Fencing

[Simpler1773]

We will be getting our new goat building put up sometime in the next week or so... and then we'll need to put up the goat's main pen.

We are thinking about using cattle panels, kinda pricey but more durable than woven wire (right?) Is this something you all would reccomend?

We can't get to the field fencing right away, I'll have to take them out on lunges temporarily, but when we do get it up, has anyone had any good luck with using 8 strands of high tensile wire with posts every 20 feet? One or two electrified?

I'm open to other suggestions since we haven't done anything yet.

Thanks!
Ricki

[Faithful Heart]

In some countries ALL they use is high tensile electrified wire. Eight strands I think. Over all, it is less costly. But there's work involved with it... maybe a bit more than with field fence, but less escapes.

[susanne]

cattle pannel are maybe a little bit more expencive in the beginning but in the long run the best choice for goats in my opinion. you can always take them down and put them on another place up again. goats can stand on the pannels without pushing them down.
electric fence is only reliable if you controll the weeds that are growing underneath and the power does not go down.

[AllWolf]

Simpler1773,
I have used welded wire for baby goats but after they get bigger they start messing up the welded wire and it does not last long at all. Next I have field fencing up in my front yard for my goats to have the whole yard to themselfs but I'm later going to be fencing off more land and going with cattle panels one because they are more tougher and can handle the goats abuse. Field fencing is good to use but there is a fall back on it goats love to stand up on it and it drags it down and you have to take time to keep either tighting it back up or decide to go with other type of fencing. I later will put all cattle panels up in my yard but not anyways soon because right now fixing to put cattle panels up in the back of my land so I can get ready for bucks laters.

Good Luck on your goats.

[homebirtha]

How big a space are you fencing? I can't imagine using cattle panels for anything very large. It would astronomically expensive.

We use electric and have had no problems. We have 6 strands, with all but two or three hot. DH trims the weeds every few weeks. The goats never challenge the fence. We also have a cutoff switch for the bottom wire, so that if the weeds are getting high, and we can't trim right away, it won't drain the battery, and the rest of the fence is still hot.

you don't need posts every 20 feet for electic. We have wood posts in the corners, then just t-posts where there is a change in elevation or some other issue. You can go as much as 50 feet between posts if it's stretched tight enough.

I wouldn't use electric for a buck enclosure though, definitely field fence or panels. We also run one hot wire inside the field fence to keep them from leaning on it.

I would highly recommend electric. It's by far the most economical, pretty easy to put up, and it works really well. Just get a big enough charger, and make sure it's well-grounded. Test the fence regularly to make sure the shock is high enough, and you should be fine.

[beorning]

Anyone ever use chain link for goats? I see it being given away pretty often for free if you yank it out of the ground and haul it away. Seems like it might work?

[Freeholder]

Chain link is good, if put up correctly (with the top horizontal pipes).

I use cattle panels for pens attached to the goat shelters. For pasture, field fencing works, but works best in combination with electric top wires and a stand-off wire to keep the goats from standing on the fence.

Kathleen

[susanne]

we have our property fenced in with chain link fence. some of the goat pastures have at least one side with chain link fence. unfortunately we did not get it for free and it was very expencive. it has to be five foot high so the goats will not start jumping over it. like kathlen said it has to have the horizontal pipe on top.
disadvantage it is very immobile.

[Aintlifegrand]

On the line of how big of space, I would like to ask is there an recommended amount of outdoor space for goats? Like a per sq ft requirement for each goat?

[Rowdy]

I like six strand electric. I like hi-tensile electric even better, but just plain electric is cheap to put up, and it _will_ keep goats in, if the goats are trained to it right.

I can fence in an acre with electric (temporary set up) for about $150
Talk about cheap!

I Like cow panels too, and I think I agree with Gene Logsdon, I'd like to have my perimeter made out of cow panels someday. If a tree falls on the fence, it would be simple to cut out that section, bend it back, or just spend another $15 to replace that panel.
...And actually, it would not be much more expensive to build with cattle panels than to build the fence I'd want.
The goat wire I would want to use for my oustide fence runs about $216 a roll now. So, assuming eight foot post spacing for a cattle panel fence, and twelve foot for the goat fence, that would be about $856 for the goat wire fence, and $1092 for the cattle panel fence. So, only $240 more an acre for the cattle panel fence. Of course those prices do not include corner braces, (which would make the cost even closer, if one wasn't using them for the cattle pannel fence, but I would use them anyway.)

Now, if I could get a pile of old telephone poles for free or cheap, I think I would cut the poles to length, split them into two to four posts (depending on which end of the pole.) I'd use one of these posts at the end of each panel and use a t post in the middle of each. While that would vastly increase the labor (if I couldn't rent a hydralic post driver) it would make a really strong fence, and possibly lower the cost even more.

Of Course, since I have six acres, that would make it $1400 more expensive, plus trying to find that many telephone poles, and then there is the enviro. arguement about using those telepone poles, etc.... But hey, I daydream about building fence. :-)

[caberjim]

6-8 wire electric using Hi-T wire is cheap and effective for does and kids. Use big, solid posts for the corners and gates - they run 8-12 dollars a piece, but are well worth it. The heavy corners will let you pull the wire tight w/o leaning. Cover the distances between corners with t-posts or even landscape timbers - t-posts are much easier to put in. You can even use the cheap plastic step-in posts ($1.50) to address a lot of terrain problems. Use a cut-off switch for the bottom wire - even the bottom 2. That way you can trim w/o shocking yourself. Biggest, baddest charger you can afford and at least 3 grounding rods.

The added benefit is that it it very easy to expand a pasture. Layout your new posts and splice in more wire. Electric is much easier to run than woven wire, especially if your land is not dead on flat. WW really needs 2 people or it is a heck of a job. EW is easily done by a single person.

It was mentioned before - bucks, especially in rut, need something very, very solid. A buck with horns will use them to tear down an electric fence to get at a doe in heat.

[fishhead]

I'm using 3 wire electric for temporary fencing but I have unlimited browse inside the pasture so there is no pressing need for them to challenge the fence. The first charger was too weak and they would walk right through it to reach me. I switched to one that tests out at 4650 Volts and they don't do that anymore.

They could easily jump the fence but are too afraid to get close enough.

[ozark_jewels]

How much area are you talking about fencing?? If its a small area....cattle panels are wonderful. If its larger...I reccomend a very good electric(high tensile is the best). Cattle panels are great...but fencing 50-100 acres with them....not on my budget!

[Simpler1773]

Thanks so much everyone! We got 15 combination panels (cattle panels with smaller holes at the bottom. That'll get us started

Ricki

[jeff caldwell]

we use 14 ga. electric wire for our pasture , buck pens , and extra pens that we might need. our weaning and working pen that join the barn is cattle panels. we space our electric wire 12 , 20 , 30 , and 40 inches this way if we need to put a few cows over with the goats the height will take care of them also.