temporary fence for sheep

'Youve got a piece of land and a dream to keep some livestock mesh for chain link fence , but your place doesnt have good fences not yet, anyway. Many types of fences are available, and installing a fence is a job you can do yourself. Fencing can range from about $200 to $1,500 per quarter mile (1,320 feet), but your selection criteria will involve more than just the cost. Your choice should be based on the livestock you want, the terrain of your land, the life span of various fencing options and the amount of effort and tools it will take to build and maintain each type. Fencing options include woven, barbed and high-tensile (both electrified and nonelectric) wire. Electrified poly wire/poly tape is another possibility, but for large livestock its only effective for temporary applications within permanently fenced fields. Typical fences are about 5 feet high, though any height is possible I have a 7-foot-tall electric fence to keep out deer. The approximate material costs that follow are based on information taken from a July 2005 Iowa State University Extension report about livestock fencing (go to the Iowa State University Extension website and search for fencing costs). Installation: about $1,500/quarter mile with a single strand of barbed wire on top; alternating between wooden posts and metal T-posts spaced 12 to 16 feet apart. (In most locations, you wont need nearly so many wooden posts maybe two for every quarter mile.) About 40 hours of labor Ongoing maintenance: replacing and resetting staples, retensioning corners Pros: strong, secure and relatively attractive; confines nearly all livestock, including sheep and goats Cons: highest initial cost, most maintenance required Sometimes called page wire fencing, this system uses the same kind of wood and metal posts common to other fencing types. Corner/end posts generally are about 8 feet long, at least 8 inches in diameter and need to be specially braced. Wooden line posts are at least 4 inches in diameter and should be installed along a taut string to ensure accurate alignment. Posts should go about 3 feet into the ground, but your place doesnt have good fences not yet temporary fencing for backyard , you can forego most of your wooden posts for metal T-posts lightweight metal beams that can be driven into the ground with a post pounder (which you can make easily, see Fantastic Fencing Tools ). Metal T-posts have either predrilled holes at various places down their length or a series of raised bumps running down their length. The predrilled holes are perfect for attaching woven and barbed wire fences. Thread a 10- to 12-inch piece of 12.5-gauge fence wire through one of the holes and then give it three or four wraps around the woven or barbed wire on each side of the post. The posts with raised bumps are designed to be used with heavy wire clips that hold the wire tight against the flat face of the posts. T-posts dont resist the pull of a tight fence wire, but they can hold it upright and wont significantly compromise the strength of your fence. Handling the heavy rolls of woven wire is a job for two people. To put up woven wire, install all posts and then unroll enough woven wire to span the straight length from one corner to the next. Wrap the woven wire around one wooden end post, cut most of the vertical wires and wrap the horizontal wires back along their own length so that the fence itself is tied around the post. Then secure it with U-shaped fence staples driven in with a hammer. Pull the wire tight with the help of a mechanical fence stretcher and then wrap the woven wire around the second wooden end post, wrapping and fastening as you did on the other end. As you walk back along the fence line, secure the taut woven wire to any intervening wooden fence posts with more staples and to the metal T-posts with wire. A single strand of barbed wire installed above the woven wire will help the fence last longer because it deters animals especially cattle and horses from rubbing on it. If your land is stony or hard, then consider high-tensile electric fencing (see High-Tensile Electric Fence later in this article), which can be installed with fewer posts. Woven wire may be the hardest to install and maintain, but it gives you a great, long-lasting fence for your money. Woven wire is the kind of permanent, reliable fencing that is the industry standard for containing cattle, sheep, goats and horses. Installation: about $1,100/quarter mile for either three strands of wire at 14-inch intervals, or four strands of wire at 10- to 12-inch intervals; alternating between wooden posts and metal T-posts spaced 12 to 16 feet apart. About 40 hours of labor Ongoing maintenance: retensioning barbed wire and mending breaks; retightening corner assemblies Pros: lighter and less expensive to install than woven wire, and a greater physical deterrent to cattle, which generally try to push unbarbed fences down Cons: aggressive appearance; can be dangerous for children, livestock and wildlife; not adequate for containing sheep and goats Barbed wire fencing begins with the same post arrangement as woven wire fencing, anyway. Many types of fences are available buy hot sale chain link fence , pull it tight across end posts and then staple or wire it to your line posts. That said, barbed wire does bite thats its purpose, and its easy to scratch and cut yourself while working with this stuff, so always wear leather work gloves. Barbed wire is especially appropriate for containing cattle the animals most likely to push hard against a fence that doesnt bite back. Although youll use the same arrangement of corner and line posts as you would with a woven wire fence, the cost of installation and the amount of maintenance for barbed wire fencing are somewhat lower. Barbed wire also is much easier to install over rolling terrain because the wires follow the lands contour. Woven wire, on the other hand, buckles if you try to install it over steep hills and gullies. The life expectancy of a barbed wire fence is the same as a woven wire fence, about 20 years. Installation: about $1,000/quarter mile for eight strands of nonelectric wire (number of wires needed may vary); wooden posts and metal T-posts are spaced 20 to 30 feet apart. About 30 hours of labor Ongoing maintenance: retensioning wires, reinstalling wire anchors and retightening corner braces Pros: easy installation and maintenance; attractive appearance Con: Not appropriate for any livestock except horses and mules. Goats and sheep will crawl through; cattle will push through, unless you use barbed wire. In this approach, smooth 12.5-gauge wire (sometimes barbed wire, too) is loosely fastened to posts that offer vertical support, but still permit the wires to slide back and forth. This allows for easy retensioning of the fence wires and helps to better contain animals when they hit the fence, a whipping action occurs that discourages future encounters. Support posts can be placed farther apart than with woven and barbed wire fences, though only where the land is flat. Youll need more frequent post placement to make the wire conform to the undulations of a rolling landscape. Smooth or barbed wire is anchored at each of the end/corner posts and then tightened with a rotary tensioner that allows you to specify the amount of pull for each wire. Its easy and foolproof, except for one thing: Too much tension places unnecessary strain on end/corner posts. Installation: about $700/quarter mile for four strands of wire at 12- to 16-inch intervals; posts spaced 25- to 60-feet apart. About 20 hours of labor Ongoing maintenance: retensioning wires, replacing insulators, adjusting corners and checking chargers and ground rods Pros: easiest and least expensive to install; lowest annual cost of ownership; good containment performance for almost any livestock Cons: most technically complex fence; requires regular monitoring; if not protected, and installing a fence is a job you can do yourself. Fencing can range from about $200 to $1 high quality garden fence , high-tensile electric fencing is an ideal choice. Its the least expensive perimeter fencing to install, with the lowest level of ongoing maintenance required over its expected 25-year life span. High-tensile electric fencing also is the easiest to install if you dont have access to specialized fencing tools such as a posthole auger. Thats because post spacing can be farther than that of other fencing types, and you can use metal T-posts in most places. High-tensile electric fence installations are similar to their nonelectric cousins, the only differences are that fewer fence posts and wires are necessary and the electricity takes the place of barbs in discouraging animals from pushing down the fence. The wires are supported differently because the entire system is electrified by line and end insulators that keep the electrified fence wires from short-circuiting. To give the fence its electric shock, youll need an energizer, which costs about $200, and ground rods to complete the circuit. Installation: about $200/quarter mile for a 30-inch-high poly wire mesh. About two hours of labor Ongoing maintenance: retying broken poly wire, straightening metal T-posts, maintaining ground connection Pros: easy and inexpensive to install and move; some versions repel predators Cons: not suitable perimeter fencing for large livestock; will shock people and pets Available in different patterns, strands of wire are interwoven in a polyethylene plastic rope mesh that resembles a woven wire fence. This combination provides a physical barrier as well as delivery of electricity close to the ground. Its the easiest and least expensive fencing option, but theres a catch: Most light-duty poly systems arent considered reliable for perimeter fencing for large livestock. Thats because theyre generally positioned too low to the ground and are too weak to keep large animals off a road or out of a neighbors flower garden. But for internal fencing, theyre nimble enough that you can move them for rotational grazing or other temporary fencing needs. It also provides an effective deterrent against most predators. Woven poly mesh is a useful option for containing poultry and keeping small animals such as rabbits and raccoons out of the vegetable garden. If you combine a poly fencing system with electrified high-tensile perimeter fencing, you dont need to buy a second energizer. Simply hook up the small poly fence to your existing high-tensile electric fence to electrify both using the same charger. The power running through an electric fence is different than the electricity that comes out of a wall socket or a battery, and creating this unique power is accomplished with an energizer. Also called a fencer or charger, this device takes relatively low-voltage electricity and increases it to between 2,000 to 10,000 volts at the fence wire, with a corresponding drop in amperage that makes the system safe. The result is a lively bunch of electrons that are eager to make their way back to the earth via anything that touches the fence wire. When the electricity passes through a cow or a horse (or a homesteader!), theres no question what happens the result is shocking indeed! You need to consider two vital issues when selecting an energizer. First you should choose an appropriately powerful model for the animals you want to contain or exclude. Your energizers power output is rated in joules. The second fundamental issue is grounding. You can have the best energizer in the world, but its useless without a functioning electrical connection to the earth. This is a crucial and often overlooked detail that can impair the performance of any electric fence. You should use a minimum of two metal ground rods driven into the soil for each energizer in your system. For optimal energizer performance in most soil conditions, use three-fourths-inch-diameter, 3-foot-long galvanized steel rods. You may need more rods in dry earth because it is less conductive. To install ground rods, pound them into the ground so only 6 inches of metal remains above the earth. Connect the rods together with 12-gauge high-voltage insulated wire, with another run of wire back to the ground terminal of your energizer. Solar chargers are available if you dont want to trade out batteries. When an animal touches the energized fence, it completes a circuit to the earth that allows electrons to flow through its body, creating the shock sensation. But without an effective low-resistance connection to the ground, the circuit cannot be completed. To find out if an electric fence is working, tear off a wide blade of grass and hold it against the fence wire. If its live, youll feel a pulsating, tingly feeling. Dont worry that tall pasture will cause the fence to short out. The power output and electric circuitry of modern energizers allow them to function properly even when some grass is touching the fence. If your pasture is particularly lush and youre concerned about power loss through wet vegetation, then consider using a detachable bottom wire. Keep it energized when the grass is low in the spring and disconnect it from the system as the grass grows higher. In areas where the ground is dry or where animals will be walking on snow (which is a fair insulator), consider grounded fence wires. These can alternate between the live wires of your fence or simply be used along the bottom. Either way, they allow the fence to deliver a shock even when an animal isnt well grounded. Fences are a key component of success with livestock. Take the time to choose and build the best possible fencing, and youll take a big step to making self-reliance a reality on your land. Wooden fence posts are inexpensive and easy to find in forested regions. Theyre also lightweight and a pleasure to cut, drill, nail and staple. So why use anything else? One reason is durability. Even the legendary longevity of cedar and black locust wont stop rot from attacking wooden fence posts and eventually bringing them down. The problem is especially bad at ground level, where factors that cause rot are most vigorous. This is why various manufacturers offer recycled plastic fence posts, which are impervious to harmful ultraviolet light and moisture. Plastic fence posts can be cut and worked the same way as wood. However, they generally are more expensive than wooden ones, and theyre not as strong or rigid. This means you cant always expect plastic posts to stay straight. Read more: Learn about three different types of sturdy corners for perimeter fencing in Sturdy Corner Posts: Resisting the Pull .