to spare the peachtrees).

[Irish Pixie]

I've never put up fence alone, but I sure repair it alone. I bought this tool from Lehmans that grips the wire and you can hold it taut by leaning on the bar with your hip. Works great. Makes ugly black and blue marks on your hip tho.

Stacy

[Tango]

I put up my fence by myself for the most part. I used 4 inch wooden round posts and 8 ft. very heavy posts for corners. I dug the holes with our auger and a post hole digger. I'm looking forward to fencing in another 2.5 acres as soon as I get the cash to buy the materials again. I liked doing it. It is physical labor outdoors and that is one of my favorite activities. The only part I needed help with was stretching the wire but I could have done that on my own as well. Itis quicker to have towo people but one woman can do it is she is so inclined.

[HilltopDaisy]

I installed most of my fence by myself. I used heavy 6' metal posts about every 8', put in with a metal post-pounder. I could barely hoist the thing at first, but by the end of the 1st summer it was easier because I was much stronger. I used 4x4" woven wire goat/sheep fence and in some spots, cattle panels. I had to roll out the fence to flatten it, then cut it to fit the line I was putting up that day. The rolls are 330', way to much to work with alone. I'd cut a piece about 75', flip it over and walk on it to get the curve out of it, and then drag it to where I wanted it. I used the clips that go with T posts, and used a pliers to hook them up a bit tighter. I'd stand it up and use a few temporary clips to hold it up, then work from the center out to one end, then center out to the other end. Last spring I had an elbow injury, so I paid a teenager to put in some posts--dumb mistake on my part. I ended up pulling almost every post and redoing it myself. They were not the correct distance apart and were very cockeyed. Live and learn. It's very hard work, that's for sure. If you're fencing for goats, you MUST do it right the first time. I made the mistake of trying to "turn a corner" and the fence isn't as tight as I'd like it, so I think I may brace it with something this summer.

One word of caution.......if you are working out in the middle of nowhere by yourself, take your cell phone with you. Here's what I went through---I once popped open a roll of 2x4" welded wire fence, and when the last wire came off, the roll started to "unroll", as the tension was now off. My fingers were caught in the expanding roll, and there was no one to call to for help. I tried not to panic, but it felt like my fingertips were going to explode. I don't mind telling you I was scared. I was able to reach a pair of pliers, and inserted them into the fence and tried to take the pressure off. I wiggled it back and forth til I was able to yank my hand out. Another lesson learned!

You can do this, just take the good advice of those of us who have done it. (Except fordy's- that was insulting).