Question about fencing for goats

[Haywood]

Hello,

I recently moved onto a new property and trying to figure out fencing in preparation for a couple of goats. When it comes to fencing, I get pretty confused/nervous when I read about how well goats can escape.

I am trying to spend as little as possible but still maintain structural integrity so that it will both last and serve its purpose well.

My plan is to buy 8 foot wooden posts, sinking them every 8 or 10 feet, and tacking up this wire http://www.afence.com/store/product.php?productid=25652&cat=435&page=1.

Would this idea be ok?

Also, has anyone had any luck with making their own posts from fallen logs?

Thank you so much!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

we had much better results when we ran a hot wire (electric fencing) on the inside of field fence.

good luck!

 

[freemotion]

That will be a very sturdy goat fence! We have something similar but used t-posts (the heavy ones) since we ran a lot of it through a treed area. We used 4x4"x8' pressure treated posts where we put gates, and sometimes stapled the fencing to a 2x4 stud and screwed that to a tree (so we could move it easily as the tree grew and so it wouldn't grow into the tree.)

We have a strand of electric at the top, but you might do ok without it depending on what type of goats you have, how big and how old. But....for me it is more for keeping climbing predators out, not the goats in.

You'll need something taller and sturdier if you keep a buck. Ask me how I know. It is Preggers Central here this year.

As for posts from fallen logs....well, they will decay rather quickly and you will be replacing your posts in a few years. I even had a pt post break this past winter and it is only 9 years old, or a bit less. But I set it in cement, bad idea. Rots faster.

 

[Denim Deb]

It depends entirely on the size of your goats, and whether or not you're going to have any kids. Most goats should be held by that. But, if you have Nigerian dwarfs, or other small breeds, the kids may be able to get thru that.

 

[CrownofThorns]

We used rough sawn lumber from my husbands mill. He milled up some posts too. It works great, looks nice and my goats cannot escape. They have completely given up! Rough sawn lumber is pretty cheap too.

ETA: It also is easy to move around. It took my husband 10 minutes by himself to pull everything up and move the pen (12x12 I have Nigies) to a new location last summer. It's also easy enough to fix that should any problems occur, such as when we first built it we used nails, and nailed the lumber to the outside of the posts, took them 2 hours to figure that one out. My little sister and I just went out there with a screw gun and screwed is all together ourselves in just a few minutes. I was also able to fix the gate that the snow load had broken myself. Which was very nice. Anything I can do to take care of these animals myself is a plus.

 

[Haywood]

hi, thanks for the replies.

so the steel t-posts would work? i'm thinking i could do the steel t-posts with the fencing i mentioned above and a single line of electric wire at the very top.

this will be for a dairy goat or two but not sure about what kind yet.

this would be ok do you think?

once again thank you all so much for the input. you guys are a true wealth of practical knowledge!!

 

[freemotion]

You just can't stretch the fencing on tposts, so there may be a bit of sagging and waviness. It works for me. It may not work as well on soft ground, though.

 

[freemotion]

Oh, and make sure you get tposts that are long enough! They are measured from top to bottom, you need to measure them above the fins. You need four feet for your field fencing and a few inches more for the electric. You need enough room above the field fencing so that the electric wire doesn't sag and ground out on the field fencing, so you need 4.5 feet above the fins.

 

[Denim Deb]

Once you have your fence built, pour water in it. If it holds the water, it will hold the goats.

 

[donrae]

We use two T posts then a wooden post, continue that pattern down the fence line. Wooden posts in the corners and at gates. I'd really like to top it with two wooden rails, but that's prohibitive at the time