considering getting goats

[Latestarter]

Just go to the TSC site and search wire fencing, you'll find it. https://www.tractorsupply.com/TopCategoriesDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051
There are many varieties as well as sizes. Most folks recommend against welded wire fencing as it is cheap, rusts, will not last with goat abuse. However, if that's all you can afford, you do what you have to do. You can also use cattle panels (they are 16' long and flexible) to form a holding pen area using T-posts and clips. However, as stated, the cattle panels have 4" x 4" holes above the 2 lowest runs of wire and goat kids can fit right through. So you'd have to back it up with welded wire or some other fencing to make it impassable.

 

[Alaskan]

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/red-brand-non-climb-horse-fence-60-in-x-200-ft

is this what your talking about?
could any one get pics of there fences?

is it more like this?
View attachment 42001
or this?
View attachment 42002
these were the results when I typed in "no climb woven fence"...

that first photo looks good, the second is terrible in that the goats would see that as a ladder.

I had horses for a number of years...and I managed to EASILY keep the horses contained. .. goats are a totally different beast.

Latestarter is correct about the welded wire... goats push against it and pop the welds apart, then push through the now dangling wires.

The pallet fence we made might have kept them in, if it had been made sturdier. With the pallets you also need to make sure that you are not giving them ladders.

But Latestarter's other comment about predators is also dead on. Whatever you build needs to keep out dogs.

And who made the comment regarding different breeds and fences? But I have definitely experienced that! My full sized goats have been easier to keep in then my dwarf cross. The dwarf cross can easily bounce over a 5 foot fence! I have heard that the smaller the goat. ..the bouncier.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

We have a lot of goats. Standards, Minis, and Nigerians. All stay behind a 4 ft fence.
Some fences are a bit shorter.

My Nubian buck’s should is at the height of some of the fences (he’s a beast).

They all stay behind 4ft cattle field fence (big squares at the top, little at the bottom).

None get out. I never have understood why people say goats are escape artists. I think management plays a role. Often times when I hear about goats constantly escaping they are either underfed, kept with other livestock that harass the goats, of kept in dirty conditions- unhappy goats.
Not saying that’s the case with our fellow BYH members- these are just observations.
I’m sure some goats are just brats. Thankfully we haven’t experienced that.

 

[Alaskan]

Yeah... not sure why I have had such trouble with mine. First field we tried to keep them in was almost 2 acres. .. it had a couple of tree clumps, some brush, and some open grass and forbs... just 3 does. It had been maybe 4 years since any livestock had been in it...looked nice. They just would not stay in. Had a great electric rope horse fence.

Then they found my apple orchard, and tore the tar out of that fence and gates, trying to get IN. And they had all the world to eat up. That fence now looks like a junkyard... but we finally made it tall enough and strong enough that they stay out. (I should add that moose love apple trees, and after 15 years of keeping moose out, that fence couldn't keep out goats for a full month).

Maybe after that they were "trained" to bust fences? dunno.

 

[Southern by choice]

We have a lot of goats. Standards, Minis, and Nigerians. All stay behind a 4 ft fence.
Some fences are a bit shorter.

My Nubian buck’s should is at the height of some of the fences (he’s a beast).

They all stay behind 4ft cattle field fence (big squares at the top, little at the bottom).

None get out. I never have understood why people say goats are escape artists. I think management plays a role. Often times when I hear about goats constantly escaping they are either underfed, kept with other livestock that harass the goats, of kept in dirty conditions- unhappy goats.
Not saying that’s the case with our fellow BYH members- these are just observations.
I’m sure some goats are just brats. Thankfully we haven’t experienced that.

Yeah... not sure why I have had such trouble with mine. First field we tried to keep them in was almost 2 acres. .. it had a couple of tree clumps, some brush, and some open grass and forbs... just 3 does. It had been maybe 4 years since any livestock had been in it...looked nice. They just would not stay in. Had a great electric rope horse fence.

Then they found my apple orchard, and tore the tar out of that fence and gates, trying to get IN. And they had all the world to eat up. That fence now looks like a junkyard... but we finally made it tall enough and strong enough that they stay out. (I should add that moose love apple trees, and after 15 years of keeping moose out, that fence couldn't keep out goats for a full month).

Maybe after that they were "trained" to bust fences? dunno.

