# Fencing options



## bigoakfarm (Oct 6, 2007)

I've always kept my goats in the field fencing with one strand of barbed wire at the top but I've always had Nigerians, too.

Now I have these ginormous Alpine girls and my neighbor is fencing the line to the back of our property in 8 strands of barbed wire. The back of our place is 5.5 acres of pretty dense woods with a great deal of undergrowth. The only reason we haven't already fenced it is because we live very near Mammoth Cave and about every other post hole, you hit solid rock. We just can't get the field fencing stretched through the woods here without hiring a bulldozer (not an option) and electric fencing would be too difficult to maintain with the current deer population. Sooo, we haven't been able to use the woods for the goats, yet. But I can go tree to tree and use t-posts between for barbed wire. Will 8 strands of barbed wire hold Alpines? The ones I have seen with that many strands look to be pretty good fences but a Nigerian would just laugh on the way through it. Do you think I should go ahead and fence the rest of our woods with the barbed wire to join the fence in the back or will that be a waste of time and money for the Alpines?

Thanks!
Kristen


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

I don't recommend barbed wire, because they will go right through it and you have more of a chance of injuries.
When building fence it is best to build it right the first time so that you don't have to keep rebuilding therefore spending more money.
We use Redbrand woven wire goat fence. It has 4x4 inch squares, so nobody can get out or get their heads stuck, it's strong, sturdy and our goats haven't wrecked it yet. Attaching it to trees is a good idea because a tree is an imovable fence post


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## cute kids (Oct 5, 2007)

i'd go with wire, too---and tree to tree might be just right for your situation, keeping in mind the trees will grow and move the wire up over time. too easy to get tangled and hurt with barbed wire.


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## bigoakfarm (Oct 6, 2007)

We have the Redbrand goat fencing on the front 5 acres. Putting it up through the woods and on the rock is not an option. Digging post holes in certain terrain is simply not possible but t-posts can be driven down far enough to hold if you use trees wherever possible. You can't get the roll of woven wire up this hill and you can't get a tractor or a 4 wheeler in there at all. There's just no way to stretch the woven wire tight enough to hold livestock.  It's basically a wooded rock bluff. The goats would have a ball up there if I could just fence it.

Oh well, if it won't work - it won't work. The deer love it and are getting plenty of use out of that part of the property. LOL.

Kristen


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## Bona Fide (Oct 9, 2007)

Or do what I do - PANELS (lol) they can go just fine  and you put t-posts inbetween and they can be tied around trees without insulators or too much damage to what's around it. We've got a strand of hot barbed hot on top to keep the horses out. 

I've actually gotten hot wire running - it's off much of the time on the big goats with no problems even when they're running with the cows. Nigis have panels for now since they laugh in the face of any strand fencing wether it's hot or not. We've got barbed some places, but it becomes scratch posts which kills the fence and their bodies...

Eventually the outer perimeters will be in red brand fence with woven wire, barbed/high tensile (between cows/big goats/horses) and panels (between Nigis) separating the pasture within the farm.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I would agree that the galvanized panels would be your best bet, they can be attached to the trees with a t-post in the center for support, and they come in different sized squares as well as heights. It is also possible to drag them behind the quad for as far as you can and they are easily managed by one person. If you have hornless goats the size of the square shouldn't be an issue, as the cattle feed lot panels will work, smaller squares if you have horned goats. Since I move mine around often enough, I use baling twine to secure them to a post or 2 and it lasts long enough for my goats to have eaten the area down, then I just cut it off and start fresh...a more permanent fence would be able to be secured to a tree by using the same type of wire (smooth) used for running electric fence. BTW...If you don't have jumpers...you can go with the shorter height and not have to worry about the deer causing damage, they will easily clear it and not push them over if secured firmly.


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## cute kids (Oct 5, 2007)

you guys are giving me some ideas for some of my hard to reach/fence areas. thanks!


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## fritzie (Oct 6, 2007)

Kristen knowing your alpines i would not recommend the barb wire. they will get all cut up on it. the panels are a great idea or what we did in maine in the woods was we would measure off so much from tree to tree then we would cut how much fence we needed,cut that much & put it up. it is pretty easy to handle about 50 feet at a time in the woods. also those girls are use to electric & even if you jusr put the connectors on the trees it will help keep them away from it. if there are alot of trees inside the fence they won't be going near or trying to get out till the ones inside are bare.


