# Messybun’s fence problems.



## messybun (Mar 10, 2021)

Hello everybody. How do you repair welded wire?
I believe that’s what this is. I’m no fencing expert. 
I’ve been told to just reweld it, but I don’t have a welder and can’t really afford one. Is there any other way to fix this? 
This fence has been up for a few years now, but with the goats pushing against it sometimes the welds pop. I have electric on the inside, but it’s down more than it’s working. Thanks in advance.


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## CLSranch (Mar 10, 2021)

That's what a lot of mine looks like. I am a welder and ain't about to try to weld it back together. You can straighten it by hand use hog rings or tie wire/bailing wire and crimp the pieces back together where they overlay. Add some stakes where it's real bad and maybe a barbed wire over the top that you can attach it to every few feet to keep it from getting pulled back down.
 The easiest is to replace the sections that are bad.


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## CLSranch (Mar 10, 2021)

The only good way is over secure it when it's built, which you can't do now.


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## Alasgun (Mar 10, 2021)

Re-welding fence wire would be an effort in futility! Simply overlay it with another piece, a larger piece that covers the damaged section. If the new piece is a foot larger in all directions you’ll be fine. When you cut the repair piece, leave the tags and twist them into the damaged section all around.


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## messybun (Mar 19, 2021)

So, I repaired the holes! But my small goats can push under the wire!  I have welded wire on t-post with insulators for braided hot wire. Any ideas on how to make it so they can’t get under? With it being spring everyone is obsessed about the other side of the fence because there are weeds and grass on the other side. It should subside once there is enough food growing in the pen, but until then this just isn’t acceptable. TIA


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## Alasgun (Mar 19, 2021)

If the electric fence wire is around 4 inches off the ground on the inside of the other fence, where they would touch it first, i’d think that would hold a goat?
this time of year there’s not a lot of growth to interfere with the fencer, or if it’s a ”weed burner” it wont matter😳


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## messybun (Mar 19, 2021)

Alasgun said:


> If the electric fence wire is around 4 inches off the ground on the inside of the other fence, where they would touch it first, i’d think that would hold a goat?
> this time of year there’s not a lot of growth to interfere with the fencer, or if it’s a ”weed burner” it wont matter😳


My electric wire is a pain in the neck and is always on the fritz. Every time it rains it goes out, and the goats run out and start tearing it down with their horns. I’ve had three different boxes, all with the same problem. Even our electrician friend, who has livestock, doesn’t know what’s wrong with it.


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## CLSranch (Mar 19, 2021)

I had 3 strands of hot wire with a charger good enough for a bear inside of a barb wire fence to keep goats in. I don't have goats anymore because they (1 who taught the rest) learned to back up and take a run at it. I had a good dog that would run around that pasture from the front porch and run them back in, then I'd whistle her back. 
 The old saying with goats is if the fence won't hold water it won't hold a goat.
   With that being said you need multiple hot wires and one where their nose will touch when they try to get to the greener side. That goes with all animals you don't want to shock them after they have their head past that line,,, they may jump forward.

If you have more strands (I don't know how many you have) they are less likely to be able to hit it with their horns without getting zapped somewhere else.
I hope this helps.


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## CLSranch (Mar 19, 2021)

Cattle/Hog panels with electric on the inside is the best I have found to be efficient. Oddly a comparative price to rolled wire like horse fencing, NOT welded wire in price per foot.


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## messybun (May 24, 2021)

And...we’re back again with problems. Same goat (she is truly getting on my last nerve) pushes under the fence. I tightened the fence last night, repaired the electric wire, and put up some barbed wire on the fence, though probably not enough of it. The electric fence is basically null and void so it doesn’t matter how many strands of hot wire I put up, the two I have already don’t work. My “pasture” isn’t that big, but a ten mile charger will barely zap a fly around the back of the fence. No one has been able to figure out its problem. No weeds, fully strung, not touching the fence. The only thing I could think it there is a section where I had to go from poly rope to plain wire, both are conductive though. Super well grounded, covered box. All a charger could want. Should I put barbed wire around the bottom few inches of the fence? I’m afraid I’ll tangle a goat up and injure them, but do y’all have another non electric solution?


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## Baymule (May 24, 2021)

How many joules is the charger? And what about ditching the braided wire and using a bare wire. Dont go with a light gauge wire like I did.  As I understand it and I’m no expert. The heavier gauge wire carries more current.


