# Electric fence vs woven wire



## billmac (Sep 8, 2008)

Anyone use multi-strand electric instead of woven wire fencing? I have a large brushy area that the goats would love, but would be an expensive and arduous task to surround it with woven wire.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

I use 3-4 strand electric with no issues. It's a hot fence though..;-)


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## chelsboers (Mar 25, 2010)

I use 5 strands of electric and it is at least 7000 volts.


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## LaurieW (Sep 24, 2013)

billmac said:


> Anyone use multi-strand electric instead of woven wire fencing? I have a large brushy area that the goats would love, but would be an expensive and arduous task to surround it with woven wire.


We use 5 wire Electric fence, 3 are 'hot' (top, middle and bottom) and 2 are ground wires. We have about 8 acres to fence, through old pasture, kudzu (aggressive vine), woods (with lots of torn bush and poison ivy) and wet meadow area. Last year we had about an acre fenced. We have expanded our fencing to include more (late fall) and are trying to get all 8 acres fenced before spring is over.

Here are some photos of our fencing and the conditions in putting it in. Hubby and our boys would weed eat under the line during the summer months last year, even with our low impediment electric fence we had kudzu (vine) trying to grow on it and just too many weeds. We are planning to spray weed killer this year, hoping it will knock it back for longer.

Electric Fence Connections by LaurieESW, on Flickr

This is late July.

Kudzu - Goat Pasture fence by LaurieESW, on Flickr

Nov. 2013, the fence in the woods (red oaks planted quite a few years ago). We plan to move this fence line from the woods to along a road where the trees were cleared over the winter.

Current Fence through the woods by LaurieESW, on Flickr

Old pasture area last spring, where kudzu and saplings were growing.

Oaks - Spring by LaurieESW, on Flickr

This photo taken towards the end of July.

Goat pasture by LaurieESW, on Flickr
This spring, same pasture area. No saplings or kudzu. The Kudzu is not completely gone, but such a big difference. 

Pasture April by LaurieESW, on Flickr

Some of the new electric fencing we put in this fall. Hill covered in Kudzu vine which is climbing over trees and logs which had been bulldozed down over 15 years ago.


Steep Hill - Kudzu by LaurieESW, on Flickr

View back up the hill

Poles up going into the valley from pasture by LaurieESW, on Flickr

This is the old fencing that had been around the property, now under kudzu vine. There was either barbed, woven or a combination of both. Over 15-20 years ago cattle had grazed on the property.


Old Cattle Fence under Kudzu and Fallen Trees by LaurieESW, on Flickr

Was this the kind of information you were looking for? Hopefully it was helpful.

The only problem we have had with goats getting out, through the gate. They mouthed the clip so much it came undone. We corrected that.

Even when covered heavy and sagging with ice this winter the goats respected it. 
More ice sagging electric fence by LaurieESW, on Flickr

Compared Ice on Electric fence by LaurieESW, on Flickr


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

Man, I don't envy you that fencing job! :shocked: That's worse than trying to drive steel posts in chalk rock!


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

LaurieW said:


> We are planning to spray weed killer this year, hoping it will knock it back for longer.


I'm assuming you're talking about commercial weed killer? Talk to your extension office or local weed and pest to see if there is a pre-emergent that will handle it. A pre-emergent has to be sprayed at a certain time, but it will prevent whatever it covers from coming up for a certain amount of time.


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## billmac (Sep 8, 2008)

Thanks.


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## surveyman (Jan 19, 2013)

Laurie, I'm jealous. What I wouldn't give to adjoin property with all that kudzu. You could probably stock 20 goats to the acre on a good crop of that stuff.

Bill, I've got both. One side has 6 strands of high tensile fence, with 5 strands hot. That side had an old fence row and I had it cleaned off. All of my other fences are woven wire, and part of them have a hot wire on the inside to keep the goats from sticking their head through.


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## Hollowdweller (May 5, 2011)

I have about every kind of fencing but the big areas are 5 strand 14 gauge hi tensile wire.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

In most cases I like permanent fence better. I use woven wire, I like it because i am assured it will keep my little stinkers where they belong. It takes a lot of time and work to put up though so sometimes I do put up electric. The stuff I have is more temporary than Laurie's but if the goats are trained to it, it works fine.
You can see it in the background of this picture.


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## LaurieW (Sep 24, 2013)

surveyman said:


> Laurie, I'm jealous. What I wouldn't give to adjoin property with all that kudzu. You could probably stock 20 goats to the acre on a good crop of that stuff.


 LOL, well when they clean the kudzu off our property (where it came from this neighbor) we have considered offering to buy our neighbors kudzu covered hills. The down side, the property next to us is an abandoned gravel pit. We are concerned it might be difficult to fence and the pit area might remain deep or cause erosion when bull-dozed.


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## surveyman (Jan 19, 2013)

LaurieW said:


> LOL, well when they clean the kudzu off our property (where it came from this neighbor) we have considered offering to buy our neighbors kudzu covered hills. The down side, the property next to us is an abandoned gravel pit. We are concerned it might be difficult to fence and the pit area might remain deep or cause erosion when bull-dozed.


You might want to consider not overgrazing the kudzu, so that you have some every year. That stuff supposedly helps with the worms.


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