# goat fencing, t-post as line posts?



## chiques chicks (Sep 22, 2015)

I'm new and sure this has been asked many times, but...

I will be getting two ND kids this fall. I will start with a ( roughly) 4-500 sq ft panelled area, expanding to a couple acres of brush, pasture and woods.

I know that is a lot of fence.

I've seen mention of using t-posts with fencing for goats. Is this adequate as line posts? Obviously I will want well braced wood at corners to tension. I can easily run hot wire inside, outside, or on top if needed, I have a 30 mille agricultural charger so that isn't an issue. 

I'm planning to use 4 or five foot welded wire for the pasture and brush area, heavier panels around their corral. I'm getting the goats at around 9 weeks, so hopefully will be able to have them bond with me.


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## goatgurl (Sep 22, 2015)

i have 60 acres and the entire perimeter is fenced with woven field fence with a couple of strands of barbed wire on top.  all of my line fences are t-posts and i have never had a problem with the goats pushing or shoving and problem with the t-post.  i would suggest you use the woven wire instead of welded wire.  the weld breaks so easily and effects the life of your fence.  they make a 4x4 goat wire that works well.  costs a little more but lasts and lasts.  and i have cattle panels up at the house for my night time goat/sheep/chicken/duck yard.  strong and last forever.


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## chiques chicks (Sep 22, 2015)

Thank you! I want sure how they would hold up.

I will probably go with woven four foot, as the price difference to 5 foot welded isn't huge. I plan on doing it in sections, perhaps 100x100 at a time. That will allow me to rotate them.

For my nighttime area, a was planning cattle panels on 6 inch wood posts at 8' centers, plus perhaps a hot wire on top for predators, although I have little issue with them in my chicken runs, I even took the hot wire off the runs a couple years ago as I it rooted of "testing" it by accident.

I got the fence charger from a neighbor who found it with a bad solar panel. Simply required a new panel on it. It works well, I've, uh, "tested" it myself, several times.


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## Latestarter (Sep 22, 2015)

Testing the electric fence "manually"... A great way to wake up and get the blood flowing!


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## goatgurl (Sep 22, 2015)

i also use t posts for the lines with the cattle panels.  they have been and working fine for over 12 years.  they also make a 4x4 goat panel now that they didn't make when i put mine up.  baby goats an easily fit thru a regular cattle panel but not thru the goat panels


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## chiques chicks (Sep 22, 2015)

Latestarter said:


> Testing the electric fence "manually"... A great way to wake up and get the blood flowing!



Spent most of my life around farms, been " testing " them since I was little, so 50 years. Nothing like hitting them while standing in a creek! 

On topic... I was looking at the red brand goat fencing, for my grazing areas, possibly even the night pen. I guess I could get the goat panels shipped to my local store, they only carry the cattle panels now. They do have the goat fence, though.


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## Latestarter (Sep 22, 2015)

If you have a TSC local, you can ask them and they'll order them in for you... at least mine will/does...


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## chiques chicks (Sep 22, 2015)

I'm sure mine would. They are almost too close. 

They all know me well. By name. Some employees even have my number. Managers, too. Scary.


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## chiques chicks (Sep 23, 2015)

As far as panels. The cattle panels are graduated size, 4x8 at the bottom up to 8x8 at the top.

I looks to me like it might be easy for ND kids at 9-10 weeks to get their heads stuck, the openings seem on the large size. The goat panels are twice the price, but for 8 of them, it's the price of 1 goat in difference. 

I'd love to save money by using the cattle panels, but am somewhat concerned. Experience?

The goats will be disbudded.

I now I'm asking a lot of questions, but I kind of want to do this "right", whatever that is. I do lots of things not by the book with my poultry, so I understand there are many right answer to a question depending on situation.


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## goatgurl (Sep 23, 2015)

just from experience, i put up cattle panels at the time because that was all there was around.   i raise full sized goats and a full sized baby goat can squirt thru a cattle panel for at least 2 months as can any chickens, ducks or small dogs as well as things like foxes, opossums, skunks and the like.   most of them can't get thru the 4x4 goat panels.  i had to put chicken wire across the bottom half of the cattle panels to keep the baby goats from coming into the yard to visit while they ate all my flowers and bushes.  I'd hate to think how long a nigie could get thru them.  that's why i suggested the goat panels.  if i had it to do all over again i would go with more price and less headache up front.  just remember, there are no really hard and fast rules for raising anything.  what works for me may not be right for your situation so in the end you do what works best for you.   and yea for getting them disbudded.  many people love their goats with horns but i had a young kid whirl up and put a horn thru the web between my thumb and forefinger and have always disbudded since.  i thought what if that had been my daughters eye or something.  nope no horns for me.


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## Latestarter (Sep 23, 2015)

Oh Dang! That must have hurt like the dickens! <Just thinking about something as small as a nail going through... and then thinking about a horn! YIKES!> Good thing you have a nursing background!


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## goatgurl (Sep 24, 2015)

hurt like a big dog @Latestarter, like a big dog.  and he was not trying to hurt me, was just flinging his head and playing.


