# T or U posts for wire field fencing?



## chicken fruit

which is best for goats and maybe a pony? and for a 4' fence, in the NE where it freezes and heaves what length posts? 6 foot?

I dont have the option of dug and installed wood posts, its leased land and I need to be able to pull it all up if need be and reuse as much as possible.


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## Lil-patch-of-heaven

I would think u posts for goats and ponies. I like t posts for fences that aren't going to have much stress at all. And here I can buy u posts for about half the price of t. 

I don't have exp with heaving ground. If it were me I'd guess six ft but hopefully someone who knows much more wll post an answer for you. 

eta:  I have to clip the wire REALLY tight since goats will stand on your fences (and put their heads through, and lean against them no scratch, and ....). Otherwise they will very quickly sag. 

For the bucks we plan to add a top rail.


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## Chirpy

I've never used 'U' posts - they may work great.

We have heaving soil here and use 6 foot "T" posts.    I don't like them because a pony that leans on them could possibly bend or push them outward. (My horses wreaked havoc with them.  All my pasture fencing is leaning outward now.  )  I've not used them for my goats (we use wood posts, in cement, for a more solid/secure fence for them) but I think they would work just fine since goats aren't as strong as ponies.   However, having said that, the goats will stand on/against whatever fencing you use (if possible) and it's possible that that could weaken the "T" posts in the ground over time and cause them to lean outwards also.

I do like the "T" posts because, as you said, they are easy to install and can be moved if needed.


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## chicken fruit

Iam hoping to do the no climb wire- supposidly it keeps goats and sheep from climbing fences? I dont see  how though... lol. But I think I will add a top and bottom rail with some raw cut lumber. Up here i'd run me all of 160 bucks to run the top and bottom rails, and it would add 12" to the fence, or almost. 

Thanks for your thoughts on the posts... I wasnt sure which was more solid- T or U. I guess U would be more heavy duty? It has more surface area in the ground, which kinda makes me feel dumb for asking... HAH!


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## Lil-patch-of-heaven

I don't know if there's more than one type or weight of either one but the u posts I have are WAY heavier and stronger than t posts. I like t posts for poultry. I've had them snap at the ground though after a few years of use. 

T posts are easier to get in the ground (I can just about slide them in in the ground is soft but usually pound them in) and are good for wire with lots of small holes given the way the tabs are built into the sides -- like poultry netting. 

U posts are thicker and I always have to pound them in. You need to wire the fence to them -- they have bumps and not little clip-tabs to slide wire under. They make u post clips for the wire. I've not used those though. We used a heavy wire twisted very tight with a fence tool so the fence won't slip. I'm not sure if the slips will keep it from slipping with goats or not. 

I don't have no climb wire but I bet goats will stand on it too lol. I looked at it and I can't see why they wouldn't. I just bought field fencing which is less than half the cost. Only problem is my goats can get their heads through it and they do have horns so the kids CAN get themselves stuck. I use bars duct-taped to the does so they won't.


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## chicken fruit

Wait... my U posts have tabs... But I cant for the life of me see how someone would use just them anyway- I do the same, twist wire super tight with pliers to hold it in place.


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## Lil-patch-of-heaven

Your u posts have tabs?  Not just little bumps?  So you slide the wire under the tab?

There must be more than one kind then. I was afraid of answering in that case, because I've only ever seen one kind of each but I was afraid there might be variation. 

My u posts are WAY heavier than my t-posts. That's the main reason I'd choose them. I actually didn't like the little bumps at first cuz I was used to t posts, but the weight is far more important. And like you said, I wouldn't use just those little tabs anyway. Not for goats lol.

Eta:  speaking of vaiation I forgot that t posts get heavier as they get longer. The three foot ones are ridiculous. I usually used five or six foot. My six foot u posts are thicker than my six foot t posts though. Just wanted to clarify for the sake of accuracy.


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## aggieterpkatie

I prefer t-posts.  The only u-posts we can find here are the Harry Homeowner flimsy kind.  :/


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## chicken fruit

Man! Do I live in U post heaven or something? Every one and their brother has U posts up here and theyre quite solid- much heavier than their T post counterparts. Hmm. 