\n', 'If youve ever driven by a giant pasture in which horses are only grazing a small, roped-off plot of grass, you mightve guessed what they were up torotational grazingbut you could have found yourself wondering what keeps these horses from barreling through the flimsy-looking strands of tape confining them. This pasture management scenario is one of the most common uses of temporary fencing, but you have to do it right and with the correct materials for your horses, land, and management style. In this article well describe types and purposes of temporary fencing, how to set it up, and what to consider in the process. With rotational grazing setup, external or perimeter fencing is usually permanent, while interior fencingthat which divides the acreage into smaller sectionsis temporary and generally electric. Jim Gerrish, of American Grazing Lands Services LLC, in Patterson, Idaho, has more than 35 years of pasture management experience. Twelve years ago, Gerrish, formerly a professor in agronomy and crop ecology at the University of Missouri, moved with his wife, Dawn, to Idaho. While in Missouri they had operated a 260-acre grass farm with cattle, sheep, and horses. In Idaho they manage a 450-acre irrigated pasture unit with cattle. Theyre currently enjoying successful careers teaching and consulting in the pasture management industry. Picture an acre and a half with three horses, grazed short with weeds, says Jim Gerrish. If you take temporary fencing and visualize 30 little blocks, then move the horses every day to a new block, the health of the pasture will improve dramatically. Give each block 29 days to rest and regrow before putting horses back on it. Dividing a pasture area into smaller fields and rotating horses through them can encourage horses to graze more evenly, keep pasture grasses from becoming overgrazed, and guarantee fresh grass for a longer period of time during the growing season, he says. Allow the horses to graze the grass down to 3 to 4 inches, then move them to the next grazing area. Move temporary fences along with the horses and water sources or, if you have enough supplies, set all your fencing up at the beginning of the summer so you dont have to move it. Portable electric fencing is lightweight, inexpensive, easy to move, and requires little maintenance. I know a lot of horse owners dont think that temporary fencing will contain their horses, says Jim Gerrish. I would disagree 100% with this. Horses are perhaps one of the easiest animals to train because they are so sensitive, adds Dawn Gerrish. Once they contact an electric fence, they will probably never ever do it again. If horses are completely naive to temporary fencing, it is best to introduce them first to it within the confines of a corral, with the posts spaced at 30 feet, she suggests. Once outside of the corral, still keep the posts spaced at (no more than) 30 feet to help support the tape, especially in windy or snowy conditions. This helps horses visualize the fence better and makes the fence appear to be more of a barrier. Jim Hawkins is an instructor at the University of Idahos Lost River Grazing Academy and a retired livestock extension agent for the University of Idaho living near the headwaters of the Salmon River in Challis, Idaho. Since the early 2000s Hawkins has been grazing as many as 80 horses on about 50 acres of irrigated ground. Outfitters who primarily use their horses during the fall hunting season need some place to board and keep their horses the rest of the year, so they pay me to keep them during the summer months, he explains. Hawkins uses management-intensive grazing to rotate horses through set pasture areas, sizing them so horses graze each area down to no shorter than 3 inches in about a week. He sets each area up so horses have access back to the corrals. Horses are out grazing for 12 hours at night and are in the corrals for 12 hours during the daythe same way outfitters will be using them during hunting season, he explains. Or, the way any horse owner who wants to ride would use them, as we dont often ride after dark. Because he grazes mules along with horses, Hawkins uses two strands of polybraidone knee-high at 24 inches and the other chest-high at 48 inchesinstead of just one. Explaining why, he says with a laugh, Mules are just a lot smarter than most horses and most people, including me! Hawkins uses a type of temporary fencing and metal T-posts, which he sets up at the beginning of the summer and leaves throughout the grazing season. Alayne Blickle The horse person unfamiliar with rotational grazing and fencing equipment can start out by contacting a business that specializes in electric fence products, says Jim Gerrish. Sales clerks at feed supply stores often do not have specific product knowledge. The buyer needs to understand there are separate fencing products, one set for permanent fence and another for temporary fence, he says. Dont confuse the two. While perimeters and main subdivision fence can be electric fencing, perimeter fencing is usually a physical barrier made of materials such as wooden posts and diamond v-mesh horse fencing. Again, temporary fencing, which provides a portable barrier with electricity, is most often used to divide the interior into smaller segments. There are many types of temporary fencing posts on the market. Choose a brand that is easy to step into the ground and hook the electric tape to. Temporary posts should be made of self-insulating material such as plastic, plastic-wood composites, or fiberglass, he says. String between each post one or more strands of tape or wire. Types of temporary fencing filament include: A geared reel, for winding up and paying out the tape, is the icing on the cake, making temporary fencing easy to use and portable. We prefer a 3:1 geared ratio because it allows tape to be wound up faster with less effort than nongeared reels, she says. We also prefer a reel which will hold 660 feet of half-inch tape. The final piece of equipmentif your fence is electricis the charger, or energizer, for power. The charger needs to be appropriately sized for the job to be done, says Jim Gerrish. Most chargers are rated on a joule basis. Basically you need one joule of output energy per mile of fence on the farm. Battery units can have just as much power as plug-in units, as long as the battery charge is greater than 50%. Always use a low-impedance fence charger for portable fence, adds Dawn Gerrish, because the old-style high-impedance (charger) will heat up and melt the plastic in tape. A low-impedance charger maximizes the amount of current along the length of the fence, so you end up with a significant amount of charge at the end of the fenceline. Solar chargers will work most anywhere as long as the charger is adequately sized to handle the job. And what about solar chargers? These are fence chargers that convert the suns energy into electrical power and store it in a battery. Solar chargers will work most anywhere as long as the charger is adequately sized to handle the job, says Jim Gerrish. Finally, the best temporary electric fencing equipment is useless without proper grounding; poor grounding is the leading cause of temporary fence failurewhen your temporary fence isnt hot enough to keep horses from strolling right through it, looking for greener pastures. The shock in an electric fence needs to be enough to deter your horses from testing the fenceline. In an electric fencing system, electricity needs to complete a circuit to do its job, relying on ground rods as a route for the electricity to return to the energizer. Inadequate grounding limits the amount of electricity that can flow through the system. To ground, drive one 3- to 4-foot metal rod into the ground near the charger. Attach the grounding rod to the charger according to your fence manufacturers specifications. There are seemingly endless uses for temporary fencing. One of the most practical is to confine a horse that is rehabbing from injury. With temporary fencing, give your rehabbing horse a stall-sized, but usable, paddock so he has an opportunity to graze as well as a change of scenery. This will prevent him from racing around a field, further aggravating an injury. With visiting horses, use temporary fencing to divide large paddocks into smaller areas to accommodate your equine guests. Make sure there are no shared fencelines if you dont want them to have contact with each other. Some owners use temporary fencing as the interior fencing for track paddockslong corridors that circle the perimeter of a pasture or other area to encourage horses to move about more freely and interact with each other. A track paddock is generally set up with permanent fencing on the outside and temporary fencing on the insidetemporary fencing allows you to adjust the width and shape of the track. (To view a slideshow of track paddock designs, visit TheHorse.com/36801 .) Temporary fencing is often used as a portable corral when camping along a trail, when overnighting at a campground while traveling, or at a show or event. Other possible uses for temporary fencing include: When setting up temporary paddocks on your farm, its generally easiest to establish only as many as you think youll need firstyou can always hook up more temporary electric tape if you need to subdivide further. If you want to keep fencing and equipment costs down, you can move temporary fencing (and water) with the horses as you switch them from one grazing area to another. Make sure groups of corralled horses get along well or that pasture areas are large enough to suit their personalities so that a dominant horse doesnt pin another in a corner. Place gates so you can lead horses easily from stall to pasture and back. Remember to have a source of water for each pasture; this can be a separate water source for each grazing area or a single water source accessible from more than one area. Also, consider setting up pastures in such a way that horses can have access to shade or shelter, especially if summers in your area are very hot. Your pastures will thank you for using rotational grazing and temporary fencing, as well. Healthier pastures mean more forage production and lower hay billsand, of course, happy horses.