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## messybun (May 24, 2021)

Baymule said:


> How many joules is the charger? And what about ditching the braided wire and using a bare wire. Dont go with a light gauge wire like I did.  As I understand it and I’m no expert. The heavier gauge wire carries more current.


 Because bare wire rusts out in a few months, the copper in the braid hasn’t so far. I believe 26, but I’ll have to check. We bought a charger rated for cattle and goats.


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## Baymule (May 24, 2021)

What about stainless steel wire?


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## messybun (May 24, 2021)

Baymule said:


> What about stainless steel wire?



I’m afraid that’s what I’ve used in the past. I’ve also tried aluminum, which somehow lasts a bit longer. Even some of my fence is starting to rust and it’s only been up for two years. I’ve started using bailing twine to tie the fence because it lasts way longer.


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## farmerjan (May 24, 2021)

Sell the problem goat that is teaching the others....


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## secuono (May 24, 2021)

You don't(fix it). 
You buy woven fence and add more hot wire to keep 💩s off it. 

Technically, you can use baling string or wire to knot the joints back together. But I've found that they're super weak from all fronts. If a vertical pops from a horizontal, that vertical may snap easy peasy where the horizontal used to be & vice versa. 

Stores really need to stop selling it(thin welded wire) and chickenwire in the fencing departments. They're temporary (garden) fencing or stucco mesh, and have no long term use for anything else. 
Same with the U-post garden posts, except that I feel those shouldn't be made at all. Those things rust in nearly no time, very easy to bend and are impossible to remove! Wood or T-posts only!


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## messybun (May 24, 2021)

secuono said:


> You don't(fix it).
> You buy woven fence and add more hot wire to keep 💩s off it.
> 
> Technically, you can use baling string or wire to knot the joints back together. But I've found that they're super weak from all fronts. If a vertical pops from a horizontal, that vertical may snap easy peasy where the horizontal used to be & vice versa.
> ...



Will woven wire keep them from pushing under it, or will it just scrunch? 
Yep, already got good t-posts lol. When we got the goats we were warned that woven wire would catch their horns and could kill them. Thus the sheep and goat fence. There’s a lot I’ve learned since starting, and too much more left to learn, but so much misinformation when we started.
Oh, and using the hog rings and bending the wire worked beautifully. Well, it’s not beautiful but it’s strong and that’s what counts.


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## Jesusfreak101 (May 24, 2021)

i ll have to ask dh but we got one electric wire thats three braided wires together and they yellow,black and silver cant remember what it was called but i works well. also maybe the ribbons they use for horse paddocks???. dh made a paddock that litterally looked like something off of jurasic park. and one goat would still test it until i soaked him with water after that shock he decided it wasnt worth it.


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## misfitmorgan (May 25, 2021)

We just got finished with our fence struggles with our goats. For 5yrs we have not been able to keep them in any fence....until our latest build. They started by pushing under our fence, so we put hot wire around the bottom, then they went to jumping over the fence, any fence, we have seen them go over 5ft pipe rail fence....really ridiculous.

So the new fence is woven wire and galvanized 14gauge electric wire. We have 5" stand off insulators that face into the pen, one hip wire, and two wires around the top one at 4ft and one at 4.5 ft give or take. Then we got a Power Wizard PW1500 ultra low impedance fencer with three 8 ft grounding rods.

It's been 2 weeks and our leader who is the jumper has not even tried at all to jump the fence. Now our buck we saw yesterday is reaching thru the fence just enough to nip the tops of the plants on the other side......so we are going to add another wire. The electric does work because when he accidently hits it he yells and goes running away.

This is our 3rd fencer and the only one that works so far. The fence reads over 7,000 volts everywhere on it. The larger the wire the more current it can carry that is true. I would get rid of the poly and go to regular 14gauge galvanized wire, our goats didnt give to figs about poly. Yes goats do get their heads stuck in woven wire if their horns are the right size....keeping the wire hot keeps them from putting their head far enough thru to get stuck though.

It has only been 2 weeks but these goats have never stayed in any pen for more then 24hrs for years. If they get out of this fence we are done owning goats.


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## Baymule (May 25, 2021)

All of the above......... is why I chose SHEEP!

2”X4”X48” non climb horse wire with T-posts, my sheep stay put and have NEVER got out.


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## misfitmorgan (May 25, 2021)

Baymule said:


> All of the above......... is why I chose SHEEP!
> 
> 2”X4”X48” non climb horse wire with T-posts, my sheep stay put and have NEVER got out.


