# Goat Fencing Question??



## willowtreeacres (Jun 28, 2010)

I don't have any goats yet, but would love to add them to our small hobby farm. I was wondering if two small goats would be okay being fenced in dog kennel fencing for the winter months? I would either tether them in the field during the summer or put up a small 1/2 acre fence for them. I also was wondering how big a shelter they would need? Would an 8 x 8 shed work? Thanks for any info you can give. I am sure i will be asking more questions as we move along!


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## glenolam (Jun 29, 2010)

An 8x8 shed would work for 2-3 pygmys or nigerians and attaching a 10x10 dog kennel or something like that is definitely do-able for the winter months.  

A lot of people do different things depending on their personal situation.  Take a look at what you have, and if it turns out that it's better for you to tether them every spring/summer/fall and kennel them for winter, that's what you should do.  If you are able to fence in your entire property (or where the goats would be) then you won't need to get a kennel.  Just keep in mind that the smaller the "play" area, the more you'll need to help them get exercise.

Me - My goats share about an acre of woods and live in a 8x12 barn (with an addition being built as we speak).  They get lots of exercise as they have rocks to jump on, fallen down trees, and miscellaneous toys I've built in their pen.  My friend through the woods - her goats share a 10x10 shed with about 1/4 acre, maybe less, to run around in, but she takes them for walks just about every day.


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## dianneS (Jun 29, 2010)

The 1/2 acre of fenced area sounds like a good plan.  I've found that when goats are kept in too small of an area, that they tend to become escape artists.

Half of our goats came from "rescue" situations and those goats were being kept in small backyard pens, not pastures at all.  They had all become notorious for escaping.  Since they've been here on our farm with several acres to run on, they not only never attempt to escape, but if a gate is left open, they are _afraid _to walk through it!  They are so happy and comfortable and have everything they need, that they have no reason to try to escape their fencing.  The world outside their pasture is just a big scary place to them and they'd rather stay confined where they know they are safe.

I've never been a big fan of tethering goats, but it is done quite a bit.  I thought I would take some of my goats out of their pasture and tether them in an area where I want weeds cleared.  Well, that didn't work.  They get so frightened, especially from being separated from the herd that they just bawl and want back in the pasture.  Even if I take two or three of them out to eat weeds, they get so worked up they can't even think about eating the weeds anyway!


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## willowtreeacres (Jun 29, 2010)

Thanks for the info everybody! Leaning towards the kennel for the winter only and fencing about an acre for the spring and summer. Any idea on the cost of fencing an acre with the woven wire fencing? On another post, someone gave a very expensive estimate!


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## BetterHensandGardens (Jun 29, 2010)

We are in the process of fencing in four acres for Nigerian Dwarf goats, so I can give you a very up-to-date idea of what it's running in our area.  We're putting in 4' high, 2"x4" woven, and it's $3.25/ft. installed.

Then you have to add on additional costs depending upon the number and size of gates you want installed.  We had three separate places quote the work, and they were all pretty close to the same price - but we went with an Amish establishment (they did our neighbors fening too, and they were very pleased).

They should be finishing our fencing in a few days, and I plan on posting pictures at my website, so check it in a few days if you're interested.


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## tiffanyh (Jun 30, 2010)

I only have about 1/4 acre in a woody area for my mini goats and they never try to escape or get out. 

I also JUST put up a woven wire fence to replace teh welded wire they chewed on for the last five years! I looked around and the best price I came across was about $280 for 330ft (in my area anyway). I used 4x6 posts so it was somewhat costly.

Good luck with your goaties!


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## glenolam (Jun 30, 2010)

Cost really depends on who's doing the work (you or paying someone) and what you buy to do it with.  

At Tractor Supply Co, the woven GOAT fencing runs you about $290 for 330 ft.  We used regular field fencing, which has 4x4 squares and it cost about $150 for 330ft.  It's not as strong as the goat fencing, but holds up for us.  We also put 2 strands of electric wire along the inside of the fence (4" and 42" off the ground) because we had issues with little ones squeezing under the fence and big ones jumping over.  That ended up costing us about $150, but was well worth it.

T Posts will work fine for this, and on sale you can find for $3-$5 each.


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## jodief100 (Jun 30, 2010)

I just fenced about 5 acres with 4" x 4" "goat" fence.  6" wood support posts, 8" corner supports and 10" corners.  It crossed 2 streams that run high when it rains so I needed extra corners there with sacrificial fence across it.

Total cost about $2500, not including labor which was supplied by my darling hubby.
It was roughly 2200 linear feet of fence.  

With pigmys you may want electric fence.  Electric is cheaper up front but more maintenance in the long run.  

I let mine out to graze outside the fence when we are home.  We are on a dead end county road that is .4 miles from the main road and no one else lives on.  I dont worry about cars or neighbors and the goats all come running when you shake the grain bucket and holler Here Goat!


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## cmjust0 (Jun 30, 2010)

jodief100 said:
			
		

> Electric is cheaper up front but more maintenance in the long run.


Disagree * 1000!  