\n', 'Small ruminants, such as sheep and goats, can be a great fit for both small acreage farmers and larger farmers looking to diversify their operation. On a per pound basis, goats and sheep regularly bring over two dollars per pound at a weekly livestock auction and prices are typically more stable compared to the cattle market which tends to have a large margin of fluctuation throughout the year. There are many benefits to incorporating small ruminants into your farming operation and with the proper planning, it can prove to be profitable. Before going out and buying a trailer load of goats, it is important to plan ahead and ensure you have the proper facilities and equipment in place. Even if you have other livestock such as cattle or horses, you may still need to make some minor and major modifications to your farm. Fencing Sheep and goats are often considered escape artists who seem like their sole goal in life is to live on the other side of the pasture fence. If I had to personify any goat, I would say its basically Andy Dufresne from the movie Shawshank Redemption. That being said, a regular 4 strand electric or barbed wire fence is no match for a small ruminant. High tensile woven wire with a single strand of hot wire about 12 inches off the ground is one of the best types of fences for goats and sheep. The trick is to make sure the fence is pulled tight and the electric wire stays charged so the animals cannot push or crawl under the fence. Stocking Rate After you build your fence tighter than the security at Ft. Knox, the next step is to determine how many acres are allowed for grazing. A general rule of thumb is 6-8 goats per acre and 5-6 sheep per acre. This stocking rate assumes ideal pasture growing conditions. Stocking rates may be lower during severe drought. Nutrition Small ruminants, especially goats, tend to have the reputation that they can be fed anything. Like any class of livestock, small ruminants need specific nutrients and minerals in their diet. Goats and sheep need to be fed around 2 percent of their body weight everyday with the majority of it made up of forages such as grass or hay. If you are feeding a supplement or grain-based feed, be sure to feed small quantities at a time to avoid bloat or enterotoxaemia (commonly called overeating disease). It is also best practice to provide a free choice mineral lick for minerals that forages may lack such as selenium. Just be aware that sheep are sensitive to copper and mineral, and feeds not formulated for sheep can be deadly! Breeding and Health Management Depending on species and breed, ewes (female sheep) and does (female goats) are typically ready to breed around 8 to 10 months of age. Although females may begin their heat cycle before this age, breeding early may cause issues during the kidding (birthing) process because the females are too small and not physically mature. Both sheep and goats tend to have a natural breeding season which usually occurs in the fall and into the winter (August through January). When breeding animals keep size compatibility in mind! Crossing a Kiko buck with a Nigerian dwarf doe can result in large offspring which spells trouble during the kidding process. The gestation period for both goats and sheep is roughly five months long. So ewes and does bred in September will kid in February. Goats and sheep typically birth two kids each pregnancy. After 3 months of age, kids are ready to be weaned. This process can be tough for everyone but it is an important part of management. It allows the does and ewes to rest and also keeps bucklings from breeding with their mother. During this stressful period, it is important that both kids and their mothers are monitored for any health issues, especially any evidence of internal parasites such as stomach worms. Animals with high worm loads can succumb to parasites during stressful periods. Any goat or sheep that becomes thin, has a rough hair coat or pale colored tongue/ inner eyelids should be examined and given an effective dewormer recommended by a veterinarian. With the right facilities and planning, small ruminants can be a profitable addition to your farming operation. If you have any questions about livestock management please contact the Richmond County Cooperative Extension office at (910) 997-8255.\n', 'If youve ever driven by a giant pasture in which horses are only grazing a small, roped-off plot of grass, you mightve guessed what they were up torotational grazingbut you could have found yourself wondering what keeps these horses from barreling through the flimsy-looking strands of tape confining them. This pasture management scenario is one of the most common uses of temporary fencing, but you have to do it right and with the correct materials for your horses, land, and management style. In this article well describe types and purposes of temporary fencing, how to set it up, and what to consider in the process. With rotational grazing setup, external or perimeter fencing is usually permanent, while interior fencingthat which divides the acreage into smaller sectionsis temporary and generally electric. Jim Gerrish, of American Grazing Lands Services LLC, in Patterson, Idaho, has more than 35 years of pasture management experience. Twelve years ago, Gerrish, formerly a professor in agronomy and crop ecology at the University of Missouri, moved with his wife, Dawn, to Idaho. While in Missouri they had operated a 260-acre grass farm with cattle, sheep, and horses. In Idaho they manage a 450-acre irrigated pasture unit with cattle. Theyre currently enjoying successful careers teaching and consulting in the pasture management industry. Picture an acre and a half with three horses, grazed short with weeds, says Jim Gerrish. If you take temporary fencing and visualize 30 little blocks, then move the horses every day to a new block, the health of the pasture will improve dramatically. Give each block 29 days to rest and regrow before putting horses back on it. Dividing a pasture area into smaller fields and rotating horses through them can encourage horses to graze more evenly, keep pasture grasses from becoming overgrazed, and guarantee fresh grass for a longer period of time during the growing season, he says. Allow the horses to graze the grass down to 3 to 4 inches, then move them to the next grazing area. Move temporary fences along with the horses and water sources or, if you have enough supplies, set all your fencing up at the beginning of the summer so you dont have to move it. Portable electric fencing is lightweight, inexpensive, easy to move, and requires little maintenance. I know a lot of horse owners dont think that temporary fencing will contain their horses, says Jim Gerrish. I would disagree 100% with this. Horses are perhaps one of the easiest animals to train because they are so sensitive, adds Dawn Gerrish. Once they contact an electric fence, they will probably never ever do it again. If horses are completely naive to temporary fencing, it is best to introduce them first to it within the confines of a corral, with the posts spaced at 30 feet, she suggests. Once outside of the corral, still keep the posts spaced at (no more than) 30 feet to help support the tape, especially in windy or snowy conditions. This helps horses visualize the fence better and makes the fence appear to be more of a barrier. Jim Hawkins is an instructor at the University of Idahos Lost River Grazing Academy and a retired livestock extension agent for the University of Idaho living near the headwaters of the Salmon River in Challis, Idaho. Since the early 2000s Hawkins has been grazing as many as 80 horses on about 50 acres of irrigated ground. Outfitters who primarily use their horses during the fall hunting season need some place to board and keep their horses the rest of the year, so they pay me to keep them during the summer months, he explains. Hawkins uses management-intensive grazing to rotate horses through set pasture areas, sizing them so horses graze each area down to no shorter than 3 inches in about a week. He sets each area up so horses have access back to the corrals. Horses are out grazing for 12 hours at night and are in the corrals for 12 hours during the daythe same way outfitters will be using them during hunting season, he explains. Or, the way any horse owner who wants to ride would use them, as we dont often ride after dark. Because he grazes mules along with horses, Hawkins uses two strands of polybraidone knee-high at 24 inches and the other chest-high at 48 inchesinstead of just one. Explaining why, he says with a laugh, Mules are just a lot smarter than most horses and most people, including me! Hawkins uses a type of temporary fencing and metal T-posts, which he sets up at the beginning of the summer and leaves throughout the grazing season. Alayne Blickle The horse person unfamiliar with rotational grazing and fencing equipment can start out by contacting a business that specializes in electric fence products, says Jim Gerrish. Sales clerks at feed supply stores often do not have specific product knowledge. The buyer needs to understand there are separate fencing products, one set for permanent fence and another for temporary fence, he says. Dont confuse the two. While perimeters and main subdivision fence can be electric fencing, perimeter fencing is usually a physical barrier made of materials such as wooden posts and diamond v-mesh horse fencing. Again, temporary fencing, which provides a portable barrier with electricity, is most often used to divide the interior into smaller segments. There are many types of temporary fencing posts on the market. Choose a brand that is easy to step into the ground and hook the electric tape to. Temporary posts should be made of self-insulating material such as plastic, plastic-wood composites, or fiberglass, he says. String between each post one or more strands of tape or wire. Types of temporary fencing filament include: A geared reel, for winding up and paying out the tape, is the icing on the cake, making temporary fencing easy to use and portable. We prefer a 3:1 geared ratio because it allows tape to be wound up faster with less effort than nongeared reels, she says. We also prefer a reel which will hold 660 feet of half-inch tape. The final piece of equipmentif your fence is electricis the charger, or energizer, for power. The charger needs to be appropriately sized for the job to be done, says Jim Gerrish. Most chargers are rated on a joule basis. Basically you need one joule of output energy per mile of fence on the farm. Battery units can have just as much power as plug-in units, as long as the battery charge is greater than 50%. Always use a low-impedance fence charger for portable fence, adds Dawn Gerrish, because the old-style high-impedance (charger) will heat up and melt the plastic in tape. A low-impedance charger maximizes the amount of current along the length of the fence, so you end up with a significant amount of charge at the end of the fenceline. Solar chargers will work most anywhere as long as the charger is adequately sized to handle the job. And what about solar chargers? These are fence chargers that convert the suns energy into electrical power and store it in a battery. Solar chargers will work most anywhere as long as the charger is adequately sized to handle the job, says Jim Gerrish. Finally, the best temporary electric fencing equipment is useless without proper grounding; poor grounding is the leading cause of temporary fence failurewhen your temporary fence isnt hot enough to keep horses from strolling right through it, looking for greener pastures. The shock in an electric fence needs to be enough to deter your horses from testing the fenceline. In an electric fencing system, electricity needs to complete a circuit to do its job, relying on ground rods as a route for the electricity to return to the energizer. Inadequate grounding limits the amount of electricity that can flow through the system. To ground, drive one 3- to 4-foot metal rod into the ground near the charger. Attach the grounding rod to the charger according to your fence manufacturers specifications. There are seemingly endless uses for temporary fencing. One of the most practical is to confine a horse that is rehabbing from injury. With temporary fencing, give your rehabbing horse a stall-sized, but usable, paddock so he has an opportunity to graze as well as a change of scenery. This will prevent him from racing around a field, further aggravating an injury. With visiting horses, use temporary fencing to divide large paddocks into smaller areas to accommodate your equine guests. Make sure there are no shared fencelines if you dont want them to have contact with each other. Some owners use temporary fencing as the interior fencing for track paddockslong corridors that circle the perimeter of a pasture or other area to encourage horses to move about more freely and interact with each other. A track paddock is generally set up with permanent fencing on the outside and temporary fencing on the insidetemporary fencing allows you to adjust the width and shape of the track. (To view a slideshow of track paddock designs, visit TheHorse.com/36801 .) Temporary fencing is often used as a portable corral when camping along a trail, when overnighting at a campground while traveling, or at a show or event. Other possible uses for temporary fencing include: When setting up temporary paddocks on your farm, its generally easiest to establish only as many as you think youll need firstyou can always hook up more temporary electric tape if you need to subdivide further. If you want to keep fencing and equipment costs down, you can move temporary fencing (and water) with the horses as you switch them from one grazing area to another. Make sure groups of corralled horses get along well or that pasture areas are large enough to suit their personalities so that a dominant horse doesnt pin another in a corner. Place gates so you can lead horses easily from stall to pasture and back. Remember to have a source of water for each pasture; this can be a separate water source for each grazing area or a single water source accessible from more than one area. Also, consider setting up pastures in such a way that horses can have access to shade or shelter, especially if summers in your area are very hot. Your pastures will thank you for using rotational grazing and temporary fencing, as well. Healthier pastures mean more forage production and lower hay billsand, of course, happy horses.