Sheep are easy   

Our sheep could literally walk over their fence if they wanted to....they dont.


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## secuono (May 25, 2021)

There's different types of woven wire, it just means that it's not welded joints, but knotted, clipped or folded joints, which won't snap as easily under fatigue. 

Lol, if the fence isn't tight enough and posts are too far apart, they will wiggle under in the middle. Caught one of my rams doing just that on video. He followed his mouth to a weak bit of fence and right under it! Took me awhile to figure it out, as it didn't bend the fence, so I had to wait for the grass to change(get beaten down n muddy from higher traffic) and happened to get lucky and witnessed him do it. A piece of rebar and fence clipped to it should stop them at floppy parts of the fence, stopped my ram, he wasn't happy about it.


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## farmerjan (May 25, 2021)

@secuono is right about there being different types of sheep and goat fencing.  The woven wire... field fence.... as there are various names... comes in different "sizes".  There is what is traditionally thought of aroundhere as woven wire or field fence that is usually 46-47 " tall and has 6 inch stay wires.... the joints where the horizontal and vertical wires "touch" are NOT WELDED but are hinged or otherwise knotted.... That size is what 90% of the horned goats get stuck in and it can be fatal if you do not check on them often.... There is a woven wire that has 12 inch stay wires.... goats can get their heads out, but they can squeeze out it and our cattle will force their heads through and eventually it gets weak and breaks... easier to push it down from the top.  There is woven wire with 4 inch stays.... that works good for most goats and sheep and even most chickens except for the little ones....  and there is the horse fence that is 2 inch stays and not much bets through that.  It is also known as no climb fence because you literally cannot get your boot/shoe toe in it far enough to climb over it.  That is the one thing I have against it..... there are times we NEED to get over a fence in a hurry.  There is that kind of fencing at one place we rent that used to have horses.  It is made so that they cannot get their hooves in it and "walk it down" or get their hoof caught.  

Another thing.... it has got to be strung TIGHT.  Any slack or loose stretch, and it will be able to be pushed up or reached over and pushed down.  

I do not have goats for all the escape reasons listed by everyone.  We have sheep and cattle and the 12' stays are worthless except in remote areas that they have nothing to reach over/through for....just a "barrier";  because they will make holes in it and it is not as strong.  We mostly have the 6 " stays as that is standard fence pretty much.  I am going to go with the 4" stays when I put up new fence here at my new house to keep the chickens away from the christmas tree farm next door.... and it will help deter some of the bigger predators.  

We will tie down bottom strands to a log or something where there are dips in the ground under the woven wire fence.  

Glad to hear the hog rings are helping... but I suspect that the electric is not putting out in sections.  I used the poly electric and there are just too many places for the tiny strands to break in it.  

Around here many use "HI-TENSILE"  wire for their electric fence wire.  It is stiffer to work with, anything will bounce off it so does not break easily.....carries a good charge... pain in the butt to put up and stretch but lasts a long time.  It is what is used extensively in New Zealand and Australia from what I have been told for rotational grazing... I hate it unless it is electrified because if there is no charge on it, the cows can put their heads between even 8 strand fences and push their way because of it's ability to spring back.  Great for falling tree limbs and such....


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## messybun (May 25, 2021)

farmerjan said:


> @secuono is right about there being different types of sheep and goat fencing.  The woven wire... field fence.... as there are various names... comes in different "sizes".  There is what is traditionally thought of aroundhere as woven wire or field fence that is usually 46-47 " tall and has 6 inch stay wires.... the joints where the horizontal and vertical wires "touch" are NOT WELDED but are hinged or otherwise knotted.... That size is what 90% of the horned goats get stuck in and it can be fatal if you do not check on them often.... There is a woven wire that has 12 inch stay wires.... goats can get their heads out, but they can squeeze out it and our cattle will force their heads through and eventually it gets weak and breaks... easier to push it down from the top.  There is woven wire with 4 inch stays.... that works good for most goats and sheep and even most chickens except for the little ones....  and there is the horse fence that is 2 inch stays and not much bets through that.  It is also known as no climb fence because you literally cannot get your boot/shoe toe in it far enough to climb over it.  That is the one thing I have against it..... there are times we NEED to get over a fence in a hurry.  There is that kind of fencing at one place we rent that used to have horses.  It is made so that they cannot get their hooves in it and "walk it down" or get their hoof caught.
> 
> Another thing.... it has got to be strung TIGHT.  Any slack or loose stretch, and it will be able to be pushed up or reached over and pushed down.
> 
> ...



