Fence help please

[farmmom]

I have a young doe (1yr). She has suddenly started getting out of my 5 strand electric fence. I can't find where, because she waits till I'm not watching to get out. I stood and watched for 30 min and as soon as I turned around to grab hay, she was out. The fence is definately hot - I touched it (OUCH). I rigged her collar with pvc pipe so it would catch on the wire and not let her out. Turn around, she's out again. If she wasn't a registerd doe that I had purchased, I would eat her for supper. I'm planning on upgrading my fencing when my tax return comes in. Until then, any ideas?

[Raynewolfe]

Wow. I have always hated using electric fence with goats. How far apart are the strands? My first problem was that they needed to be closet together. Since electric fence isn't stretches as taught together as wire it has more give. Remember too that you want one of the wires to be head/nose level so that the shock pushes them back from the fence and not forward through it when it completes the circuit. Another problem we ran into. Consider the type you are using also. Are you using poly wire, regular wire tape or? is it the permanent or is it the kind meant for temporary fencing? If tape how wide are you using? Different animals require different types even in the electric fencing. It took us years to figure it out and keeping the goats in was probably the hardest because the lowest wire had to be so low. We had one that didnt mind being shocked and went right under. Hope that at least gives you something to think about. Good luck.

[farmmom]

My first strand is 8" from the ground. The next 8" up, the next 4"up then 4"up the last strand is at 30". That is what was recommended to me, but it's not working. She's too small to go over it. Electric isn't my first choice, but I was given everything I needed for it, so that's what I used. Does the electric tape work any better. Someone offered me a roll.

I know I sound cheap, but I'm really stretching right now. I just purchased my home, and money is really tight right now. I plan to put up stock wire when I have the money. It will be backed up with electric, because my biggest doe tears fences down. She leaves the electric alone though.

Right now, I have the little doe tied to a fencepost inside the pasture where she can't reach the fence. I hate to keep her tied, but I don't know what else to do.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I know some folks make it work, but we never could keep them in with strands of electric.

We use electric net fencing. It's portable if they browse down one area, you can move it easily.

[Ernie]

I use actual fencing. I don't like electric fencing much, nor do I trust it.

When I'm testing my fences I put the goats inside their pasture then put some grain in a bucket. I show them the grain in the bucket, maybe even let them have a taste. Then I put the bucket down somewhere out of reach on my side of the fence. I go get a cup of coffee, sit somewhere around the corner where I can see the bucket but they can't see me, and wait. Those goats will go nuts testing out every possible angle to try and get at the feed. If they don't get out in an hour, they usually aren't going to get out until they've broken the fence down somehow (by leaning on it to nibble leaves on the other side).

[farmmom]

The thing I don't understand why none of the others will even get close to the fence. It is hot, so I don't see how she's getting out without getting shocked. I will be refencing as soon as I can. Until that time, I guess she'll just stay tied. I don't know what else to do.

[Ernie]

Oh, that's an easier question to answer.

She most likely IS getting shocked, but wants to be out enough that she'll endure it, or she's getting the shock on a location where it doesn't hurt that bad, such as her belly when she's jumping over, etc.

[Raynewolfe]

Originally Posted by farmmom

The thing I don't understand why none of the others will even get close to the fence. It is hot, so I don't see how she's getting out without getting shocked. I will be refencing as soon as I can. Until that time, I guess she'll just stay tied. I don't know what else to do.

We had to have ours no farther than 5 or 6 inches close at the bottom to keep the one goat from going under. There are many animals that need to be taught not to go near the electric fence. It was recommended to us (with our miniature horses) to introduce them to it in such a way as them to get shocked where they feel it and it matters to them. That is why I ask if there are wires at face level. The belly or the back and the shock will drive them forward where on the nose or face will drive them back. We were told to string fence in an area with regular boundary fence and let them learn that way. This way they couldn't get loose, however they could still get shocked and learn the fence is hot. The tape worked much better for use. Wire and the thin yellow and black nylon rope didn't work well at all and we were told it was more of a temporary solution for larger animals. Your fence charger may not kick out enough juice to matter that much to the goat also. We had to get one of the heavy duty ones that shocked through wet weeds and brush and could be used on larger or game animals such as bison and deer before our goats would respect it. Remember their skin is a lot thicker. If its just uncomfortable to you it probably doesn't phase them at all unless it touches a very sensitive area (like the nose) Anyone else?