\n', 'The type of fence you build for your animals will be most effective if youve first considered the nature of your animals and the size of area to be fenced. The size and location of the enclosure determine the pressure the fence will receive from animals. Consider, too, the labor and skill available for installation. For many applications, electric fencing, in particular, offers flexibility of design and construction. Properly designed electric fencing can effectively restrain many types of animal from bison to geese and rabbits. While not a good choice for deer and elk, electric fencing works well for pigs, cattle, and horses. With effective design and animal training, electric fencing can even work for sheep and goats. After animals are trained, electric fencing presents a psychological barrier rather than a physical one. While deciding whether the area to be fenced requires fixed materials or lends itself to electric construction, determine how the size and use of the enclosure will affect animal behavior. For instance, sheep grazing good pasture in a large acreage may be restrained by electric fencing because they behave differently from sheep confined in a small area where they are fed hay. Sheep, in particular, tend to walk a fence looking for a way out, and if theres a dip in the ground, for instance, creating a 10- to 12-inch gap between the ground and the fence, theyll slip beneath the wire there, says David Lautt of Lautts Feed and Supply, a livestock fencing and supply outlet in Harvey, North Dakota. His retail business formerly offered a contract fencing service for all classes of livestock. Sheep confined to a relatively small area might best be contained by physical-barrier fencing. Sorting alleys or small enclosures, too, are high-pressure areas also best suited to physical-barrier fencing. Fencing that creates a physical barrier is constructed of fixed materials such as wooden planks, metal livestock panels, sucker rod, welded wire, or high-tensile mesh wire well supported with line posts set in the ground. If you choose to install an electric fence, first consider that its effectiveness will be influenced by two aspects of animal behavior. 1. Imprinting. When animals learn respect for a fence at a very young age, they tend to carry this obedience into adulthood. For instance, even a minimal electric fence built from two well-energized polywires can imprint baby goats so effectively that, even as adults, they will respect two-wire electric fencing systems. Effective first lessons are the key and depend on proper wire height relative to the baby goat and a powerful energizer. 2. Escaping. Any weakness in the fence that permits or encourages animals to escape trains an escaping behavior into the animal. Once an animal finds a way out of an enclosure, it tends to repeatedly return to the weak spot, seeking a way out. Some individuals within any group of animals tend to persistently find ways to get outside of the fence, particularly in the case of electric fences. These troublemakers lure other animals outside the fence, and that trains the whole group in the art of escaping. The only way to solve that problem is to get rid of those individuals or to confine them in a fence constructed of materials creating a physical barrier, says Lautt. When designing electric fencing, consider that multiple wires and line posts set at a relatively close spacing strengthen an animals perception that the electric fence, indeed, presents something of a physical barrier. When multiple wires are used, Lautt suggests first setting the bottom wire at a level that discourages an animal from going underneath. Next, set the top wire at the face level of the target species to be contained. Set the middle wires at spacings relative to the size of the animal. On a five-wire sheep fence thats 3 feet high, space the wires 6 inches apart, he says. For rabbits and poultry, you might space the wires 2 to 3 inches apart. Animals well trained to electric fencing may require only one wire. 1. High-tensile wire. This wires relatively thick 12.5-gauge dimension conducts electricity effectively. It also offers strength, making it a good choice for perimeter fencing because it resists breaking. On the downside, the thickness of the wire can make it hard to handle. High-tensile wire requires strong corner and end bracing. The bracing is best built in an H design using 6-inch-diameter wooden 8-foot posts set 3 feet in the ground. Line posts for high-tensile electric fencing should also be of strong construction, such as steel T-posts or wood posts of 3 inches to 5 inches in diameter. Cost: High-tensile wire costs 2 a foot; treated wood line posts, $4 to $10 each; 5-foot steel posts, $5.30 each; treated corner posts, $16.50 each. 2. Galvanized 14-gauge wire. This lighter wire is relatively easy to work with and can be hand-stretched from single corner posts. Wood posts or steel T-posts can serve as corner braces. For relatively short fence spans, 1-inch or larger plastic pound-in posts can also serve as corners or end posts. This wire will break or stretch if larger animals, such as cattle or horses, hit it with speed. Light step-in line posts of diverse designs can work with 14-gauge wire. Plastic posts require no insulators. Metal-rod step-in posts are particularly durable, and the screw-on insulators offer infinite adjustments in wire height. Cost: Wire, 3 a foot; step-in posts, $2 to $2.50 each. 3. Polywire. While conducting electricity is slightly less effective than metal wire, light and flexible single-strand polywire offers ease of installation for temporary fencing for domesticated livestock. Wider and more visible polytape is an alternative choice for horses. Handheld reels permit ease of unrolling and rolling up the wire. Any type of step-in, insulated line posts will support the polywire. Cost: Varies by brand, diameter, and electrical conductivity; 2 to 5 a foot for -inch polywire, up to 14 a foot for -inch polywire. 4. Polywire netting. This portable mesh fencing suits all classes of livestock, particularly sheep and goats. Mesh squares range from 3 to 7 inches. Netting comes in rolls with built-in step-in posts. Height varies from 28 inches to 48 inches. Cost: $1.50 a foot for 48-inch-tall netting with 3-inch spacings; $1.20 a foot for 48-inch-tall netting with 7-inch openings. 5. Energizers. These are available in plug-in, battery-powered, and solar models. A fencing supplier can help you match energizer size to the design of your fencing system. Purchasing an energizer of more-than-sufficient power helps ensure conductivity even under less-than-ideal conditions such as tall grass or weeds, which impede electrical current when touching the wire. Install with one or more ground rods. Cost: Varies by manufacturer and joule output. Plug-in 110-volt energizers providing .30 joules and sized for a 20-acre system may cost $85; a plug-in model providing .50 joules and sized for a 50-acre system may cost $115. Solar energizers sized for smaller systems may cost from $100 to $200. 6. Voltage meters. Handheld digital voltage meters tell you the strength of the electrical current in the wires. Low readings indicate electrical shorts or poorly performing design components in the fence. For cattle, I like to see a reading of 3 kilovolts or higher, says Lautt. A reading of 3.5 to 4 kilovolts is better for sheep, for instance. Cost: $100.\n', 'Youve got a piece of land and a dream to keep some livestock, but your place doesnt have good fences not yet, anyway. Many types of fences are available, and installing a fence is a job you can do yourself. Fencing can range from about $200 to $1,500 per quarter mile (1,320 feet), but your selection criteria will involve more than just the cost. Your choice should be based on the livestock you want, the terrain of your land, the life span of various fencing options and the amount of effort and tools it will take to build and maintain each type. Fencing options include woven, barbed and high-tensile (both electrified and nonelectric) wire. Electrified poly wire/poly tape is another possibility, but for large livestock its only effective for temporary applications within permanently fenced fields. Typical fences are about 5 feet high, though any height is possible I have a 7-foot-tall electric fence to keep out deer. The approximate material costs that follow are based on information taken from a July 2005 Iowa State University Extension report about livestock fencing (go to the Iowa State University Extension website and search for fencing costs). Installation: about $1,500/quarter mile with a single strand of barbed wire on top; alternating between wooden posts and metal T-posts spaced 12 to 16 feet apart. (In most locations, you wont need nearly so many wooden posts maybe two for every quarter mile.) About 40 hours of labor Ongoing maintenance: replacing and resetting staples, retensioning corners Pros: strong, secure and relatively attractive; confines nearly all livestock, including sheep and goats Cons: highest initial cost, most maintenance required Sometimes called page wire fencing, this system uses the same kind of wood and metal posts common to other fencing types. Corner/end posts generally are about 8 feet long, at least 8 inches in diameter and need to be specially braced. Wooden line posts are at least 4 inches in diameter and should be installed along a taut string to ensure accurate alignment. Posts should go about 3 feet into the ground, every 12 to 16 feet. One of the most challenging parts of installing a fence is digging all those postholes. To save time digging them, you can forego most of your wooden posts for metal T-posts lightweight metal beams that can be driven into the ground with a post pounder (which you can make easily, see Fantastic Fencing Tools ). Metal T-posts have either predrilled holes at various places down their length or a series of raised bumps running down their length. The predrilled holes are perfect for attaching woven and barbed wire fences. Thread a 10- to 12-inch piece of 12.5-gauge fence wire through one of the holes and then give it three or four wraps around the woven or barbed wire on each side of the post. The posts with raised bumps are designed to be used with heavy wire clips that hold the wire tight against the flat face of the posts. T-posts dont resist the pull of a tight fence wire, but they can hold it upright and wont significantly compromise the strength of your fence. Handling the heavy rolls of woven wire is a job for two people. To put up woven wire, install all posts and then unroll enough woven wire to span the straight length from one corner to the next. Wrap the woven wire around one wooden end post, cut most of the vertical wires and wrap the horizontal wires back along their own length so that the fence itself is tied around the post. Then secure it with U-shaped fence staples driven in with a hammer. Pull the wire tight with the help of a mechanical fence stretcher and then wrap the woven wire around the second wooden end post, wrapping and fastening as you did on the other end. As you walk back along the fence line, secure the taut woven wire to any intervening wooden fence posts with more staples and to the metal T-posts with wire. A single strand of barbed wire installed above the woven wire will help the fence last longer because it deters animals especially cattle and horses from rubbing on it. If your land is stony or hard, then consider high-tensile electric fencing (see High-Tensile Electric Fence later