I wonder, would barb wire be able to be electrified? It’s cheaper than high tensile wire, a heavy gauge, and even if the fence goes out it will still have a bit of a bite. I know my fence has no charge in most of it, I can try y’all’s suggestions to fix it. I was kinda hoping to get away from electric, partially because I hate dealing with the maintenance and accidental shocks and partially because it has been so expensive for not much. But, as I’m seeing with goats, it seems like they really need a fence that fights back. Ehh, going on 8 years without many fence problems was a good run.


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## farmerjan (May 25, 2021)

Yes, we have often electrified barbed wire.  Just has to be on insulators like any other type wire you electrify.  It is not going to make that big a difference for the goats unless you have it  with very narrow spacing.  But if you were thinking to use already owned barbed wire instead of going out and buying hi- tensile, then yes, it will work.  Just make sure there are not rusty spots as that will cut down on the effectiveness of the "jolt".  We fenced with just straight barbed wire for years, non-electrified,  from the time I was a kid.... some people hate it, but after having lost several calves to hi-tensile when coyotes ran them through it and they tried to jump and got legs caught up and hung upside down and died... and one got it tangled around her head and basically strangled... I will take barbed wire over hi-tensile anyday.  It's one he// of a lot easier to fix than woven wire if a tree comes down on it...


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## misfitmorgan (May 26, 2021)

DH wanted to used barbed wire for the electric on this pasture because he didnt believe the fencer would do the job....he believes it now!! Anyhow someone gave use two brand new rolls of redbrand bared wire, so we have half a mile of the stuff. I get worried the goats or sheep will get tangled up in it though, esp the sheep with their wool and just get shocked repeatedly....then bloat and die...because that is my luck.

@messybun How many grounding rods do you have? What diameter and length are they? How far from the fencer box are they? What does your fencer read at without a load on it? What does it read when grounded out? What does your fence itself read and is it constant? What fencer do you use? Have you checked you contacts and connecting wires for rust? 

Goats really do need electric to keep them off the fence.


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## farmerjan (May 26, 2021)

misfitmorgan said:


> DH wanted to used barbed wire for the electric on this pasture because he didnt believe the fencer would do the  job....he believes it now!! Anyhow someone gave use two brand new rolls of redbrand bared wire, so we have half a mile of the stuff. I get worried the goats or sheep will get tangled up in it though, esp the sheep with their wool and just get shocked repeatedly....then bloat and die...because that is my luck.
> 
> @messybun How many grounding rods do you have? What diameter and length are they? How far from the fencer box are they? What does your fencer read at without a load on it? What does it read when grounded out? What does your fence itself read and is it constant? What fencer do you use? Have you checked you contacts and connecting wires for rust?
> 
> Goats really do need electric to keep them off the fence.


@misfitmorgan I basically agree with you on checking the fence and the ground set up.  A well grounded electric fence will knock your socks off, and they will learn to respect it.  Our biggest problem here is the deer running through the fencing and tearing it up, getting it grounded out and such.  So the only place it gets used is places we are able to check daily.  But we don't use it that much because the fences around most of the pastures we rent now are pretty good woven wire or places through the woods are good 4 strand barbed wire.  Just one place with the hi-tensile that is not electrified.... wasn't built with insulators even, which was STUPID..... that causes problems and a short stretch at another pasture that is a hodgepodge of all sorts of fencing that different people have used over many years before we got the lease.  So, yep, we just add to the hodgepodge when it needs patching.


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## ElenaDeborah11 (Dec 19, 2021)

messybun said:


> Hello everybody. How do you repair welded wire?
> I believe that’s what this is. I’m no fencing expert.
> I’ve been told to just reweld it, but I don’t have a welder and can’t really afford one. Is there any other way to fix this?
> This fence has been up for a few years now, but with the goats pushing against it sometimes the welds pop. I have electric on the inside, but it’s down more than it’s working. Thanks in advance.


I had the same problem this summer and unfortunately, the best we could do was to buy the new one..I am also not good at welding at all.


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## Ridgetop (Dec 19, 2021)

Had goats (up to 100) for years and no escapees except the ones that opened the fates. These were mostly high yielding dairy goats though that were in milk and being milked for a 10 month lactation.  

