# Goat fencing



## Jacob Zierke (Mar 21, 2017)

I'm getting two Nigerian Dwarf does soon and I am trying to figure out the whole fencing thing.... A while ago my brothers raise goats in electric goat netting and never had any problems with getting out or injuries. This seems like the best option for us, since we want to move them around a lot and this seems like the best fence for that. So I'm just wondering if anyone else has used this and if you you like it or not.


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## Bruce (Mar 21, 2017)

I see 22 people have read your post but no replies. I don't have goats so I can't give an informed opinion. But my UNINFORMED opinion is that it should work. Were your brother's goats of similar or larger size to NGs? If larger and the electric net works for them, surely it should work for you.

If you have the space, I think you would want an area with permanent fencing where you can keep them when they aren't out in the "rotating pastures" made with the electric netting. I think that electric net is a very common fencing choice for temporary pastures due to the ease of use.

@goatgurl @Goat Whisperer @Southern by choice may have experience with this.


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## Jacob Zierke (Mar 21, 2017)

That happens a lot on BYC too.... Thank you for your advise!  They were bigger...  That's what I thought too!

Yeah, we will see once we have them for awhile.... Oh, thank you for tagging them!


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## NH homesteader (Mar 21, 2017)

I have read stories of sheep and goats getting caught in that style fence and being electrocuted. I've also heard people who swear by it. I also personally wouldn't use it as the sole fencing. There's a small goat farm near me that has multiple strands of electric fencing and moves the electric netting around inside it to rotate pasture. I use the netting for my chickens but haven't tried it with my goats!


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## Jacob Zierke (Mar 21, 2017)

I'm just afraid that if we build a fence that they will trample everything inside it. I was thinking with this fence I could just rotate it around their barn.


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## Latestarter (Mar 21, 2017)

They're going to 'trample" wherever they are... Ideally, depending on how many goats you intend to end up with (best intentions always fall by the wayside when goat math strikes) you should perimeter fence the area where the goats will be kept, then use the electric movable fencing within that area to move them around and rotate pastures. The perimeter fencing is really more to protect your herd from neighbor/stray dogs, coyotes, ect. The area directly around their housing is going to be bare pretty much no matter what you do, so try to have it at a high point so it doesn't become a mud pit... or maybe surface it with crushed stone/etc. Fencing is always your first line of defense/protection for your goats, and most goat injuries are caused by dogs... yours, the neighbors, or strays. Hope you'll share some pics when you can of whatever set up you settle on.


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## bjjohns (Apr 16, 2017)

Not sure how much land, or how many goats you have. We did rotational grazing with electronet and about 15 - 20 goats for two years. It was a ton of work to move that fence every 3-5 days. We wound up putting high tensile interior sectioning fences in permanently.


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## Miranda Kurucz (Apr 19, 2017)

Hey everyone --- new goats arrive in just over a month and I just found a bunch of grizzly tracks behind our run. We haven't had many around in recent years. 

What I want to know is what's a good electric fence option for approximately 114 linear feet of just a single hot wire to run along the top of 5 foot chain link panels? We will have timbers dug in around the base but now I'm worried that maybe a jolt may be needed for scaring off predators. 

When we had grizzly issues in the neighbourhood in the past, they seemed to mostly only be interested in the turkeys.


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## samssimonsays (Apr 19, 2017)

I am too new to electric fencing to answer this but @babsbag @Ferguson K use them. I know others do too. Someone I know not too far from us had half her goats killed by a black bear last week.   I had never heard of it before then.


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## babsbag (Apr 19, 2017)

I would get the highest joule energizer you can get but I would be concerned that the bears will come through the chain link and not over it. I have seen what they can do to fencing (and cars) and it isn't pretty.  I would run more than one wire and would run it 'bear height' about a foot in front of your chain link panels.  I have heard that you can dangle bacon on the wire and the bear will get his nose bit, no real experience with that though.  Make sure you have a good ground rod for the fence, that is critical to get a good bite.


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## Bruce (Apr 20, 2017)

When I was looking at electric fence chargers, one thing I noticed was the more joules the more ground rods you need. Make sure to check that so you get enough. And space them per instructions.


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## tindi (May 4, 2017)

We used horse fence and put a strand of barb wire along the top and bottom of the fence that we electrified. Works great and our goats have horns so I don't have to worry about their horns getting caught in the fencing. Our fencer runs off a battery that my husband charges every so often. I am not sure just electric fence wold protect our goats from the bears around here.


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## Bruce (May 8, 2017)

I think it would but you would have to have a more powerful one than you would to keep a few goats in.


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## greybeard (May 9, 2017)

For larger animals, especially heavy coat animals (lions and tigers and bears OH MY!) , you may want to look into Cyclops energizers. They have units that makes some lightening bolts envious.  I can attest to the fact that 12 joules is a 'religious experience' ...and I can say too, that 12 joules will certainly (tho temporarily) instantly transgender 1600lbs of bovine testosterone.

http://www.cyclopselectricfence.com/

But, if you are pre-planning for the zombie apocalypse, and really want to get serious (and spend some serious coin in the process)
Gallagher offers the world's most powerful energizer


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## Latestarter (May 9, 2017)

greybeard said:


> 12 joules will certainly (tho temporarily) instantly transgender 1600lbs of bovine testosterone.



  That's gettin' just a might serious...


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## Alaskan (May 12, 2017)

With bear (and moose actually )  the blasted beasts have so much insulation on them, you really have to bait the fence.

Peanut butter and bananas work well. 

 Take tinfoil, and squish the tinfoil around a hot wore at about nose height for your intended target. Cover the foil with the peanut butter or mushed bananas.  Turn on the fence.

Don't bother with chain link or whatever stronger fencing...grizzlies rip that stuff up like tissue paper.

You  will probably want to put two hot wires around the barn the animals will sleep in.  Bait those too.

Grizzlies will rip quality walls to shreds too.  Unless it is built out of thick  logs...


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