in this article), which can be installed with fewer posts. Woven wire may be the hardest to install and maintain, but it gives you a great, long-lasting fence for your money. Woven wire is the kind of permanent, reliable fencing that is the industry standard for containing cattle, sheep, goats and horses. Installation: about $1,100/quarter mile for either three strands of wire at 14-inch intervals, or four strands of wire at 10- to 12-inch intervals; alternating between wooden posts and metal T-posts spaced 12 to 16 feet apart. About 40 hours of labor Ongoing maintenance: retensioning barbed wire and mending breaks; retightening corner assemblies Pros: lighter and less expensive to install than woven wire, and a greater physical deterrent to cattle, which generally try to push unbarbed fences down Cons: aggressive appearance; can be dangerous for children, livestock and wildlife; not adequate for containing sheep and goats Barbed wire fencing begins with the same post arrangement as woven wire fencing, but its easier to install because it does not require you to handle large rolls of woven wire. You just pull the strand of barbed wire off the spool, pull it tight across end posts and then staple or wire it to your line posts. That said, barbed wire does bite thats its purpose, and its easy to scratch and cut yourself while working with this stuff, so always wear leather work gloves. Barbed wire is especially appropriate for containing cattle the animals most likely to push hard against a fence that doesnt bite back. Although youll use the same arrangement of corner and line posts as you would with a woven wire fence, the cost of installation and the amount of maintenance for barbed wire fencing are somewhat lower. Barbed wire also is much easier to install over rolling terrain because the wires follow the lands contour. Woven wire, on the other hand, buckles if you try to install it over steep hills and gullies. The life expectancy of a barbed wire fence is the same as a woven wire fence, about 20 years. Installation: about $1,000/quarter mile for eight strands of nonelectric wire (number of wires needed may vary); wooden posts and metal T-posts are spaced 20 to 30 feet apart. About 30 hours of labor Ongoing maintenance: retensioning wires, reinstalling wire anchors and retightening corner braces Pros: easy installation and maintenance; attractive appearance Con: Not appropriate for any livestock except horses and mules. Goats and sheep will crawl through; cattle will push through, unless you use barbed wire. In this approach, smooth 12.5-gauge wire (sometimes barbed wire, too) is loosely fastened to posts that offer vertical support, but still permit the wires to slide back and forth. This allows for easy retensioning of the fence wires and helps to better contain animals when they hit the fence, a whipping action occurs that discourages future encounters. Support posts can be placed farther apart than with woven and barbed wire fences, though only where the land is flat. Youll need more frequent post placement to make the wire conform to the undulations of a rolling landscape. Smooth or barbed wire is anchored at each of the end/corner posts and then tightened with a rotary tensioner that allows you to specify the amount of pull for each wire. Its easy and foolproof, except for one thing: Too much tension places unnecessary strain on end/corner posts. Installation: about $700/quarter mile for four strands of wire at 12- to 16-inch intervals; posts spaced 25- to 60-feet apart. About 20 hours of labor Ongoing maintenance: retensioning wires, replacing insulators, adjusting corners and checking chargers and ground rods Pros: easiest and least expensive to install; lowest annual cost of ownership; good containment performance for almost any livestock Cons: most technically complex fence; requires regular monitoring; if not protected, energizer can be ruined by a lightning strike; will shock people and pets For many homesteaders, high-tensile electric fencing is an ideal choice. Its the least expensive perimeter fencing to install, with the lowest level of ongoing maintenance required over its expected 25-year life span. High-tensile electric fencing also is the easiest to install if you dont have access to specialized fencing tools such as a posthole auger. Thats because post spacing can be farther than that of other fencing types, and you can use metal T-posts in most places. High-tensile electric fence installations are similar to their nonelectric cousins, the only differences are that fewer fence posts and wires are necessary and the electricity takes the place of barbs in discouraging animals from pushing down the fence. The wires are supported differently because the entire system is electrified by line and end insulators that keep the electrified fence wires from short-circuiting. To give the fence its electric shock, youll need an energizer, which costs about $200, and ground rods to complete the circuit. Installation: about $200/quarter mile for a 30-inch-high poly wire mesh. About two hours of labor Ongoing maintenance: retying broken poly wire, straightening metal T-posts, maintaining ground connection Pros: easy and inexpensive to install and move; some versions repel predators Cons: not suitable perimeter fencing for large livestock; will shock people and pets Available in different patterns, strands of wire are interwoven in a polyethylene plastic rope mesh that resembles a woven wire fence. This combination provides a physical barrier as well as delivery of electricity close to the ground. Its the easiest and least expensive fencing option, but theres a catch: Most light-duty poly systems arent considered reliable for perimeter fencing for large livestock. Thats because theyre generally positioned too low to the ground and are too weak to keep large animals off a road or out of a neighbors flower garden. But for internal fencing, theyre nimble enough that you can move them for rotational grazing or other temporary fencing needs. It also provides an effective deterrent against most predators. Woven poly mesh is a useful option for containing poultry and keeping small animals such as rabbits and raccoons out of the vegetable garden. If you combine a poly fencing system with electrified high-tensile perimeter fencing, you dont need to buy a second energizer. Simply hook up the small poly fence to your existing high-tensile electric fence to electrify both using the same charger. The power running through an electric fence is different than the electricity that comes out of a wall socket or a battery, and creating this unique power is accomplished with an energizer. Also called a fencer or charger, this device takes relatively low-voltage electricity and increases it to between 2,000 to 10,000 volts at the fence wire, with a corresponding drop in amperage that makes the system safe. The result is a lively bunch of electrons that are eager to make their way back to the earth via anything that touches the fence wire. When the electricity passes through a cow or a horse (or a homesteader!), theres no question what happens the result is shocking indeed! You need to consider two vital issues when selecting an energizer. First you should choose an appropriately powerful model for the animals you want to contain or exclude. Your energizers power output is rated in joules. The second fundamental issue is grounding. You can have the best energizer in the world, but its useless without a functioning electrical connection to the earth. This is a crucial and often overlooked detail that can impair the performance of any electric fence. You should use a minimum of two metal ground rods driven into the soil for each energizer in your system. For optimal energizer performance in most soil conditions, use three-fourths-inch-diameter, 3-foot-long galvanized steel rods. You may need more rods in dry earth because it is less conductive. To install ground rods, pound them into the ground so only 6 inches of metal remains above the earth. Connect the rods together with 12-gauge high-voltage insulated wire, with another run of wire back to the ground terminal of your energizer. Solar chargers are available if you dont want to trade out batteries. When an animal touches the energized fence, it completes a circuit to the earth that allows electrons to flow through its body, creating the shock sensation. But without an effective low-resistance connection to the ground, the circuit cannot be completed. To find out if an electric fence is working, tear off a wide blade of grass and hold it against the fence wire. If its live, youll feel a pulsating, tingly feeling. Dont worry that tall pasture will cause the fence to short out. The power output and electric circuitry of modern energizers allow them to function properly even when some grass is touching the fence. If your pasture is particularly lush and youre concerned about power loss through wet vegetation, then consider using a detachable bottom wire. Keep it energized when the grass is low in the spring and disconnect it from the system as the grass grows higher. In areas where the ground is dry or where animals will be walking on snow (which is a fair insulator), consider grounded fence wires. These can alternate between the live wires of your fence or simply be used along the bottom. Either way, they allow the fence to deliver a shock even when an animal isnt well grounded. Fences are a key component of success with livestock. Take the time to choose and build the best possible fencing, and youll take a big step to making self-reliance a reality on your land. Wooden fence posts are inexpensive and easy to find in forested regions. Theyre also lightweight and a pleasure to cut, drill, nail and staple. So why use anything else? One reason is durability. Even the legendary longevity of cedar and black locust wont stop rot from attacking wooden fence posts and eventually bringing them down. The problem is especially bad at ground level, where factors that cause rot are most vigorous. This is why various manufacturers offer recycled plastic fence posts, which are impervious to harmful ultraviolet light and moisture. Plastic fence posts can be cut and worked the same way as wood. However, they generally are more expensive than wooden ones, and theyre not as strong or rigid. This means you cant always expect plastic posts to stay straight. Read more: Learn about three different types of sturdy corners for perimeter fencing in Sturdy Corner Posts: Resisting the Pull .\n', 'As a containment system for livestock, a well-made electric fence can be both highly effective and relatively low maintenance. Im not opposed to other methods of fencing, such as barbed wire; Im just opposed to paying for them. If you already have a barbed wire fence, good. If you dont have fence and need to build one, the most economical way by a wide margin is to build an electric fence the right way. Unfortunately, the first permanent electric fence I built was neither effective nor low maintenance, because it wasnt well-built. I struggled with escaped livestock, the constant need for repairs, and ceaseless calls from angry neighbors. (Im lucky to have good neighbors, since cattle walking through their cornfield will test the patience of even the best of friends.) Ive made just about every possible construction mistake when building electric fences. Had I spent a little more time on construction, a little more money on the right materials, and a lot more time listening to advice from people with more experience, I wouldve saved a ton of time, money, and grief. Foremost among those mistakes: I used metal line posts and 14-gauge wire; I attached wires directly to live trees; I alternated hot wires and ground wires; and I alternated barbed wire with smooth. Learn from my mistakes as I explain why all those were poor choices, and then adopt the more effective methods Ive learned along the way. The wire or cable conducts the electricity and is thus called a conductor, which is a good place to start. For my first fence, I used 14-gauge wire and barbed wire. Both are bad choices for an electric fence. That size of wire is simply too weak for permanent use, and it kinks and breaks easily. Once it begins to break, itll break over and over again. I suspect my fence broke every time a deer hit it, a cow brushed against it, or the wind blew. Barbed wire, on the other hand, is quite strong, but the barbs in combination with electricity make it hazardous, since it can trap and kill livestock and pets. Because skin is an effective insulator, a barb can penetrate an animals skin and then send an extremely high voltage, which can be dangerous for the animal. In my fence, the smooth wire was constantly getting wrapped around the barbed wire, and since the smooth wire was hot and the barbed wire was grounded, the fence was constantly shorting out. Instead of this failed setup, here are some conductor materials I recommend: 12.5-gauge high-tensile wire. Far stronger than 14-gauge soft wire, this material isnt prone to kinking. Its stiff and hard to work with and must be rolled out with a device called a spinning jenny. Its hard to take up and reuse. 