Now we have sheep (the dairy work was too labor intensive when the children grew up). Welded wire is basically useless because as you have found the welds pop.  Woven wire with the correct spacing is the only way to go when fencing.  Our fences are oil pipe with no climb.  When our steep slopes started to slough into the fence and effectively reduce the 5' height, we added vertical posts to the uprights and put more wire on them to extend the heights up.  Since the main place the sheep or other livestock would rub and pop welds is only up to their height, we used welded wire on top of our 5' no climb fencing to save money.  

In some areas of our fencing since we are on a steep gully the rains would wash out dirt under the fence.  A couple of our previous dogs would dig out and go for adventures in the 100 acres behind us.  We got rolls of chain link and took it apart in short sections.  Then we turned it and wired it to the fence wire about 12" off the ground.  The chain link lay loosely into 9ur property from the bottom of the fence.  We put a couple shovels of dirt over it to hold it down.  It stopped the dogs from being able to dig out under the fences and had the additional advantage of keeping predators from being able to dig in. Over the years the grass and brush has grown up through it holding it to the dirt.

You should probably start replacing your welded wire fencing with small spacing welded wire.  You can string it right over the existing wire using the same posts.  Rewelding it is too costly and won't last.


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## messybun (Dec 19, 2021)

Currently we have taken cattle panels (only took 2) and covered the bad spots and barb wired other places. It has been working. Slowly I’m replacing the electric rope with barbed wire. I also got someone to help we stretch and re tie the fence. Having a large man vs. small me tightening the fence made a world of difference. We might look into woven wire, but hopefully will move (or the goats will die off, they’re older) before we truly truly need to replace this fence.


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## Legamin (Jan 21, 2022)

messybun said:


> Hello everybody. How do you repair welded wire?
> I believe that’s what this is. I’m no fencing expert.
> I’ve been told to just reweld it, but I don’t have a welder and can’t really afford one. Is there any other way to fix this?
> This fence has been up for a few years now, but with the goats pushing against it sometimes the welds pop. I have electric on the inside, but it’s down more than it’s working. Thanks in advance.


The first rule of Goat Club….is ”Tell EVERYBODY everything you know about Goat Club!” Okay…a bit silly…but here’s my two cents worth.  I joined goat club 5 years ago when I answered a Craigslist ad and went to pick up three goats for $30 each.  At the time it seemed like a bargain!  Then I began to experience ‘fence failure issues’.  I began consulting other goat owners, YouTube, friend and family (the later being no help at all) and quickly discovered a frequently quoted maxim.. “If water can get through your fence, so can your goats”.  We rotate our animals around so they are always on fresh pasture and so we began buying ‘Cattle Panels’ this is 4/6 guage hard welded wire panels that are 52” high and 16’ long. They weigh 33lbs each.  They used to cost $16 last year but this year cost $28 each…(Go Brandon!)….this seemed to be the only way we could re-enforce our 70+ year old barbed wire fence to keep goats on the inside.  I did try the 42” electric netting fence that is supposed to deter BEARS…don’t waste your money…your goats will discover very quickly that they can jump over it with enough clearance to make you want to cry over the $220 cost per fence and the $350 for the solar energizer.  The Cattle Panels were the best answer for our Boer goats.  They would scratch what itches by dragging their full weight along the light guage welded wire and woven wire fence and it would distort and begin to fail within months.  If goats are a thing you plan to do for a long time you need to buy Cattle Panels and 6‘ T-posts every 8 feet (which you will want to drive a full 2’ into the ground).  This is a permenant fix.  Incidentally…don’t bother “welding” a welded wire fence less than 6 guage wire.  The bad news is that you have to figure $2.30 per foot of fence at current prices of both panels and T-posts.  The good news is…you will NEVER have to do it again in your lifetime!


