# What do you consider a coyote proof fence?



## FarmerInaDress

I am about to put up fencing around my new barn and I want it to be as coyote proof as possible. I am not able to use electric wire, due to close proximity to power and telephone lines. I want to do buried fencing so that digging will not be an issue, but I am wondering about height and barbed wire. What we have now for the little barn is 5 ft, woven-wire, no-climb fencing with a line of barbed wire at the bottom. 

I am thinking of upping this to 6 ft for the new fence, or I could do 5 ft with several barbed wire strands at the top. I haven't decided whether a LGD is practical for us, so for my peace of mind I need a great fence and I will spend top dollar to get the right thing. 

I can hear the coyotes and wolves hunting at night and it gives me the heebie-jeebies.


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## Jessica84

I dont know about other areas, but for the most part coyotes dont like any kind of trap. I have seen coyotes just out side my field fence and they dont even bother trying to get threw. I think the biggest issue is if they are crossed with dog or wolf, they get a little more brave and a little more nasty. I would think just the no climb would work, but i belive on here I read a post where they were trying to dig under the fence. I dont remember who had the post but they had a pen that nothing was going to get threw. wire on the top and wire under the ground. But if you live in a area that they are not that bold go with just the no climb.


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## MsScamp

There is no such thing as 'coyote proof' fencing. If they want in bad enough, they will get in but coyotes are usually a bigger problem in winter than summer because game is scarcer. First off, I would have no less than a 6" fence, and I would have another foot buried if possible. A couple of strands of barbed wire at the top wouldn't hurt, either. Night time is when coyotes hunt usually, so install vapor arc lights with eyes that turn on at dusk and turn off at dawn. Cover gates with cattle panels, or field fence and don't forget to bury a foot of whatever you choose under the gate. Situate your pens as close to the house as you reasonably can to use the scent of people in your favor. You might also consider a motion activated light, although it won't take the coyotes long to figure that one out. If you have female dogs, get them spayed. All bets are off if a coyote can smell a dog in heat. If you can find one in your area, a good coyote trapper can give you a wealth of information about deterring them because coyotes are smart and hard to trap/shoot. I hope this helps.


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## Katie03264

If you want to add just a little extra insurance...we feed the deer in the wintertime (after hunting season, of course), originally, we did so simply to see what kind of wildlife was around, to get good game cam pics & to help the deer thru the winter (they can be harsh here in NH & last winter was especially bad w/deep heavy snow..& lots of it) but stumbled onto a bonus, the deer come randomly throughout the day & night & then every 2mo or so, we'll get a pic of a beautiful coyote following the deer trails (we dont have a ton of coyotes thanks to no closed season on them..god forbid we coexist w/wildlife...anyhow...). I think it gives everybody a fair chance since deer use the same trails no matter if they're being fed or not, the deer stay healthier & are better able to handle a chase b/c of it & the coyote stays at the back of our property on the trails when he does move thru e.g.-he has other options & prob isn't hungry enough to make it worth getting as close to the house (& my 2 large dogs' yard) as he would need to to get at the chickens or goats). I'm sure that's not all of it but I like to think it helps everyone all the way around, coyote gets to hunt as he should, deer are fed & healthy enough, & everyone stays the heck away from our chickens & goats. As a result of all these things coming together (& prob other things that have nothing to do w/us, like the scarcity of coyotes in the area) we've never lost so much as a single chicken to wildlife..knock wood!! Good luck, they def are intelligent little buggers & dont know if this would work for you but..might not hurt to give it a try if you are still having trouble after the much better ideas posted before me ;-)


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## cybercat

We lock up animals at night. That is the best way to prevent coyotes at night. Other than that a pair of dogs and gun. As was said no fence will work 100% but we are doing perimeter with 6 stand barb with close on first 4 strands to ground.