16-gauge aircraft cable. This material is flexible and easy to work with, though not as strong as 12.5-gauge high-tensile wire. Its not commonly available, but, if you have a source, it makes for a great fencing material. Because its flexible and easy to put up and take down, its a favorite material of mine for temporary fencing and interior subdivisions. Barbless twisted two-strand wire. This is essentially barbed wire without the barbs. Its for situations where something stronger than 12.5-gauge is called for, such as when you know animals will push on the wire. One reason electric fences are cheaper is because they dont require elaborate bracing the way barbed wire fences do. A single well-anchored corner post is all youll need. There are many options for corner posts, but my favorites are natural wood, in particular Osage orange, which is resistant to decay and can last for up to 50 years in the ground. No other post comes close. But Osage orange wood hardens over time and becomes difficult to drive staples into, and its heavy and otherwise hard to work with. In areas where Osage orange doesnt grow, options include catalpa, bald cypress, redwood, red cedar, mulberry, and black locust; these can last 20 years or more. In areas without native decay-resistant trees, creosote-treated pine posts are the\xa0best option. To anchor corner posts, tamp loose gravel (rather than soil) around the base of the post to provide free drainage and greatly reduce the rate of post decay in the ground. Putting concrete around a fence post can strengthen its anchoring ability, but it should only be poured in the bottom of the hole, with gravel around it. If the hole is filled with concrete, water will move around and under the concrete, and, if it freezes, will force the concrete plug out of the ground. Also, over time, as the post dries and shrinks, a gap will form between it and the concrete thats level with the soil surface. This will trap water and cause the post to rot faster. Line posts are used to hold up the conductors and maintain spacing between them. I used steel T-posts in my initial fence. As it turns out, any metal post is a bad choice. The main cause of electric fence problems is grounding out, and the easiest way to cause a fence to ground out is for a piece of metal anchored in the ground to accidentally touch the\xa0wire. Every single metal post is a potential fence fault. Never use metal posts in an electric fence system, as its asking for trouble. Avoid the rebar step-in posts as well, and the plastic claw insulators so commonly used in temporary electric fencing. Once a deer hits the wire and pops the fingers off the insulator, the wire will snap back against the post and ground out. Instead, posts should be self-insulated. Wood-plastic composite posts are probably the best line posts. Not only are they flexible, lightweight, and resistant to rot, but they dont splinter, are easy to drive into the ground, and dont conduct electricity. PVC T-posts are another good choice. Theyre also free of splinters, nonconductive, and easy to drive. Plus, they have the added advantage of being fire-resistant. A tier below both of those options is a fiberglass rod. You can buy used fiberglass sucker rods cheaply as oil field surplus. Fiberglass rods also come in plastic-coated, relatively splinter-free versions, in diameters ranging from 3/8 inch up to 1 inch. These are more user-friendly than the used sucker rod, but theyre also more expensive. Plastic-coated fiberglass rods are quite sturdy in larger diameters, and theyre nonconductive, but theyre heavy, hard to drive into the ground, quick to splinter, and hazardous to handle without gloves. An additional drawback of these rods is that theyre pale green and hard to spot in green grass. I use plastic-coated fiberglass rods because theyre cheap, but as soon as I get them, I spray-paint them blaze orange. This glues any splinters to the rod, making it safer to handle. The orange paint, coupled with a single wrap of aluminum foil tape, vastly improves visibility. Otherwise, my pickup tends to find them before I do. The best way to attach wire to these posts is to wrap a wire loop around the fence wire and run it through the post. Commercial fiberglass fence posts are also available. These are coated with a plastic thats resistant to ultraviolet (UV) light and that reduces splintering. These posts come in diameters ranging from 3/8 inch up to 1 inch. I use the 1/2-inch-diameter fiberglass rods for temporary fencing, such as in cornfields, and for interior subdivision fences. There are three options for holding wire to small-diameter fiberglass posts. My favorite is a wire loop that acts like a spring to hold the wire to the post. A simple twist of the post can be used to attach or detach the wire. The second is a flat metal plate with two rough-edged holes in it , bent in a V-shape, with the post inserted through it. This is the strongest option, but its difficult to remove the wire once attached. Its the best choice for permanent fences. Finally, you could use a claw-type insulator . These are commonly used on rebar posts, but they make a relatively weak attachment and are prone to breakage. Insulators. Though not necessary for line posts, insulators are necessary for attachment at corners and end posts. I like two main types of insulators for ends and corners: the double-U and the bullnose. Black plastic insulators are preferable, since black plastic tends to be more resistant to degradation by UV rays. Porcelain is less desirable, as it tends to develop small cracks over time that can hold water and conduct electricity. Gray porcelain is stronger than white. Gripples. A fantastic little invention, the Gripple is a device with two small holes in it, into which two wires are inserted from opposite directions. The wires can go into the holes, but once theyre in, camlocks prevent them from being pulled out. Gripples can be used as both splicers and tensioners. Gates. Thesecome in all forms. Besides the usual tubular metal swinging gates, there are also electric bungee cords, electrified springs, and all sorts of other devices. For most of my internal gates, I use a stretch of electric rope attached to an Old Ironsides gate handle. Its durable, flexible, and highly visible. Chargers. I can offer one solid piece of advice about chargers: Go big! Size does matter. I want a charger that will make an animal believe Thor smote it with a lightning bolt. This will make it clear to that animal that it should never get close to the fence again. The size of a charger is measured in joules. I use a relatively large (24-joule) charger whenever I can. Fault finders. A must-have piece of equipment for me, a fault finder not only tests voltage but also reveals any faults in the fence. Look for a combination fault finder and fence charger in which the fault finder can remotely turn the fence charger on and off. This means that once a fault is located, you wont have to go back to the fence charger, turn it off, go back to the fault, repair it, and go back to the charger to turn it on. The charger can be turned on and off remotely at the site of the fault, saving a lot of time. Grounding. An electric fence delivers a shock by sending electrons through the animal to the ground. These electrons must be replenished in the charger from the grounding system. The rate of electron replenishment depends on how much surface area is contacted by the ground rod system, as well as the electrical conductivity of the soil. The higher the joule rating of the charger, the better the grounding system must be. At a minimum, use a 6-foot ground rod for every 4 joules of fence charger. More ground rods may be needed if the soil is dry. I prefer to use threaded, galvanized redi-rods for grounding over commercial ground rods. Theyre cheaper, and the threads offer additional surface area. You can attach the ground wires by wrapping them around the rod between two nuts and two flat washers, and then threading the nuts toward each other to ensure excellent contact. Another good grounding option is to use discarded road grader blades, polished with a wire brush and shoved into the soil with a front-end\xa0loader. You should space ground rods 10 feet apart to attain maximum soil volume for extracting electrons around each ground rod. The lead-out wire to the ground rods should be at least the same diameter as the lead-out wire to the fence, or itll restrict electron flow. Use a cable rather than a solid wire as a ground lead-out, since cables are more conductive than solid wire for a given diameter. Dale Strickler finds electric fencing indispensable on his Kansas cattle operation. Hes an agronomist specializing in cover cropping and grazing strategies to build soil health. This is excerpted from his book Managing Pasture (Storey Publishing, 2019).\n', 'Animal type and their safety needs are important factors to consider before putting up a fence, says Steven Sarson, a Bekaert fence pro and technical sales manager. Fencing isnt a one-size-fits-all product. Some animals are easier to fence in than others and depending on the animal, some fence styles pose safety risks, explains Sarson, who has spent nearly 30 years helping customers select the right wire for their projects. Finding the best fence style to meet containment goals and animal safety depends on animal type, fence location and stocking density. With these considerations in mind, Sarson shares his suggestions. I know customers who are able to keep animals in and safe with all kinds of fence styles. However, experience has taught me the best and safest ways to keep animals and their owners who care about them safe, so those are the suggestions I share. Cattle Because cattle are rather easy to fence in, a variety of wire types and styles work well. Stocking density is the largest factor to consider when selecting fence for cattle. Depending on stocking density, a fence is either a physical barrier or a boundary, explains Sarson. High stocking density: Woven wire. Four to six strands of barbed wire. Four to six strands of smooth wire, two to three strands of which are electric. Low stocking density: Same designs as above for barbed and smooth wires. However, fewer wires can safely be used. Horses Sarson recommends using an S-knot 2-inch-by-4-inch non-climb woven wire for horse fence applications. The S-knot does not catch on their hide if they rub up against it and the 2-inch-by-4-inch opening will not allow a foals hoof through, making it safer for the animals. Horses have a tendency to kick or paw at a fence, so openings need to be small. Ive heard if you can put a soda can through a fence opening, a horses hoof can get caught. Sarson recommends horse owners avoid barbed wire because of the risk to horses hides. He also cautions them against types of woven wire with larger openings. Goats and sheep Sarson refers to goats as escape artists. With this in mind, he recommends S-knot 4-inch-by-4-inch or fixed-knot woven wire with 3 or 12-inch-wide openings. Because of a goats tendency to stick their head through a fence, Sarson recommends keeping openings larger than 6 inches or smaller than 4 inches. Similar fencing works well for sheep. In addition, Sarson has several customers who have good luck with five or six strands of smooth wire, if a few are electric. Hogs Two options work well for free-range hogs: 35-inch-tall, fixed-knot woven wire fence or three to four strands of smooth wire that are electric. The key to electric fencing is to train your animals to the fence. You can keep a lot of animals in with an electric fence. But if you just put it up, and dont train them, they will go right through it. They need to learn to respect it. Llamas If raising a herd of llamas, Sarson recommends a 4 to 5-foot high, woven wire, fixed-knot fence. However, Sarson also knows producers who run a few llamas with their sheep and have success using five or six strands of smooth wire with a few electric. I dont recommend barbed wire because you run into hide damage issues. Diversified livestock I am frequently asked, what fence is best for my daughters two 4-H steers, the club lamb, three goats and an old horse that my wife rides once a month? Believe it or not, there is a fence that will