# Electric fence portable pens



## joecool911 (Jul 3, 2010)

I am wondering about discussing the portable electric fence pen such as idahonancy's. Is this a safer alternative to high lining? Leaving them in camp? Also some systems are a lot more expensive than others. Like $300 for fence and post plus charger. So like $500.


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## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

My oberhaslie boys are use to electric fences at home. This makes it easier to leave them alone in camp during the day. They don't jump fences so the 42" tall fence was fine for me. They do tend to make a dust bowel and eat every thing inside the fenced area if we stay somewhere for a week. I have no idea if the fence would keep out any predators. I carry a solar charger and a ground rod. The fence goes up easy and I store it in an old ski bag. I do carry extra fence posts. Sometimes I put the fence up on a side hill and it works well.


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

We use portable electric fences at home instead of regular pens. We don't have a dog, so predator control is important. I have the the solar box and 400' of 48" Permanet fencing from Premier1. It's not cheap, but it's worth it to keep out the bears and coyotes that are numerous around here. We had a bear come through last spring. He thought the goats looked tasty until he touched the fence. One zap and he left immediately and never came back! 

The fence is also not too hard to move around. We brought a 100' fence to Rendy and set it up behind our trailer this year since we had young dam-raised babies with us and high lines would have been risky. The fence definitely needs extra support posts if the terrain is not absolutely flat. I also had to bring some pruning tools to cut back the weeds and brush along the fence line. It's worth it for the peace of mind when you have predators in the area, especially if you have very young goats with you or you ever plan to leave camp. A guard dog plus electric fence would be even better. 

My very biggest concern with this fence is the possibility that a goat could tangle in it and get shocked to death. That would be a horrific nightmare. When the babies were first introduced to it, I kept a hawk's eye on them and I made sure that they had the opportunity to zap themselves on it a couple of times before I ever left them alone even for a minute. For the first week or two I paneled off an area for them at night so they couldn't access the electric fence when I wasn't there. When I saw that they were actively avoiding the fence during play and feeding time, I knew that they had learned and would not get into trouble. Older goats seem to learn a lot faster and tend to stay away from the fence after just one zap. They also seem less likely to react by jumping into the fence. The babies are small enough that they think they can jump through the holes in the mesh, which could get them into serious trouble if they panic from the electric shock and leap forward instead of back. Until they learn to stay clear of the area near the fence there is always a risk of entanglement, so be sure to keep an eye on them during training!


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## AACmama (Jul 29, 2010)

Nanno's concern about entanglement is very real. I don't know if there is a risk of death by shock, but there certainly is one of exposure or strangulation as the goat struggles to free himself.

We have taken down the electric chicken netting within our pasture and now let our chickens roam free after not one, but TWO entanglement incidents with one not-so-quick-learning goat. Our other goats were quick to figure out that a zap was worth avoiding and feel they would continue to be safe around the electric netting, but not our Finn. He got all tangled up once with the netting tight around his neck, but thankfully I was home to free him fairly quickly. You would _think _he would have learned, but nooooh... The second time scared me quite badly, as he was rolled up in the netting for several hours during a heat wave. He was limp from lack of water and shade. I had that fence taken down in minutes after freeing him!

If you teach your goats about the fencing (we thought we had!) and are planning on using electric netting as a fence at camp where you will be present, that would probably be fine. But after our experience, it's something I wouldn't use again when I can't be nearby to supervise.

Our chickens are delighted about the outcome of our netting disaster, but I have several new gray hairs that can be directly attributed to it!


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## joecool911 (Jul 3, 2010)

Sounds like there's no foolproof, sure method of containment in the field.


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

With my powerful electric box, there is definitely a risk of death by shock if the kid were trapped long enough. A friend of mine had a calf get zapped to death from getting caught all night in an electric fence that was hotter than mine and not solar. Mine is not strong enough to kill a calf, and it's solar powered so the battery would probably die after a while, but I'm sure a small goat would still be at risk. I know that if the fence is not hot enough, animals (and especially goats) will not easily respect it and are much more likely to get into trouble than if it's good and hot. They should scream (loudly) when they touch it. If they don't cry when they touch it, it's almost certainly not hot enough. Keep that ground rod wet!

And no, nothing is ever foolproof. I have to weigh the risk of goats getting tangled in the electric fence with goats getting eaten by bears and coyotes. For my situation, I believe the risk of entanglement is much lower than the risk of becoming dinner. The only thing certain in life is that nothing is certain.


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