@Alaskan
I do think our LGD's play a huge role as well. The goats know they are safe and protected. Our layout also puts the majority of our goats with the ability to see the house.
We are very bonded with them and I do wonder if that plays a part.
The goats that we had offsite and behind 3-4 strand hotwire always stayed put when they could easily jump it... again I think the LGD's and the goats knowing they were safe with the dogs made all the difference. @Goat Whisperer what do you think?

 

[Bayleaf Meadows]

I agree that happy goats don't try to get out of fences, for the most part. We can leave our gate open and will find them back in their paddock after they have a walkabout. But our young bucks tried to get back to the buck and wether after I separated them because they started chasing and butting each other during rut. All that butting continued through the fence and eventually popped the staples that held it to the shelter. We patched it and attached a board to strengthen it.

 

[Bayleaf Meadows]

Here are some photos from our fence and shelter build. We do use the non-climb, woven wire from TSC that your link connected to, as well as other fencing. Ours is 60" but that is overkill. 48" is tall enough. We're happy with the material, but we could have pulled it tighter in places. Make sure that you don't place structures they can get on top of next to a fence they might jump over.

Levelling and tamping a pressure treated round post. Cattle panel fence.

Leveling a square post to be used as part of a goat shelter.

Our basic goat shelter. We angle the roof for drainage and water collecting.

A finished shelter. We collect the rain water off the roof into water barrels for watering the goats.

This is a chicken coop. It has welded wire on the run to the right of the photo. We built it before we had goats. The wooden posts are for the roof. We actually used ten foot, 1 1/2" electrical conduit for the uprights. It is good for chickens, but would be torn down by goats. At the back of the photo, you see the non climb, woven wire. The span is attached to the coop and then to the gate. We made the gate by sinking two posts in the ground, connecting them at the top by a board and building a door covered with hardware cloth. You can see the top of the fencing is the red line. The conduit post in the middle and horizontally at the top is for raising the fence height with zip tied deer netting. It is to keep the deer out.

Here you see Big Brown getting friendly with Hazel a couple of years ago. The cattle panel has an added layer of welded wire to keep the little kids from passing through the holes. Now, the goats have beaten down the welded wire and the kids we have are going back and forth to visit the bucks. No-one minds. You can see the bottom of a water barrel on its cinder block base to raise it up for getting water into a bucket or hose.

Here is an 8' x 4' gate from TSC. It doesn't have to be this wide, we put it here before adding more paddock to the back so we may remove it and put a smaller gate here.

Close up of the woven wire.

You can see that we should have tightened this woven wire some more. The fence is sagging where our wether is standing on it. This is where they popped off the staples that attached it to the right to a shelter. We reinforced it with a board.

Here is a shelter with cattle panel fencing and a hay locker which holds eight square bales. We bought it at BJ's and like it a lot. But I realize now that a load of snow on top would have to be pushed off to open it in wintry weather.

 

[Bayleaf Meadows]

More fencing. This is another chicken run. It has welded wire on top and hardware cloth on bottom. The small holes on the hardware cloth keep predators from reaching in and grabbing a chicken. Also, the hardware cloth is buried under ground to keep them from digging into the run.

Here is a different gate we bought instead of building one. You can see the posts used to strengthen the gate posts. Again, we have conduit to raise the height to keep deer out.

Cattle panel left, woven wire right.

2" x 4" Woven wire.

 

[Mini Horses]

.........."it's always greener on the other side".......


IMO, Yes, the LGDs make a difference as they help maintain the goats/sheep/whatever to stay within their areas. The dogs view the fence as safe containment and defend it from predators, keeping the livestock in a safe zone. It's their job & they excel.

Mostly goats are just looking for the next adventure or special tree you were trying to grow. They aren't trying to leave, just curious about what's out there.

 

[chickens454]

ok so I have decided to use the 2x4 woven wire like stated above. I'm going to make it 4ft tall. my husband is an awesome builder and he cuts trees so he may be able to cut the wood for there housing. it's probuly gonna look somethin like above. is the wire just flush with the ground or is it burried?

what's the minimum space required for 2 Nigerian dwarfs or 2 Nubian?

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/light-duty-fence-post-5-ft?cm_vc=-10005
I know this says light duty but would this work in place of wooden posts, If I found a sturdy on?