work to keep in a menagerie, Sarson says. He explains the best option for a wide mix of animals is a fixed-knot woven wire fence, 13 horizontal line wires, 48-inches tall and a 3 or 12-inch vertical (stay) wire. Woven wire designs, with similar openings will also work. Keep in mind, it is very important to use the fence that will keep in the animal that is the greatest flight or safety risk. Cost-per-foot or mile Regardless of what is being fenced in, Sarson says that if the right materials and coatings are used, the fence will last a long time and end up costing less-per-foot to purchase and install. Unless you like building and fixing fence, buy products that will last. They will save you time and will cost less-per-foot. He also recommends buying fencing wire that is high-tensile. Tensile strength is the resistance of steel or another material to break under pressure, Sarson explains. The higher tensile strength and smaller gauge results in a lighter yet stronger wire, which reduces cost-per-roll, risk of sag and the number of fence posts needed to complete the project. Protective wire coatings affect a fences longevity. Coating durability depends heavily upon climate. In the Northeastern U.S. where I live, or in the Southeast, there is a lot of moisture and humidity in the air, as well as corrosive acid rain, so I suggest using the best coatings available, Sarson says. In the Midwest or West, where the climate is drier, a fence with a lighter coat weight may work as well as a heavier coating does in the Northeast. Remember, a Class 3 coating is three times heavier than a Class 1 coating. Protective coatings, which are zinc or a zinc/aluminum mix, act to prevent rust and corrosion because they give themselves up to protect the iron and steel base used for the wire and many of the accessories used during installation. This protection of the base wire and installation accessories add tremendously to the longevity of the fence. Still have questions? Finding answers is simple. Reach out to Sarson and the Bekaert team of fence pros by visiting https://fencing.bekaert.com. The site also features installation tips and a fencing calculator that makes it easy to determine the amount of fencing needed for a project. Find the calculator here: https://fencing.bekaert.com/en/fencing-calculator.\n', 'There are a lot of things that look complicated but one does not dare to ask others about, since one is supposed to know. Electric fencing is one of those things. Why would you use electric fencing? Traditionally, animals that you have in the paddock like to rub on fences which can do an awful lot of damage to the fences as well as to animals, especially if the present fence has barbed wire on top. If you electrify your fences you keep your animals away from posts and wires and prolong the lifetime of them. At the same time, you put up a barrier which animals soon learn to respect. In other words, electric fencing not only keeps your animals within the boundaries they are supposed to be, but it also protects your fences from damage. Electric fencing is also the answer for areas where temporary fences are required, i.e. shelterbelts, strip grazing, dam protection etc. How does it work? The principle is quite simple. Just imagine a broken circle. When you close it, you get snapped. In effect, you attach the positive terminal of your energizer (+) with an insulated lead to the fence you want hot. Then attach the negative terminal (-) which is on the other side of the broken circle to the earth. The earth may consist of one, two, three or more galvanised pipes or rods that are about 6 ft long, at least 3 metres apart and have been hammered into the ground in a straight line in a permanently damp area, the wetter the better. Caution: If youre not familiar working with electric fences, consult your electrician. This information is intended to provide general tips please contact your electrician if the problem persists or you need further advice. Over 90% of all failures can be traced back to poor grounding. If an animal stands on the ground and touches the hot wire it closes the circuit and gets snapped. However, a bird that is sitting on the hot wire does not feel anything because it does not close the circle. All wires you want hot must be properly insulated. That means the hot wire must not be in contact with the ground through battens, posts, waratahs or for that matter any uprights. This would close the circle and short the fence out. When it rains wood posts or battens get soggy and become conductive. Waratahs are conductive all the time. Therefore, plastic insulators are used to keep the hot wire away from any possible contact with the ground. There are two possibilities: In both cases, you save a considerable amount of money. A permanent fence may no longer be strong enough to keep the animals within the boundaries. However, an electric wire or two will keep them away especially if you use outrigger insulators and take off the pressure on the old fence. It will last for another few years or even longer. If you put up a new fence you can use posts every 6 to 8 meters; no battens are required. Strain the wires about half as tight as you would normally. Three to four hot wires are recommended for cattle, five to six for sheep. In case they get cunning and jump through the fence which would not close the circle and, therefore, would not snap them you have to resort to a system that has alternate live and earth wires. In other words the top, middle and bottom wires are hot, the second and fourth are neutral. If an animal touches both wires it closes the circle as well. This system is a bit hard on dogs because they have to jump over the fence and can no longer go through them. It is also an excellent system in case earthing your unit is difficult because the soil is too dry. Remember: If you are buying a new computer or modem, talk to your retailer about a model that will work satisfactorily from your premises. There are basically two types of energizers: 1. Find out where there are telecommunication cables or phone lines on or near your electric fence. This includes both buried and overhead wires and cables. They almost always run along or near the roadside reserve or along driveways. A marker post or grey connection pillar should be nearby. If you cant work out where they are, call Telecom on 124 for help. 2. Identify the electric fence wires and connecting leads within 100 meters of the phone lines and running either parallel or nearly parallel to them. Long sections running parallel to the phone lines feeding other sections are more likely to be a problem than short sections that go nowhere else. 3. Check the current in these wires. You can use a Red Snapr Fence Doctor, Pakton Power Probe or any other fault finder to do this. The current in a well-maintained fence should be less than two amps per kilometre of energised fence line. If its higher, there could be a short on the fence, too much overgrowth, live wires contacting the ground or old deteriorating insulators. Work along the section with high current, and the downstream parts fed via this section, to locate and fix shorts by removing overgrowth, fixing live wires touching the ground and replacing old insulators. 4. If, after fixing faults, the current is still too high, find a way to feed the main supply through sections of the fence that are further away from the phone line. For example feed the power out through fences in the middle of the farm, away from the phone line, rather than through the roadside boundary fence next to the phone lines. 5. Check that the earthing system meets the manufacturers instructions. Make sure that it is at least ten metres from any buildings and ten metres from another earthing system. Also check that the energizer, earth electrode connecting lead and output leads to the fence are well clear of phone lines. 2004 Hans Dresel, of Artex International ; the home of Red Snapr electric fence systems. Artex achieved the accreditation of ISO 9002 in 1995 and in 2001 qualified for ISO 9001. artexnz@xtra.co.nz .\n', 'UNE PhD student Tellisa Kearton, left, and post-doctoral researcher Danila Marini with sheep collars used as part of the virtual fencing research. Image Supplied. VIRTUAL fencing of sheep using audio signals and electric pulses to train the animals to respect a boundary is far less stressful than other standard farming practices, University of New England researchers have found. Post-doctoral researcher Danila Marini and PhD candidate Tellisa Kearton are completing a series of complex experiments that measured sheep stress responses to virtual fencing, as well as its effectiveness for managing intensive, rotational grazing. A virtual fence is an invisible line in the landscape that can be created on a map on a tablet, and moved or erased at the farmers touch. Animals wearing a GPS-enabled neckband or collar are warned of the presence of the invisible fence through an audio cue and then, if the beep is ignored, the collar delivers a short, mild electric pulse. Danila has discovered that sheep eat the same amount of food behind a virtual fence, in much the same way as if contained by electric fencing. They behave normally, graze normally, without any stress, and learn very quickly how to interact with the fence, she said. This is exciting new technology that appears to be welfare-friendly, Danila said. Cost-benefit analysis by the University of Melbourne is also showing that virtual fencing cuts the costs of permanent infrastructure while retaining the benefits of time-limited grazing systems often with improved productivity and reduced labour. A commercial version of the neckband is currently being tested in the beef industry in New South Wales and Queensland, but the sheep industry is lagging a little behind. Danila and Tellisa hope their findings may expedite the development of an automated neckband for sheep. UNE said Tellisas comparative experiments explored how sheep respond physiologically and behaviourally to the audio and electrical stimuli. Combining video analysis and measurements of cortisol levels and body temperature, she found that sheep were more stressed by a barking dog than the fences beep. Similarly, the restraint associated with crutching or shearing was more stressful than the electrical pulse they received if they tried to breach a virtual fence. Once the sheep recognise that the beep indicates the boundary, its no more problematic than any other fence, and thats been an important finding, Tellisa said. Its very similar to the principles of a normal electric fence, except that it is an audio barrier rather than a visual, physical one. Tellisa also discovered that sheep learn to interact with a virtual fence very quickly, after about three interactions over a day or two, and that social learning is possible. We think individual ewes may be able to teach their lambs how to interact safely with the virtual fence, and while this maternal learning warrants more investigation, it has applications for when and how a farmer implements fencing within a mob, she said. It may, for example, be better to introduce the virtual fences immediately after lambing, to educate the lambs all together. The UNE research has been supported by the Rural R&D for Profit program run by the Federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, with investments by livestock industry research agencies, several universities (including UNE), CSIRO, and Agersens, the company commercialising the technology. Now, the Grains Research and Development Corporation and Australian Wool Innovation are also interested in seeing the research continue. Tellisa received a three-month extension to her scholarship from UNE, in order to complete her thesis during trying COVID conditions. To read the complete research paper, The Influence of Predictability and Controllability on Stress Responses to the Aversive Component of a Virtual Fence, click here .