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## Latestarter (Sep 24, 2015)

Gol dang! They don't even think about it or realize how much damage they can do... Even unintentionally... Kinda like my 120 pound puppy who likes to run into me at full gallop! 

I guess if I was going to have meat goats out in the back 40 someplace (yeah... I wish I even HAD a back 40!) that would rarely have my personal company, I'd leave them with horns, but dairy? Nahhhh... I'll be with them virtually every day, multiple times, and it's just not worth the risk... to them or me. 
Would like to breed some polled into the mix with Lamachas... Blue eyes would be a trip too  But I guess the only way for both would be minis with polled, blue eyed Nigie bucks as sires. It's always a possibility


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## goatgurl (Sep 24, 2015)

ya know @Latestarter them do have polled lamanchas too but nigie/lamanchas or minimanchas are awful cute


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## EmmaWorking (Sep 24, 2015)

chiques chicks said:


> I'm new and sure this has been asked many times, but...
> 
> I will be getting two ND kids this fall. I will start with a ( roughly) 4-500 sq ft panelled area, expanding to a couple acres of brush, pasture and woods.
> 
> ...



My fence is electric netting. We placed wooden 4x4s on the ground and stapled the netting to the wood. If a goat can find away out it will do so LOL.


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## chiques chicks (Sep 26, 2015)

I'm considering netting when I put them out to browse. My issue there is there is a or of wooded area, I may just use coral panels lined with welder wire when that time comes. Did I mention much of my property is a hill? Yeah, challenges.

As I run price calculations, I think economically my best solution for their yard may be cattle panels lined with 5 ft welded wire., possibly a bit wrote around 18 inches and one on top. Wood posts at corner and gate (s), t-post @ 8 ft between.

Do I need to sink the t-posts 2 ft, or will 18 be sufficient? My soil is not sandy, actually hit clay at around a foot, the top 8-12 inches is rich soil, shale based  ( I'm lucky, I live in an area with great soil)


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## germanchickTX (Sep 30, 2015)

Hi,
I just put my fencing up.
Previously as temporary solution I used hog panels tied to step in posts; was a small area and the goats were still little. Even with only 32" height it worked well for them and the chicken.
Now for the permanent area I used the already existing t-posts with barbed wire and stretched 4x4 woven wire goat fence, 48" tall, in front of it. Make sure you get it stretched tight with a fence stretcher, goats will rub and climb and will get it sagging...got a great price for off-brand 330ft goat fence at McCoy's, better than HD, TSC or Atwoods. I needed to make a wire gap and for that (instead wood posts or pipe H-brace) I used a t-post brace kit, also comes as corner brace, from TSC.
One side needed to be moveable for drive throughs or turnarounds, so for this I got the electric semi-permanent goat netting from Premier1. Using an AC run electrifier with 1 Joule output ( was told this is needed for goats). So far it works great for the goats and chicken!
If needed I will run one strand electric line about 1 ft high along the wire fence, to prevent climbing and rubbing and slowly destroying the fence...
Also planning on getting more of the electric netting for strip grazing/browsing along the horse pasture fence; this netting is really versatile...
So, long story, but this works for me so far; maybe works for you too!
And- rule of thumb: any space bigger than 4" is a potential escape route for goats (or so I was told )
Happy fencing!


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## babsbag (Sep 30, 2015)

If you want to keep the goats off of the fence run a strand of hot wire at knee height; they won't bother your fence.


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## germanchickTX (Sep 30, 2015)

babsbag said:


> If you want to keep the goats off of the fence run a strand of hot wire at knee height; they won't bother your fence.



Oh yes! And call me evil: but their faces and reaction if they do touch the wire -lol priceless...! ;-))


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## Latestarter (Sep 30, 2015)

absolutely! free entertainment!


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## chiques chicks (Sep 30, 2015)

babsbag said:


> If you want to keep the goats off of the fence run a strand of hot wire at knee height; they won't bother your fence.





germanchickTX said:


> Oh yes! And call me evil: but their faces and reaction if they do touch the wire -lol priceless...! ;-))



Knee high on me for Nigerians?  So around 18 inches? Will this work when they are young as well? They will be around 10 weeks old.

So many questions, I know. I'm not worried about beautiful landscaping, or my neighbors, but I have a lot of road frontage I can't protect, so I'd like them to stay at least on my side of the road.


Reaction on my face when I hit hot wire -priceless! I've hit many in my life. Note: if you are holding a call phone and touch the hot wire with your free hand, the phone is not harmed unless it breaks when it hits the ground or lands in a puddle.

Edit: spell checker


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## samssimonsays (Sep 30, 2015)

[QUOTE="Reaction on my face when I hit hot wire -priceless! I've hit many in my life. Note: if you are holding a call phone and touch the hot wire with your free hand, the phone is not harmed unless it breaks when it hits the ground or lands in a puddle.[/QUOTE]
Priceless!


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## babsbag (Sep 30, 2015)

Good to know about the phone.

My wire is goat knee high but I have big goats so it is also about my knee height. I would put it low enough so that the babies can't walk under it; that will work for the adults too. They learn very quickly to stay away from a fence.


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