one of many questions-fencing

[duckidaho]

We are getting goats this spring. We have a pasture that is fenced for cows. 4ft. high, three strands barbed wire. What could we do to this existing fence to make it goat proof. I hear they can jump over a 4ft fence. Thanks, Russ

[Backfourty,MI.]

What kind of goats are you planning on getting?

Cattle panels are always great if you can do those for the price but strands of electric will be a must for you otherwise. Sometimes even the electric won't work for some.

[Backfourty,MI.]

I should also add that some of mine can jump over 4 feet but it's usually the wood gates, where they have a place to rest there hooves even just for a second on the way over. They don't actually jump my fencing unless a house or lean to is too close to the fence.

[rio002]

We've had goats for about 10 years now (nubians, pygmys, and nigerian dwarfs) and with the fencing you've described......I'd take it out and replace it with actual "commercial goat fencing." We tried our goats over the years with regular wood fencing but they climb it, we tried electric 5 strand fencing but electric doesn't really deter goats with that big bone plate in their heads, they simply don't care lol. We had barbed wire 4 strand in a few areas of their corral but had a ton problems and injuries from them getting tangled up in it.........when we decided to redo their corral we considered the metal "goat/livestock panels" but the cost was way too much, so we went with "commercial goat fencing" comes in a big roll, we stretched it with a four wheeler and ran to T posts, works great, no escapees since. I think it was 400ft. of fencing for just over $200, I know the original outlay can be tough but in the long run it's cheaper than stitching up goats from barbed wire all the time. Plus when tangled up, goats don't lay down, they're not like a dog who may give up and lay there and whine, goats will flail until they get themselves free of whatever has them--this reaction causes injuries you don't ever want to deal with. Good luck with yours, they really are alot of fun when you can contain them lol

[mygoat]

Barbed wire is bad news for goats. They don't have as tough of a hide as cattle do. Three strands won't do much to hold in goats, anyways.

There is a saying - if it won't hold water, it won't hold a goat!

I have the goat fencing. Mine is redbrand goat fence, squares are 4"x4". It is rolled fence but we didn't have a 4-wheeler - we did ours by hand. Initial cost is high, but in all reality goats don't climb fences often - usually gates as previously stated. It is usually young goats that haven't reached their adult weight, or because there is an object close enough to the fencing that the goats are able to jump from the object and over the fence. Goats tend to scoot under fences or gates.

Also, do not go cheap with chicken wire. Goats ITCH themselves by leaning on the fencing and walking along it, bending the wire. It will cause chicken wire to snap really quickly. And no matter the type, their itching will also bend the wire up and let them scoot under easier.

I also have isolation pens which are cattle panels and they are VERY handy to have to whip up a quick isolation pen. I recommend two isolation pens to EVERYBODY, to isolate incoming stock from your herd, to prevent disease spread. Always buy from tested herds and always test your stock before you introduce them to your existing herd!

The idea is to fence of as MUCH area as you can. It is preferred you make 2 or more pastures so you can rotate your goats between them, which can reduce or eliminate feeding of hay in the summer months and also reduce parasite loads. Try to fence in brushy areas, as goats are browsers and not grazers. They will do 'ok' on grass pasture but you will likely have to supplement with a quality hay all year round.

[duckidaho]

The red-brand non-climb certainly looks like the real deal, but it is expensive.

[Birch Hill Farm]

One of the people I bought goats from in the past uses multiple strands of barbwire without any problem. 8-9 strands spaced no more then 3-4 " apart up to a height of 4ft. If its less then 4" spacing there is no worry of getting their head through and getting tangled, just make sure its really tight. And they wont rub along it to many times, so it shouldnt get stretched out. If you use woven wire stick with the expensive "goat" fence or the really large cattle with the 12 stays, but watch out the smaller kids can walk right thru it. Do not use the cattle 6" stays. We have a combination of all three types, fencing in about 8 acres. The younger ones constantly hang there horns in the 6" stays. On all new fencing I am only using the "goat fencing" its worth the extra money.