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## enjoytheride (Oct 5, 2007)

There is a lot of different kinds of fencing that doesn't need holes at all so a buck fence might work in areas that post holes won't- also I saw on another web site that some guy who couldn't dig a hole in some spots-he took a cylinder of field fencing (looked to be about two-three feet in diameter) and stood it upright and filled it full of large rocks. Basically made a stone pillar to act a a large weight that could take the tension of the field fencing- he said it was good for gates especially. Then I have a place that has vitrually no flat areas and I found that shorter cattle panels work best for me- in fact as pole gates are a problem )one end is flush to the ground and the other a foot ro more in the air on an 8 foot gate,) I took a cattle panel and attached it to the gate with loose rings that allowed the panel to slide down the gate and sit flush with the ground while the gate hangs in the air- I simply lift the panel and pull the gate open with one hand- the loose panel also is great for holding the gate open. 
Also there is no rule that says you have to use wooden posts for field fencing all the way around- there are places where a post hole was too difficult so I set t-posts there. As long as the ends (and any bend in the fenceline) are wood posts the t-post work just fine- they are more like stabilizers or braces at that point- I did this when I ran into giant old redwood roots and I couldn't get through them.
Finally I have lots of trees in the way too and I took a 2x4 spiked into the tree then attached the fence to that - redwood bark is inches thick and you sometimes can't get to solid wood with a staple. But it also kept the fence from growing into the tree- good idea if you later want cut it down and make lumber or firewood. It also gave a staighter line for the fence and I could get it closer to the ground.
Like tha other sais- boo on barbed wire- costs in vet bills.


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## Sara (Oct 5, 2007)

You might try a rock crib instead of t-post. Just take couple 2x4's and nail them together, fill with rocks and TADAH!


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

a lot of people do that in central oregon. Where i used to live in Bend, it was impossible to drive t-posts in and even more impossible to dig a hole for a wood post. We made boxes out of 4x4's and 2'4 rails and then put chicken wire around them and filled them with rocks or bricks. It works well.
beth


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## ozarksvalley (Nov 22, 2007)

fritzie said:


> Kristen knowing your alpines i would not recommend the barb wire. they will get all cut up on it.


Amen. I've had severel differnt breeds and the Alpines will go for the wire like it's a dare..... 
I hope you can figure out what works best for you.  These guys are pretty full of good ideas!


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## Sara (Oct 5, 2007)

No barb wire, my wether Thomas got a nasty cut in his ear from it and I didn't even know it was in their pen.


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## fritzie (Oct 6, 2007)

ozarkvally i agree. alpines like to do what they are not suppose to(or atleast try) especially the three that kristne has. they are my breeding & all three are very daring & nosie


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

For my alpines electric wire has been the best choice. We have five foot chainlink around the baby pen but thats only because i don't like putting new babies in electric fence. We had a doe that used field fencing like a ladder as she did chainlink. So none of that worked. We have a four foot five strand electric fence around the does, and a five foot seven strand fence around the bucks.
beth


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## bigoakfarm (Oct 6, 2007)

I'm considering high tensile wire with about every other strand being hot. I'll need to do a little research on solar chargers as I don't have electricity that far from the barn and I don't want ANY electric fencing down here near my 2 legged kids. I won't use the field fencing there because it just looks so ugly if it's not installed with the proper tension and we can't dig enough post holes to build as many braces as we would need. The rigid panels might work but I don't have the kind of money it would cost to buy enough panels for 5 very rugged acres plus the extras to cover all the places where they would have to be cut and forced to fit. And they do tend to climb those like a ladder in the places where we are already using it. I can see avoiding the barbed wire all together so that really only leaves the high tensile. I worry that the deer might get cut up on that though because they just run through here like greased lightning. I don't know for sure what I'll do with it yet (if anything) but I thank y'all so much for your input.

Kristen

Kristen


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## fritzie (Oct 6, 2007)

Kristen that sounds like a good idea. i know alot of horse people in maine that used the solar charger & they really liked it. once the girls touch the fence & get zapped they will stay away from it. if you start babies out with electric that will work for them when they get older.


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