Barbed Wire Fence

[wilded]

We are looking at a place that has an 8 wire barbed wire fence and was a cattle operation. Will that fence hold goats? Thanks, ET

[Alice In TX/MO]

No. It won't.

[Minelson]

I would be sooo worried about injury from barbed wire. I have seen some NASTY injuries on horses from it. Because of this I would NEVER use barbed wire for anything!

[Chinook]

I agree. I wouldn't use it for anything either, especially goats. They'll just get tangled up in it.

[Freeholder]

How far apart are the wires? How tight are they? And how high above the ground is the bottom wire? If the bottom wire is within a handspan above the ground; the wires are very tight; and they are spaced no more than four inches apart, the fence MIGHT hold goats. However, goats have much thinner skin than cattle do (so do horses, which is why barbed wire isn't good for them either), and can easily get hurt on the sharp barbs. Udders are especially vulnerable to damage.

However, even if the fence won't hold goats as-is, if it's in good shape (posts standing firm), it wouldn't take a lot to add woven wire to it, or some other wire better suited to holding goats safely (not to mention, keeping predators out). Keep the barbed wire on the outside, and the goats will be fairly safe from it, while it will help keep other animals from getting in.

ETA: You could get stand-off insulators and run a couple of strands of electric fence around the inside of the barbed wire to hold the goats. Put one strand low, and one about half-way up the posts. But you have to keep the wire really hot, or it won't deter the goats.

Kathleen

[ozark_jewels]

I would never put barbed wire up, but I sure as heck will use it if its already there! With 8 strands you should easily be able to fix it up for goats. Last time I used a combination of barbed and electric I used three strands of electric and three strands of already existing barbed.

Use strands of hotwire between the strands of barbed wire, using insulaters that hold the fence out in front of the existing fence. Thus insuring that the goats touch the electric first. Use electric between the barbed wire at least up as high as their heads.
Here are some good threads on doing electric for goats *properly*.

electric fencing

electric fencing rant!

Electric Fence Question

Electric fence update with pics

If its not done properly the goats will try to go through the barbed wire and they *will* injure themselves. If not the first time then the second or the third. I've seen it and it ain't pretty.