[fishhead]

I would put up 3-4 strands of HOT electric fencing on the existing posts between the barbed wire. You could ground the barb wire strands and use them for a ground. I would also make sure the goats know that it's hot by tricking them into getting shocked.

[Carolyn]

Having cut up udders by barbed wire is no fun, I have tried the electric fence, didn't work for me except on top of sheep and goat fencing.

[beccachow]

Yeah, goats are escape artists and I shudder at the damage they could do to themselves on barbed wire!!! We have the regular welded wire stuff, not sure what it's called, but connect it to T-Posts. Just make it HIGH. Think it's high enough? Try another foot after THAT.

[Wags]

We have Nigerians and used regular field fencing. If you have access to a tractor buy or rent a field fence unroller stretcher. The one I bought cost $350 and was worth every penny! You just stand the roll of wire up in the contraption and drive a little ways, stop and pull tension with the tractor and then connect to t-posts. Makes fencing a one person operation, or if you have many hands a very fast operation and the person driving the tractor doesn't even have to get off. You end up with a very tight professional looking fence line.

[duckidaho]

we do have a small tractor. I'll have to look to rent a fence un-roller. we have a roll end of what looks to be goat proof fence, plus I could buy a 330' roll of the redbrand. That ought to make a nice little pasture.

[rio002]

The way we stretched our fence with the four wheeler was we unrolled the fencing about 50ft ahead of our starting point, left it standing up, we used a heavy duty tie down with the hooks at each end, then got the four wheeler as close as we could to the T-posts put one hook near the top of the fencing then the other near the bottom with the middle of the strap looped around the rear bar on the four wheeler like this >4wheeler (took a few times to get the spacing right so we didn't squish the fencing) and pulled the four wheeler ahead to get nice tight stretch on it. Worked really well without additional cost of an unroller attachment. I would have used the tractor for better speed control but it wasn't running at the time lol. Oh and plan your T posts about 6ft. apart, with the way goats rub up and down fencing if you have too much space between posts they can start to tip your T posts and restretch the fence outward.

[duckidaho]

What do you guys think of attaching the redbrand goat fencing to the existing posts for the barbed wire fence, and leaving the barbed wire up? Will the goats still rub against it and get hurt? At least they wouldn't be able to get tangled in it with the goat fence up over it. It would save us the trouble and cost of T-posts.

All in all though, I've learned in my various homesteading adventures it's cheaper to do it right the first time...even if it seems expensive or a hassle.

[suzyhomemaker09]

Originally Posted by duckidaho

What do you guys think of attaching the redbrand goat fencing to the existing posts for the barbed wire fence, and leaving the barbed wire up? Will the goats still rub against it and get hurt? At least they wouldn't be able to get tangled in it with the goat fence up over it. It would save us the trouble and cost of T-posts.

All in all though, I've learned in my various homesteading adventures it's cheaper to do it right the first time...even if it seems expensive or a hassle.

No real benefit to attaching the field type fence over the barb...If you are going to use a different type of fence take the barb off the posts. my goats love to lean and rub against fencing and if there were barb on it there would be problems.

[Birch Hill Farm]

It would make it hard to stretch with the barb wire hanging up on the vertical stays, but other wise it would not be a problem. If its too sharp when they rub on it, then they wont rub on it again. Their smart enough not to keep rubbing on barb wire.

[rio002]

I'd still remove the barbed wire itself (even if you have the barbed wire to the outside of the fence they'll still lean way into it and get poked) but if the posts are sturdy you can attach your goat fencing to the posts using (I'm assuming they're wood) with.......well we call them fencing nails or U nails (they are shaped exactly like a U) I suppose they're like large brads and you nail them in the places where the fencing is welded to itself, over the crosshairs lol that keeps the fence from sliding one way or the other.

[Wags]

Two sides of our pasture were fenced with barbed wire on the outside of the fence. Since that belonged to the neighbors we didn't remove it, just put the field fence up on the inside of the posts. The goats have not rubbed on either of those sections of the fence. And they actually don't rub much on the rest of it - guess there is enough trees for them to do that on.

[duckidaho]

Thanks so much for all the input, this is starting to take shape in my mind.