[sadie6447]

I have mine about 6 inches from the ground and had a time keeping them in they duck their head down and jet. I had to put hog wire behind the electric fence to stop that.

[farmerjane]

I have a NINE strand fence, I did 5-6 acres so I needed something that was economical. The strands are 4-5 inches apart, and the bottom wire is a gound attached to the ground on the fencer, which is attached to three 10 ft grounding rods. I also used tensioners to ensure my wires stay really tight, I will try to get pics. By using a negative ground wire it really make sure they get a super good shock, also seems to keep all predators out, and where I am we have tons of coyotes.

What kind of energizer are you using ? I have one for my horses that is no where near strong enough for the goats, I use cattle fencer for the goats, also do you have a voltmeter thingy ? I can't remember what they are called off hand, but they are definatly worth the money . Good luck, escape artists are such a pain.

[ozark_jewels]

Electric fence, properly put up, properly grounded, properly charged and the goats properly taught, will hold 99% of goats in my experience. Most electric fence is none of the above.
Many questions come to mind with your situation. How many output joules is your charger? Just because it feels hot to you doesn't mean it is anywhere near hot enough to gain a goats respect. My electric fence which successfully held 125 head of goats(old and young) for three years, would leave a red mark on you if you touched it and it would numb the area touched for several minutes after. I plan on using it again this spring when I get my fence up. Every charger I had used before that one, the goats had just laughed at.
How is your fence grounded?
Did you zap this goat before letting her loose in the fence?
Is the fence tight or loose?
Is the wire aluminum or galvanized?
There have been a lot of discussions about how to put electric fence up properly for goats. Let me see if I can find some and I will post them.

[farmmom]

The charger I have is a solar Zareba 3-mile low impedance 6 volt. I only have about 1 1/2 acres fenced right now. I have about 3 acres that I need to fence, but will have to clear the fenceline of trees and brush before I can run the fence. Should this charger be strong enough?

[farmerjane]

It wouldn't keep mine in, sorry . Although if you have extra wire you colud run a negative in between your postives and I bet that would help alot, it really pack a much bigger "punch" when done that way. As long as they have to touch both wires, it really works well. I totally accidentaly touched both ONCE and it I am telling you it was a good jolt. You have to make sure your wires are tight because if they are not and touch eachother it will ground your fence out.

Best solution would be to add more wire, a ground wire, and get a higher voltage fencer.

Oh and when I train to my to the fence, and this sounds mean, I put them in the fence and then take a bucket of grain on the other side and encourage them to touch the fence with thier nose. I haven't had one get out yet, I was more worried about predators getting in when I fenced it.

[farmerjane]

That is my fence, you can't see all the wires but it gives the idea. The spaces look alot bigger in the picture, they are close enough together that I can't put my arm thru it without accidently touching a wire

[ozark_jewels]

Here are some great threads.

fence charger sizes question

electric fencing

Electric Fence Gurus

Pasture & electric fence?

Electric Fence Question

Keeping goats in

[ozark_jewels]

No, that would not keep my goats in either. Take a look at some of the threads I posted links to. Lots of good information on chargers, etc. I know you can't afford one now, but it would be well-worth it as soon as you can. I cannot reccomend the Taylor Fence Brute 8 enough. I *love* it.
Running a tight strand of grounded non-hot wire between each strand of hot wire is a great idea. I would also run a grounded wire down near the ground. It won't be hot so no need to worry about it touching weeds or dirt. You can attach it straight to the post with clips. No need for expensive insulators for the grounded wires.

[HilltopDaisy]

Sigh............ I hate winter. I would much rather deal with goats sneaking under the fence than me hauling hay through 2-3 feet of snow........... My goats are self-confined to a very small area, because they hate snow.

Did I tell you I hate winter? Because I really, really hate winter.

[fishhead]

If I read your description right the top wire is only 30" and that doesn't seem high enough to keep a goat from jumping over. My nubians can fly over a 50" with no trouble at all. I've seen young kids that can jump 4'.

I suspect a 3 mile fencer isn't putting out many volts. Our farm store carries a $10 tester that tests up to 4650 volts. Look for a charger that says it's for large animals and predators.