Do you suppose I should nix the top and bottom rails (duh, not using wood posts! I cant secure them) and go for a run of electric wire around the fence? That'd keep goats and ponies off. I know they sell insulators for U posts...


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## patandchickens

It just depends on how heavy- or light-duty the post is. I have seen both heavy and light-duty versions of BOTH. (Given a choice, I prefer a heavy-duty T-post, personally)

Two things though. First, "no-climb" fence is only no-climb to HORSES -- sheep and goats can still climb it or walk it flat. 

Second, you can't use ONLY t-posts for anything that will have to carry some tension (like a wire mesh fence). The corners will just lean in. REally really. You can TRY bracing them diagonally like you would with wooden corner posts but I've never seen that work very well. I would HIGHLY recommend making at least your corner posts, and gate posts, be 4-6" wooden posts sunk at least 3' into the ground. A wibbly fence is worse than useless, it is a menace.

Wood posts can btw be pulled up and removed, just like metal posts can.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## chicken fruit

Yeah you're right pat, I definitely plan to use wood posts at the corners. I just dont know how on earth I could go out, without a tractor, drill holes, plant wood posts, and then come back and pull them all back out again later. Its pretty difficult even with the U posts.


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## patandchickens

chicken fruit said:
			
		

> Yeah you're right pat, I definitely plan to use wood posts at the corners. I just dont know how on earth I could go out, without a tractor, drill holes, plant wood posts, and then come back and pull them all back out again later. Its pretty difficult even with the U posts.


It's really really really not hard. I set and pull wood posts by hand fairly frequently (moving fencelines b/c I don't like the way this place was originally set up when we bought it).

You set the post by using a GOOD posthole digger. It takes about 5 minutes to dig a 3.5' hole with a rented gas-powered one (I highly recommend the 2-person ones, the 1-person ones will REALLY hurt ya) or in my soil it takes me 25-45 minutes to dig a 3.5' hole with a GOOD manual posthole augur. (I find the augur style works much better than the clamshell style, although I own both b/c the clamshell is useful for cleaning out loose dirt sometimes). I'm in real hard clay, so your times might be less. (If you hit a *lot* of rocks it'd be longer - I usually only have to remove one or two fist-sized rocks per hole)

You remove a wooden post by first digging 1-2 shovelblades deep all around it (angled cuts to remove the dirt immediately around the post). If the ground is real dry, pour in several bucketfuls of water and wait a couple hours. Then take a STRONG pole -- we use two 2x6's up on end not flatwise -- and chain it snugly to the post, as low down as you can. Get a cinderblock or whatever to use as a fulcrum. One person wiggles the post, the other person whales on the lever til the post rises enough that you need to stop and reset the chain lower down. (It can certainly be done alone, that's how I usually do it, but is faster with a partner). Lather rinse repeat. It usually takes me about 15 minutes total to remove a 3.5'-deep driven post.

To set T-posts or U-posts, buy or rent a post pounder (it is a heavy cylinder of metal, sometimes with handles, that you put over the top of the post and repeatedly wham down). The only effort you need use is to *raise* the pounder; let it come down with just its own weight unless you are in a hurry. Usually takes me less than 5 minutes per post.

T-posts are SUPER easy to remove by hand -- buy or rent a T-post popper!! (You can rig up a similar thing homemade but IME the storeboughten ones really do work better). It is like a lever-style jack. Alternate between wiggling the post back and forth, and pushin' on the popper, and the posts come out in just a minute or two. 

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## chicken fruit

Well if its as simple as you suggest- the cost for wood posts would be the same as 6 foot u posts anyway... and then I could run my top and bottom rails. It would be a far more secure fence.


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## lupinfarm

Pat, you can get a t-post popper? Where... TSC? My co-op carries nothing at all, not even t-posts. 

I personally hate t-posts, but we have to use them sometimes like along a fenceline that gets really wet mid-winter. Its not worth sinking wood posts there because they'll likely heave and the lack of soil makes it difficult along there. In most places we have 2ft of soil and then either pure bedrock or rocks the size of a Chevy Aveo. In some places you'll get lucky and we get 3ft of soil and then bedrock (but you usually encounter along the way about half a million fist sized rocks). But that is pretty rare. A lot of people in my immediate area that rent or cannot sink posts put down buck fence, or split rail fence. Ours are nailed in the areas we need it but most people wire theirs up which makes it way easier to remove later. A lot of the time they also put in a couple strands of electric on the inside. 