Electric fence is a psychological barrier, which means there's *zero* physical pressure on the fence itself.  When you put it up and turn it on, it should remain virtually untouched by the animals from that point forward.  

If you put up hi-tensile electric fence -- which is still pretty cheap at around $100 for a 4,000 foot spool -- it's even less maintenance than aluminum wire or polystrand/polytape.  

For instance, I had a BIG limb drop from waaaaaaay up in a tree directly on top of my hi-tensile..  When I cut the limb off the fence, it sprang right back up to nearly the same height it was before.  A few pennies worth of new insulators and a few cranks of the tensioners and it was as good as new again..  You're talking about maybe 15min worth of work..

Had that happened to a woven wire fence, I'd have had to cut and splice in a new section, which requires a come-along and blah blah blah -- and the new section still wouldn't probably have been back to 100% of where it was before..  

Ease of maintenance is actually one of the big draws of electric fence, especially hi-tensile electric..


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## glenolam (Jun 30, 2010)

Got to agree with cm....

The only time my goats test the fence is after a few weeks of the battery being dead (mine's not plugged into a wall as we have no electricity outside the goat house).  I use a car battery and it lasts about a month or two depending on the weather and then I just recharge it and we're back to normal.

But they won't touch it unless they "accidentally" bump into it and nothing happens....after a few times of that they're like "Oh, look at this..."


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## jodief100 (Jun 30, 2010)

What about weed load?  Are y'all spraying around your electric fence or how do you handle it?  

That is one of several reasons I don't like it.  I use electric for temp fencing a lot.  Quick to set up and tear down.  I don't like permanent electric because I don't like to spray.  

I also don't like constantly having to stay on top of the charging or the costs associated with charging (either on the electric bill or in new batteries).  

My neighbor has electric fence and cows.  I frequently have more of his cows in my field than he does.


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## glenolam (Jun 30, 2010)

Maybe his isn't strong enough for the cows - I know that I made the mistake of buying a low voltage charger because I thought I could get away with it since I was only fencing in 2 strands on about an acre.

The lady at Tractor Supply laughed at me! (In a nice way)

Since mine is such a small area with a big charger, the weeds don't bother the wire too much. I do have to patrol the fence line about once a month, but it's very wet where they live and those big skunk cabbage plants grow and are easy to break.

My wire even burnt one right down to nothing because it touched the fence for so long.

I believe that if you buy a charger that's strong enough and you've got enough juice in your charger/outlet, weeds generally aren't a problem.

As far as the increase in elecric bill/batteries, it doesn't cost us much (if anything at all) as far as an increase in our bill to charge up the car battery.  And those things last for years - or at least ours has - it's actaully a battery from a car that was junked and I took it to Wal-mart to have it tested and they said it has a few years left!


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## mully (Jun 30, 2010)

jodief100 said:
			
		

> What about weed load?  Are y'all spraying around your electric fence or how do you handle it?
> 
> That is one of several reasons I don't like it.  I use electric for temp fencing a lot.  Quick to set up and tear down.  I don't like permanent electric because I don't like to spray.
> 
> ...


With the right kind of fencer you do not have to worry about weed load as the fencer fries the weeds...no it will not start a fire  With 5000V goats respect HT fencing and i have made one small repair in 5 years. IMO it is the only way to go. Goats love to jump up on wire fences and after awhile they look mangled and to keep the farm looking nice you end up replacing the wire.


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## willowtreeacres (Jun 30, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the info! It gave me lots to think about.


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## lupinfarm (Jun 30, 2010)

We have a strong fencer so weeds don't usually make much of an impact, but we do probably... twice a month, lift the bottom wire and hook it onto the next insulator up (fencer OFF) and weed wack under it. I hate the look of ratty weeds


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## CuddleBug Ranch (Jul 5, 2010)

I use an electric fence for my seven goats ranging in size from pygmy and nigerian to Nubian.  They used to run through and hop over the fence all the time last summer, but for some reason this summer they aren't.  I suspect it is because I still give them some hay at night instead of depending solely on the grass.  I have a weed chopper fencer that is probably close to being as old as I am, (47) and as long as I mow around each side of the electric fence, I have no problems with it shorting out.  I was using a Polywire and found that when the weeds touched it, it burned through it, so I went back to a 14 gage aluminum and only charge the middle wire out of three strands of wire.  My goats have been good this year and stayed where they are supposed to be. Our electric bill goes up in the summer do to other reasons, so I can't say for sure how it affects our electric bill.


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## dianneS (Jul 5, 2010)

jodief100 said:
			
		

> What about weed load?  Are y'all spraying around your electric fence or how do you handle it?
> 
> That is one of several reasons I don't like it.  I use electric for temp fencing a lot.  Quick to set up and tear down.  I don't like permanent electric because I don't like to spray.
> 
> ...


There are lots of solar fence chargers.  TSC has one that I'm planning on getting.  It does up to three miles of fence and it supposedly burns off the weeds too.  Its only about a hundred bucks.  I'm running electric fence to keep my horses butts off of the split rail, so I only need one or two strands!  I can't wait to get set up so they stop rubbing their tails off!


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