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## clearwtrbeach

So for me dogs don't work since the perimeter isn't fenced and we are right on the hwy with several goat pens. We have quite a few coyotes (among other predators). We rely on guns, fence and electric. I know you mentioned you couldn't do electric due to power poles. Forgive me I'm not familiar with why that is an issue?? Not know why that's an issue, what about using a solar hot box for wire? 
I would be sure you can if necessary lock the goats up in a shelter/barn. Particularly at kidding time. The smell of blood and the cries of kids will bring them in. I try not to have anything that will attract them. Last summer wow I got a lesson learned, I've mentioned before but for new questions I'll explain. So middle of the summer day I'm standing on my porch painting, goat pen to the back of me and one just behind the house, front yard in between and the field fence (for the front yard) is about 20' from the porch. I hear wood snapping (like branches being stepped on) figured it was goats, then i hear munching and look to the side to see 2 coyotes standing 20' away!! We had a pear tree that had so much fruit branches broke so I just threw them over the fence- hmm perfect snack for the coyotes.


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## FarmerInaDress

The electric fencing is a problem because the grounding rods would be too close to several things, especially telephone lines. Big problem if it causes interference in the whole county's land lines. We are also right along a highway, making dogs not ideal. We do lock the goats up at night, I just want to be protected during the day as much as possible. 

Our neighbors across the highway leave their chickens out to free roam during the day without problems, so those would probably be much easier prey than my goats behind a fence. I guess I'm a bit paranoid after reading some of the horror stories. 

Thanks for the advice everyone.


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## 20kidsonhill

your bigger concern is them crawling under, with no electric strands close to the bottom they can dig under most fencing. Have you looked into electric fencing with no ground wire, I am almost sure I read about someone using one of the strands of electric as a ground instead of actually using a ground rod. Can't say I am positive about this.


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## FarmerInaDress

If I buried the fencing a foot deep all around do you think they would still be able to dig under? I'll look into the no ground wire thing.


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## 20kidsonhill

FarmerInaDress said:


> If I buried the fencing a foot deep all around do you think they would still be able to dig under? I'll look into the no ground wire thing.


If you can bury the fence a foot deep then seems like you could do some kind of ground rod. But maybe I am misunderstanding why you don't want to use one.

yes, I think burying it would help, but would be mighty hard on your fence.


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## 20kidsonhill

This is what someone else wrote: 
"Over winter we use a 5 wire system - from the bottom up it's "Ground", "Hot","Ground","Hot","Hot".
For goats new to fence, we also have some -really- cheap plastic fence (We got it from KenCove) on the outside of the electric. It slows them down so that they get shocked rather than just jumping through it."


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## FarmerInaDress

Maybe I am not explaining myself well. 

Basically, right on the other side of our fence line (along a highway) run buried power and telephone lines. Grounding electrical fencing too close to telephone lines often causes clicking, buzzing and interference for the land koine users that it services. It can also slow down dial-up internet. This would make me mighty unpopular around here, if you know what I mean. I can safely bury regular fencing, but I don't want to take the risk monetarily or socially with electrical.

Edit: Forgot to say, we also have an easement that prevents us from putting the grounding rods on the far side of the fence from the buried lines.


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## OwnedByTheGoats

Honestly, I don't trust any fencing to be coyote proof. The only time I would even think my animals were safe is when they are locked up in the barn at night.


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## SCRMG

The only thing that will stop a predator 100% of the time is lead poisoning. I've seen fences, barns, electronic devices, and even livestock guardians (dog, donkey, and llama) fail. That's doesn't mean you shouldn't do the best you can do to try to stop it from happening, it just means that there is no full proof solution.

I think you're on the right track with a fence buried a foot into the ground to dissuade digging. If you took 6ft no climb fence and trenched it, you would still have 5 foot above ground which should be sufficient to dissuade going over. In my experience, a strand or two of barbed wire at the top really doesn't add anything because if a coyote is going over a 5 foot fence it is climbing, not jumping and will go right through the strands. I know they call it "no climb" fencing, and for the most part that is true, but you have to be aware of open 90 degree angles, and line post spacing. 

From the outside coming in there shouldn't be any open 90s, by that I mean a corner where the intruder can brace themselves on two lines, and climb the corner (this is how most large dogs get out of their yard). Line post spacing should be no more than 8 feet. Even a very tight fence can be pushed down at the top in the center of the space between line posts. The further the posts are apart, the further the fence can be pushed down. I once saw someone try to go 12 feet on their line posts on a 5 foot fence, it was strung as tight as I have ever seen field fence, but I could pull the top over 2 feet. If a coyote did the same, it could get over.