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## messybun (Jan 21, 2022)

Legamin said:


> The first rule of Goat Club….is ”Tell EVERYBODY everything you know about Goat Club!” Okay…a bit silly…but here’s my two cents worth.  I joined goat club 5 years ago when I answered a Craigslist ad and went to pick up three goats for $30 each.  At the time it seemed like a bargain!  Then I began to experience ‘fence failure issues’.  I began consulting other goat owners, YouTube, friend and family (the later being no help at all) and quickly discovered a frequently quoted maxim.. “If water can get through your fence, so can your goats”.  We rotate our animals around so they are always on fresh pasture and so we began buying ‘Cattle Panels’ this is 4/6 guage hard welded wire panels that are 52” high and 16’ long. They weigh 33lbs each.  They used to cost $16 last year but this year cost $28 each…(Go Brandon!)….this seemed to be the only way we could re-enforce our 70+ year old barbed wire fence to keep goats on the inside.  I did try the 42” electric netting fence that is supposed to deter BEARS…don’t waste your money…your goats will discover very quickly that they can jump over it with enough clearance to make you want to cry over the $220 cost per fence and the $350 for the solar energizer.  The Cattle Panels were the best answer for our Boer goats.  They would scratch what itches by dragging their full weight along the light guage welded wire and woven wire fence and it would distort and begin to fail within months.  If goats are a thing you plan to do for a long time you need to buy Cattle Panels and 6‘ T-posts every 8 feet (which you will want to drive a full 2’ into the ground).  This is a permenant fix.  Incidentally…don’t bother “welding” a welded wire fence less than 6 guage wire.  The bad news is that you have to figure $2.30 per foot of fence at current prices of both panels and T-posts.  The good news is…you will NEVER have to do it again in your lifetime!


Thank you, I did discover cattle panels and put it over the bad spots. Also had someone help me stretch the fence, the back corner where they escaped couldn’t get a truck through to pull for me. I’ve actually had goats for around eight years now, so yep plan to stay in the club.


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## messybun (Jan 22, 2022)

Legamin said:


> The first rule of Goat Club….is ”Tell EVERYBODY everything you know about Goat Club!” Okay…a bit silly…but here’s my two cents worth.  I joined goat club 5 years ago when I answered a Craigslist ad and went to pick up three goats for $30 each.  At the time it seemed like a bargain!  Then I began to experience ‘fence failure issues’.  I began consulting other goat owners, YouTube, friend and family (the later being no help at all) and quickly discovered a frequently quoted maxim.. “If water can get through your fence, so can your goats”.  We rotate our animals around so they are always on fresh pasture and so we began buying ‘Cattle Panels’ this is 4/6 guage hard welded wire panels that are 52” high and 16’ long. They weigh 33lbs each.  They used to cost $16 last year but this year cost $28 each…(Go Brandon!)….this seemed to be the only way we could re-enforce our 70+ year old barbed wire fence to keep goats on the inside.  I did try the 42” electric netting fence that is supposed to deter BEARS…don’t waste your money…your goats will discover very quickly that they can jump over it with enough clearance to make you want to cry over the $220 cost per fence and the $350 for the solar energizer.  The Cattle Panels were the best answer for our Boer goats.  They would scratch what itches by dragging their full weight along the light guage welded wire and woven wire fence and it would distort and begin to fail within months.  If goats are a thing you plan to do for a long time you need to buy Cattle Panels and 6‘ T-posts every 8 feet (which you will want to drive a full 2’ into the ground).  This is a permenant fix.  Incidentally…don’t bother “welding” a welded wire fence less than 6 guage wire.  The bad news is that you have to figure $2.30 per foot of fence at current prices of both panels and T-posts.  The good news is…you will NEVER have to do it again in your lifetime!



As far as goat club, I do tell way too many people I meet everything about my goats. Whoops lol, that’s why I have to be on here.


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## Legamin (Jan 22, 2022)

messybun said:


> Thank you, I did discover cattle panels and put it over the bad spots. Also had someone help me stretch the fence, the back corner where they escaped couldn’t get a truck through to pull for me. I’ve actually had goats for around eight years now, so yep plan to stay in the club.


If you have a cut-off end of a cattle panel and a $20 hand winch you can stretch up to 300 feet of fence as tight as aa drum!  T took a piece of cattle panel that had two full welded sections (for strength) and the horizontal wires that we were cut off…you will need the whole 8”…. I used a vice grips to bend all the end wires over sideways into ‘hooks’ (think of a big letter E with the arms bent into hooks).  then I fastened one end of the fence tight to the fence post with about five staples and went to the other end 330’ away.  I hooked in my ‘stretcher’ into the end of the fence and ran the cable of the hand winch to a nearby tree.  Making sure everything was clear and free I began cranking the winch.  I count this as my greatest success in tightening this type of fence!  There is not one sag or droop or spot that an animal can take advantage of weakness…..just 8 more rolls of fencing to go…at my age it’s really one success at a time.


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