Though I kind of envy Pat and her ability to dig so deep,  we can dig a post hole by hand with a shovel and manual auger in 15 minutes flat. 10 minutes if you're in a nice soft area and we're on some nice hard clay lol.


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## lupinfarm

lupinfarm said:
			
		

> Pat, you can get a t-post popper? Where... TSC? My co-op carries nothing at all, not even t-posts.
> 
> I personally hate t-posts, but we have to use them sometimes like along a fenceline that gets really wet mid-winter. Its not worth sinking wood posts there because they'll likely heave and the lack of soil makes it difficult along there. In most places we have 2ft of soil and then either pure bedrock or rocks the size of a Chevy Aveo. In some places you'll get lucky and we get 3ft of soil and then bedrock (but you usually encounter along the way about half a million fist sized rocks). But that is pretty rare. A lot of people in my immediate area that rent or cannot sink posts put down buck fence, or split rail fence. Ours are nailed in the areas we need it but most people wire theirs up which makes it way easier to remove later. A lot of the time they also put in a couple strands of electric on the inside.
> 
> Though I kind of envy Pat and her ability to dig so deep,  we can dig a post hole by hand with a shovel and manual auger in 15 minutes flat. 10 minutes if you're in a nice soft area and we're on some nice hard clay lol.


Might as well say, our posts that are sunk 2ft-3ft (usually more like 2ft, but we have some that are 20" down) are done with cement and have never heaved. They're wood posts though, not t-posts... my t-posts DID heave, but the beauty of t-posts is the ability to just knock them back in again lol.


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## ducks4you

Chirpy said:
			
		

> I've never used 'U' posts - they may work great.
> 
> We have heaving soil here and use 6 foot "T" posts...I do like the "T" posts because, as you said, they are easy to install and can be moved if needed.


I agree.
NOTE:  when you take them out of the ground, use a sledge hammer.  You need to bang away, N-S-E-W until it pulls out e-a-s-i-l-y.  If not, you'll bend it and it will be hard to reuse it.  Just FYI, from a long-time tent camper, who HAS bent stakes in the past.


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## patandchickens

lupinfarm said:
			
		

> Pat, you can get a t-post popper? Where... TSC? My co-op carries nothing at all, not even t-posts.


Gee I dunno, they're a pretty common item -- try googling "t-post puller" and look for canadian sources? I could give you American mail-order places but that wouldn't do a lot of good 

Also are you sure the co-op doesn't carry t-posts, i.e. have you *asked*? (They are not usually out on display, they are back in the warehouse with fence wire and such). That would be very unusual.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## lupinfarm

patandchickens said:
			
		

> lupinfarm said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pat, you can get a t-post popper? Where... TSC? My co-op carries nothing at all, not even t-posts.
> 
> 
> 
> Gee I dunno, they're a pretty common item -- try googling "t-post puller" and look for canadian sources? I could give you American mail-order places but that wouldn't do a lot of good
> 
> Also are you sure the co-op doesn't carry t-posts, i.e. have you *asked*? (They are not usually out on display, they are back in the warehouse with fence wire and such). That would be very unusual.
> 
> Good luck, have fun,
> 
> Pat
Click to expand...

One of them doesn't carry much of anything. Actually, none of our co-ops carry much haha. 

I haven't seen post pullers, Home Depot might have them... I shall have to take a look around.


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## cmjust0

chicken fruit said:
			
		

> which is best for goats and maybe a pony? and for a 4' fence, in the NE where it freezes and heaves what length posts? 6 foot?
> 
> I dont have the option of dug and installed wood posts, its leased land and I need to be able to pull it all up if need be and reuse as much as possible.


I'd drive 6' t-posts about 18" into the ground with a t-post driver, then run 4 or 5 stands of polytwine electric fence around it on insulators.  Aluminum would be cheaper in the long run, but it pretty much can't be re-used..  With polytwine, you can just spool it back up.

They make little aluminum braces you can put on t-posts to make h-braces and so forth for corners.  I 'modified' (bent  ) a few of those and made knee braces...worked great as a temporary kid pen.  Quick to put up, quick to take down, and was almost 100% re-useable.


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