Another thing to consider is your goats. I've yet to meet a goat that didn't think rubbing their body along the length of the fence was the greatest sensation. After awhile the fence will bow out. This bow is coming from the top and bottom. Eventually, you will find that the field fencing is shorter, and not as difficult to dig under. I line the inside of my goat pens with cattle panels. It's an added cost, but will save you a lot of patching in the long run and extend the life of your set up.


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## teejae

We use electric fencing near power line and landline phone without any problems.It has stopped Dingoes and feral dogs as well as feral pigs.I have Maremmas in with the goats out in the padocks(these dogs and pigs will hunt day and night and dogs are very smart)and are locked up in the yards with the goats everynight.We have only lost 1 doe and kid who were attacked by a pack of feral dogs  the goats were outside the electric fence.We run 3 hot wires,1 negative and then 1 hot wire on top,works well,Teejae


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## surveyman

FarmerInaDress said:


> Maybe I am not explaining myself well.
> 
> Basically, right on the other side of our fence line (along a highway) run buried power and telephone lines. Grounding electrical fencing too close to telephone lines often causes clicking, buzzing and interference for the land koine users that it services. It can also slow down dial-up internet. This would make me mighty unpopular around here, if you know what I mean. I can safely bury regular fencing, but I don't want to take the risk monetarily or socially with electrical.
> 
> Edit: Forgot to say, we also have an easement that prevents us from putting the grounding rods on the far side of the fence from the buried lines.


I still don't understand. You put the grounding rods near the fence box and then run the fence where ever you need it. There's no need in having ground rods near electrical lines.


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## FarmerInaDress

There is for me, due to a very specific easement that allows me to run fencing around all four sides, but only allows me to install grounding rods on the side right beside the power/telephone lines. The easement has been in place long before I bought the property. Along the phone line is literally the only place allowed per my easement. There is the possibility that it would not be an issue, but it has been already for others in my county and I don't want to go down that road.


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## jennnaragsdale

cybercat said:


> We lock up animals at night. That is the best way to prevent coyotes at night. Other than that a pair of dogs and gun. As was said no fence will work 100% but we are doing perimeter with 6 stand barb with close on first 4 strands to ground.


Make sure it's a pair or more of dogs or the coyotes will trick them, during the winter I lock the girls up at night but during the rest of the year the dogs keep them away and crash pretty hard during the day! We have hundreds if coyotes and haven't lost one yet

Sent from my iPhone using GoatSpot


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## surveyman

FarmerInaDress said:


> There is for me, due to a very specific easement that allows me to run fencing around all four sides, but only allows me to install grounding rods on the side right beside the power/telephone lines. The easement has been in place long before I bought the property. Along the phone line is literally the only place allowed per my easement. There is the possibility that it would not be an issue, but it has been already for others in my county and I don't want to go down that road.


Then put the ground rods in the middle.


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## FarmerInaDress

surveyman said:


> Then put the ground rods in the middle.


Okay, I'll look into it, but I would really like to explore my non-electric options.


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## SCRMG

There are plenty on non electric options. Personally, I don't do electric fences. I think they are too often used to supplement weak fencing, and without power running through them constantly, they are useless. I can visually verify that my fences are up and doing their job, but electric requires regular testing to make sure it's still functioning.

When I was younger, my parents used a low voltage fence on the horses. It seems like I was the only one getting reguraly stung by that fence, and I hate being shocked. I worked with a guy who used that electric netting for his goats. That fence used to scare me! It had enough power running through it that the hairs on my arms would stand up anytime I was within a foot of it. Strange as this may sound, this was the most inefficient fence I had ever seen for keeping predators out or animals in. His goats and dogs must have been able to feel the charge as well, because the minute it went down, they would go through it. Coyotes and cougars went through it whether it was working or not. He ran 3-5 dogs with the goats for that reason, and trust me, they were some hard working dogs.

Good luck with your fencing.


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## TwirlAndTweak

I also vote against electric fencing...personal preference.

I would do the fence in the ground thing, and add coyote rollers to the top of the fence. You can make them yourself, or buy them.


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