A fence question

Leah IL · #1 04/13/05, 07:37 PM

We originally were going to have a dairy cow but are now considering goats. We are having a 4 foot woven wire field fence installed with a strip of barbed wire on the top. Any chance this will hold a goat?

dale anne · #2 04/13/05, 08:31 PM

Howdy leah...it should hold smaller goats such as pygmys[maybe not the bucks]...the fencing is good just the hight may be a problem...I have pygmy,nubian and kinder kids....I have stock fence may be the same thing and the problem I have is that the kids[pygmy] can get through the fencing till about 4 weeks old......The pygmy buck jumps right on over without a blink[now in a 7 foot chainlink fence],,I have yet for one of my gals to get out..they do stick heads through the fencing but this is not a problem for me...they are enclosed by the fence and another fence all the way around..so now 2 fences a predator would have to get past plus 2 big dogs.....now as far as nubians and larger breeds the 4 foot may be a problem......the best fence I have found that no goat had ever escaped is my 7 foot chainlink!....but if you have bottle fed goats that see ya as momma and are easy to handle they more times then not will come looking for you when they get out and wont go far from the pen....My buck escapes and comes to the back door yelling for me lol....Dale Anne

okgoatgal2 · #3 04/13/05, 08:42 PM

i would string a single strand of hot wire about 8-10 inches up on the inside of that fence and get goats that were raised w/electric fence, once taught to respect it, there's seldom a problem with them getting out. i used 4 ft field fence for my nubians and lamanchas and had no trouble with them. but i had the electric wire and they knew it "bit" when they touched it, so they stayed a good 4 inches away from it most of the time. and if you're concerned about them jumping, change that barbed wire to a hot wire....

rhjacobi · #4 04/13/05, 09:23 PM

Hi Leah,

We raise Boer goats and Boer crosses. The Boers aren't one of the more "jumpier" breeds, but it has contained them. I would research the charactoristics of the breed that you are going to purchase. They can all go over it if they want to. It happened once when some dogs got into the pasture. For all the years that we have used 4 foot field fence, this is the only time they have gone over it. At certian stages of growth, there can be some problems with them getting their head stuck in the fence. Once they get big enough and the horns get long enough, that stops also.

In the back pastures that are not visible from the house, we have replaced the fencing with a 4 foot field fence with more wire in it. The holes are only 4 inches square. It is more expensive, but has been worth it to us.

Bob
Lynchburg, TN.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leah IL

We originally were going to have a dairy cow but are now considering goats. We are having a 4 foot woven wire field fence installed with a strip of barbed wire on the top. Any chance this will hold a goat?

Jen H · #5 04/14/05, 01:26 AM

I use 52" fencing, which isn't a whole lot higher than yours is. I run a hot wire 4" above the ground and above the fencing itself, and it keeps my cashmere's in. They just work on the gate latch itself...

If you decide to use the electric wire, wet down the goat (yes, I know exactly how much they like that!) and hold their nose against the wire so they get a good zap. You'll get a bit of a shock too, but the goats (mine at least) really remember it.

Leah IL · #6 04/14/05, 08:11 AM

Thanks for the good advice. I think a hot wire is in order because I know we can't afford a 7 foot chain link right now

I guess we need to start thinking about breeds and plan based on what breed we choose. I'm glad to know that we can work with what we have and not have to construct some other kind of fence.

Good idea about getting a goat that already has respect for the hot wire- I wouldn't have thought of that!

Leah

Meg Z · #7 04/14/05, 11:56 AM

I have 39 inch field fence with a single strand of barbed wire on top. I have Nubians and Alpines. That's the kind of fence the breeder of the Nubians had, as well. It's the kind of fence my parents have had for years for their goats (common goats, then Nubians, then Boers). No problems with escaping goats for any of us. Oh, the Alpine breeder had hers in a single strand of hot wire. I've often wondered why people have such problems, and had assumed until I found this board that they just had 'wild' goats. Now I know it's not just the 'wild' goats that get out, but I still don't know why some people have problems, and others don't.

Meg