Fencing question!

[Wolf-Kim]

I want to place goat on the back part of my pasture to clear out the brush, but I want them BEHIND the horse pasture and not in it or in the yard.

The back of the property has a pretty sturdy cattle fence, so I'm not worried about them escaping out the back of the property, but my horse pasture(seperating the back part of the property from the yard). Will goats respect a high tension high shock electric fence? I really don't want goats in the horse pasture or even in my yard and REALLY NOT IN MY GARDEN!

-Kim

 

[Rence]

I have one goat field that's fenced in with seven strands of hotwire. It works really well.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

dont waste your time trying anything else... just go electric!

but i will tell you that our little goats figured out how to get around the electric (under over thru it) if they really want to be somewhere else. just make sure they have everything they want/need where you want them.

they are very sneaky

 

[gaited horse]

when my goats are ready we are going to be building big goat pen with chainlink and hotwire

 

[KYBOY]

The secret is a good charger...Go BIG or go home...The goats have to really respect the fence..

 

[mully]

Get a fencer that exceeds your needs, 50 mile or more. Goats will go through a hot wire fence if the charge does not sting. 5,000 to 7,000 volts should keep them in and you will need 6-7 wires.

 

[Fainter]

I have Tennessee Fainting Goats. They don't challenge the fencing as much as they are afraid of having an attack if they are up on something so they tend to avoid climbing. There is considerable variation in the strength of the fainting tendency from one animal to another though so some may be more adventurous than others.

So far I have been successul in keeping them out of the garden with wooden snow fencing installed using the heavy duty metal fenceposts at ten foor intervals. They sometimes try to lean on it though so I am considering running an electric tape across the top.

I have part of a "goat moat" built this way around the garden in a ten foot path in between the main permanent fence and the temporary snow fence. This is used to maintain a buffer between my organic farm and the surrounding subdivision lawns. In the past it had been a hassle trying to keep the fenceline clear of weeks.

I'm not sure if this is going to work long term and am investigating alternatives, like going to the heavy gauge livestock fencing which comes in 16 ft panels. That way I can also see where the goats are and what they are doing, which is not always possible through the snow fence. It will be more expensive. The snow fencing is $30 per 50 feet whereas the metal fencing is $25 per 16 ft. I don't like having to use the electric if I can avoid it.

 

[nightshade]

I use chain link mostly, it is what I prefer. that said I do have a section that is livestock fence and I would NOT recommend it, they are always getting their heads stuck in it and I am changing it out as soon as I can. with something else.