Fencing, high tensile or woven sheep/goat? Also best interior fencing? PermaNet??

[chanceosunshine]

We’ve been researching the breeds and I think the Anatolians may be too much for us. That may well be a good conversation to have with Erick. They do sound like amazing dogs.
If we fail our dog we could have a potentially aggressive problem on our hands. I’ve had dogs all my life and was a groomer for years, but I had a pit bull that something clicked in one day and he was a constant source of stress because he couldn’t be trusted from that point on. I thought we had done everything right with him, but something went wrong. As much as I love the breed I don’t trust myself to be a good owner for them now.
All that being said, the Maremma looks very good to us. We’re not done researching but we’re leaning heavily in their direction since they are usually less of an aggressive breed.

 

[Baymule]

Great Pyrenees and Maremmas are both wonderful breeds. I’ve never owned a Maremma but I understand that they don’t roam like the Great Pyrenees do. I think you will be a fine partner for a Maremma.

 

[Ridgetop]

If we fail our dog we could have a potentially aggressive problem on our hands.

That was our worry with getting our first Anatolian. It is very important to suit the breed to both you as a family and to your neighborhood/farm situation. Not every breed is right for everyone (just like regular pet breeds). You are smart to shop around and investigate different breeds.

Our first LGD was half Maremma and half Shar Planinetz. He was very good and at 3 months drove off the big Doberman who used to poop on our front porch. At 8 months he and our old Weimaraner bitch drove off a cougar. He also roamed but back then our fences were in bad condition and woth fewer neighbors we had a lot more coyote and cougar traffic.

 

[chanceosunshine]

I really appreciate all the replies. You’ve all really helped me think this through. We’re hoping we can find a Maremma breeder with the same kind of passion that Erick has.

 

[Legamin]

Hi, We have about 14 acres of pasture that we want to fence in and do rotational grazing with, most likely, sheep and possibly a couple beeves, goats and maybe even Tamworth hogs at some point.
We're considering 6 strands of very hot high tensile fencing or woven sheep and goat fencing. For the interior, we're considering electric netting or or a poly braid for the sheep.
I've heard that very hot wire will keep the vegetation from affecting your electric fencing.

We're also going to have a smaller fenced area for a few dairy goats, most likely ND and Kinders. We were considering Premier 1's PermaNet. Has anyone tried this?

Thanks for reading...

I started with goats and decided to go with sheep…Fencing is something I know! After using 14g welded wire rolled fence around our initial pastures we felt some accomplishment….then the goats took that away. So we went to Cattle Panels on T-posts. This became the permanent borders for our pastures. The goats could lean their whole body weight on it and drag themselves down the entire length of it (I think looking for weak spots) and it would not move one inch. Job done! Then we ended our foray into goats and decided on sheep. Sheep do not test the fences but they are precious critters that happen to be prey animals so our perimeter fence….around the whole 10 acres….still had to keep the many hundreds of coyotes in our valley from getting into our ranch. The one animal that the predator takes is just as likely to be the lamb which I have no investment it…or my best breeding ram that won 3rd place best of breed at nationals and cost me…..a lot. So after much research we opted for woven wire fence. 330’ rolls of 12=1/2g 6” square weave with the top wire and two bottom wires 10g. This is heavy stuff! It weighs 280lbs per roll and just to finish the back side of the property as yet unfenced 8 rolls..$1400.00 on sale at Tractor Supply (the very cheapest seller that week) thought it has gone up almost $60 per roll since last month (Go Brandon!). I got so spoiled over. 5 years of fencing to have the prices never vary by more than 10% and then this last year it soared 70%. Oh well…it’s not like we have another choice.
As far as electric fences I have bought mine through PremierOne.com as they make a really good electric net fencing for almost any animal an purpose….but I would stick to the better Gallagher Solar Fence Energizers for the highest power charge and the most reliable performance.
We use poly braid 9 strand (high conductibility) Gallagher and it works a charm for the sheep. A single strand 12” off the ground…right at grazing eye level is all they need to keep them in their area. Unlike goats they couldn’t care less what color the grass is on the other side of the fence! They are mainly interested in food and flock!

 

[Legamin]

I haven't ever had llamas....

But logically a predator type animal (dog), will do a better job than a prey type animal (llama).

Having dogs about is incredibly helpful, even if they aren't full LGD types.

If livestock can be locked up every night, then you might get by with a "pet" type dog patrolling the area during the day, as long as your stock isn't too far from your house.

Agreed. We researched heavily into the Llama v Dog dilemma and even considered Donkey.. It came down to a couple of things that made our decision for us. 1. Llama’s spit and kick, Dogs bark really loud, chase down and bite. 2. Llama’s add a new level of complication in nutritional needs, vet bills, finding a shearer that will shear just one llama (most sheep shearers will not touch them!) and the pasture shelters that fit the sheep….just ain’t tall enough for the llama! So….DOG!