\n', 'Durable for generations, living fences protect soil, contain livestock, provide wildlife habitat, and sometimes even provide wood. Learn techniques and which shrubs or tree species are best for living fences to get them off to a good start. Fences on your farm or homestead define property boundaries and separate production zones (garden, pasture, orchard). They provide privacy and security from animal (and perhaps human) intruders. They confine livestock and protect them from predators. They guard crop areas from wild raiders (such as deer) as well as animal allies (such as sheep and goats). Your first choice for such a multifunctional homestead necessity may be manufactured fencing: woven or electric wire, welded livestock panels, boards on pressure-treated posts, or even virgin or recycled plastic. As the energy and environmental crises deepen, however, such options are becoming less appealing and more expensive. The chemical preservatives, paints, and galvanizing agents used in fence manufacturing and maintenance may have toxic spillover effects in the environment. Furthermore, most manufactured fencing is a one for one solution. A woven wire fence meant to contain livestock, for example, provides that service and nothing more. The key to a more self-sufficient homestead that imitates natural systems is finding solutions that simultaneously solve more than one problem, provide more than one service and support more than one project. Enter living fences. A living fence is a permanent hedge tight enough and tough enough to serve almost any of the functions of a manufactured fence, but it offers agricultural and biological services a manufactured fence cannot. For instance, it provides edge habitat that supports ecological diversity. As more species (insects, spiders, toads, snakes, birds and mammals) find food and refuge in this habitat, natural balances emerge, yielding, for example, a reduction of rodents and crop-damaging insect populations. Depending on the plant or tree species you choose, living fences can provide food and medicine or fodder for your livestock. Your animals will also enjoy the shade of a dense hedge. The foliage of some hedge plants, such as elder and Chinese chestnut, contains more protein than the quintessential protein forage crop, alfalfa. Willow and honey locust also make good fodder. Ive been experimenting with Siberian pea shrub recently, as the peas can be harvested to feed poultry. Leguminous species included in the fence, such as black locust and pea shrub, fix nitrogen in the soil throughout the root zone, and you can harvest some of that nitrogen for garden mulches and compost in the form of leafy prunings. A living fence increases soil humus as its leaf litter and root hairs (which the plants shed to balance loss of top growth to pruning or browsing) break down. Living fences are windbreaks, which reduce soil drying, wind erosion, and stress on livestock or crop plants, thus increasing yields. Hedges sited along contours can reduce rainfall erosion on slopes. Living fences can last far longer than manufactured ones for as long as the natural life span of the species used, which may be hundreds of years. Many species can be coppiced, meaning they will send up abundant new shoots after the main trunk has been cut. A living fence of a coppiced species readily renews itself following selective cutting for wood fuel and other uses. Finally, a living fence, unlike a static manufactured fence, brings an ever-changing beauty to your landscape: flowers in spring, colorful fruit in summer, brilliant colors in fall and a complex, geometric structure in winter. Though common in ornamental landscaping, living agricultural fences havent been used much in the United States, despite extensive use in countries that supplied Colonial America with most of its new settlers. George Washington tried to carry on the tradition at Mount Vernon because, like modern gardeners and orchardists, he was plagued by deer and other marauders. Washington, concerned by both the labor and the loss of forest involved in producing split-rail fencing, concluded that growing living fences was not only a good idea, but was a necessity. According to Washingtons diary, the species he settled on as most suitable was Honey locust; the seed of which not to be put more than Six Inches a part; that when they get to any size they may be so close, stubborn, and formidable, as to prevent an escalade incursion by predators indeed I know of nothing that will so effectually, and at so small an expence, preserve what is within the Inclosure, as this plant. Major living fence applications in the United States have utilized Osage orange trees ( Maclura pomifera ), also called hedge apple or horse apple. For an incredibly tough, enduring windbreak thats a major player in a local ecology, probably nothing surpasses Osage orange. It was planted extensively in the central and eastern areas of the country in the 1800s (before the invention of barbed wire), especially to fence the rapidly colonized prairies. After the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, thousands of miles of Osage orange were grown as shelterbelts to prevent wind erosion. Easily propagated from seeds, cuttings, or sprouts from the roots, Osage orange is tolerant of a wide range of soils, resistant to drought, long-lived, and affected little by insects or disease. Planted at a spacing of 1 foot, in four years it makes a fence that is horse-high, bull-strong, and hog-tight. The sharp, stout thorns on Osage orange growth deter deer and livestock. A couple of heavy prunings a year can keep an Osage hedge 4 feet high by 2 feet wide. Without hard pruning, however, it will rapidly grow much taller. Because Osage orange coppices vigorously, farmers can clear-cut sections of fence on a 10- to 16- year cycle for fence posts (about 4,000 per mile) that are immune to termites and are the most resistant to decay of any North American tree species. Osage fence posts have been known to stand in the soil for more than 50 years without rotting. The hard, strong wood was previously used to make hubs and rims of wagon wheels. Homesteaders typically create living fences by planting appropriate shrub or tree species started nursery plants, stem, or root cuttings or seeds at close spacing. As they mature, the saplings are pruned tightly to force thick, bushy growth and form an impenetrable hedge. Another fascinating option is to join the individual plants by inosculation. Inosculated trees or shrubs are planted 4 to 8 inches apart. As they grow, crossing branches are tied, and they then grow together into natural grafts. The result is a closely meshed barrier that becomes stronger and more resistant each year. A living fence that will be exposed to deer or goats needs to offer deterrence to keep the animals in or out, whichever the case may be. Hawthorns are small trees with stout thorns that make a good defense system. They produce berries that are edible (by wild birds and people) and that can be used medicinally. The wood makes good fuel and tool handles. Other thorny species that could be used to make living fences are pyracanthas, jujube, hollies, black locust (also fixes nitrogen), honey locust (which has high-protein seeds and pods for livestock and people), prickly ash, and rugosa rose (which has vitamin C-rich fruits, or hips). Of course, your choice of species depends on your climate and the purposes for which you want to use the fence. A couple of widely adaptable species illustrate the multifunctional possibilities. Jujube ( Ziziphus jujuba ), hardy in Zones 6 to 9, fruits precociously, and grows quickly even in poor soil and drought. A young tree I planted two years ago (northern Virginia, Zone 6b) is now covered with sweet, pleasant-tasting fruit. The fruits, leaves, seeds, and roots have been used in various Asian medical traditions, and the leaves make excellent livestock fodder. The dense wood makes fairly good fuel, charcoal, and agricultural implements. Hedges of tagasaste ( Chamaecytisus palmensis ), which remains in leaf year-round, have been used extensively as windbreaks and shelterbelts in drier regions, and in Australia, theyve been used as green firebreaks (used to stop the spread of fire). A deep-rooted nitrogen-fixer, tagasaste grows rapidly even in poor soil and dry conditions. It makes a hedge that recovers quickly from frequent cutting and browsing. Many livestock species, including ruminants, pigs, and poultry, relish tagasastes foliage, which is 20 to 27 percent protein. An early bloomer, its excellent forage for honeybees. It coppices readily, and its wood makes good fuel. If you want to try an inosculated fence, a wide range of tree, shrub, and vine species are good candidates: elm, a number of the oaks, olive, dogwood, beech, hornbeam, peach, almond, hazel (filbert ), a number of the willows, sycamore, grape and wisteria. Trees with pliable branches are especially suitable, with apple, hawthorn, linden, and pear among the best. You may certainly mix different species in your living fences. You could set larger trees fruit or nut trees, for example at greater spacing than a tightly planted hedge, and then fill the gaps with lower growing species such as rugosa rose or berry brambles, which would produce harvestable food and thorns for deterrence. Establishing living fences can be labor-intensive think of planting 450 seeds or cuttings per 100-yard stretch of fence. Before the fence becomes well-established, youll need to take care to protect it from weeds, deer and domesticated browsers. Regular pruning of the mature fence may be necessary. Of course, if you use the prunings for mulches or livestock fodder, the chore is hardly lost effort, and in some cases, the pruning can be left to grazing livestock. Since the death of George Washingtons dream of farm-grown fences, Americans exploiting an incredibly rich continent and rapid technological innovation have usually preferred manufactured fences to living ones. As we enter a new age of ecological limitations and awareness, however, we will hopefully rediscover the benefits of growing our fences. We may even discover a new land ethic through utilizing a farm resource that serves as a major part of the landscape and spans generations. Harvey Ussery s newest book, The Modern Homestead Poultry Flock (Chelsea Green), will be released in 2011.\n', 'G razing livestock can be a key part of healthy, wildlife-rich farmland, but the number of sheep across the globe has soared, and the UK is now home to 32.7 million of them. The Peak District saw a fivefold rise in the density of sheep during the 20th century. This has led to widespread loss of biodiversity in vast areas of the countrys uplands because sheep graze the land closely (they can nibble it down to a height of 3cm ), leaving less space for plants, scrub and trees to flourish. Loss of habitats caused by the intensification of agriculture is one of the main drivers of wildlife decline globally. But what if you put up fences to keep sheep and other grazing animals out? Ben Lawers , on the northern shore of Loch Tay, is the highest mountain in the southern Highlands. In 1990, a fence was built around nine hectares (23 acres) of land so native habitats that pre-dated the grasslands could recover. Farmers have rights to graze sheep on this hillside, so fencing off an area was the only way for this natural transformation to occur. Deer also graze outside the enclosure. For the past 30 years, it has been allowed to regenerate more or less unaided except for a small amount of planting in the early years and this is what it looks like now. There is a huge difference between the native trees, scrub and flowering plants within the enclosure and uninterrupted grassland visible across the rest of the hill at Ben Lawers. Trees and scrub provide shelter for an abundance of butterflies and bees, which would have struggled to survive in the harsh conditions outside this area. It is also home to many birds, including declining species such as whinchat, as well as willow warbler and cuckoo, which come in to feed on these insects. Other birds such as redpoll and twite have also been drawn to this new habitat. Flowers such as ladys smock, heath bedstraw, wild angelica and devils-bit scabious are visible in spring and summer in the Ben Lawers reserve. These plants would have previously been restricted to hard-to-reach places protected from grazing. There is still some heather outside the fenced-off area but generally the vegetation is much more varied within the enclosure. Outside it, grass is ankle height, and skylarks and meadow pipits make up most of the birdlife. Put up around two decades ago, this fence at Tal-y-llyn in Snowdonia national park divides a steep slope above the A487. The section on the right has been fenced off from sheep, allowing natural regeneration of rowan, hawthorn and willow trees, while grazing by sheep on the left means the grass has remained short. More vegetation stabilises the slope, meaning stones and scree are less likely to fall on to the road beneath. Trees also slow the speed at which water moves through a landscape, which reduces the flooding risk downstream after heavy rain. This shows part of Venford reservoir on Dartmoor, Devon, in May. The fence cuts off about 5 hectares to the south-west of the reservoir, keeping out the cattle, ponies and sheep that graze the surrounding moor. Behind the fence, woodland has been able to regenerate and is much bushier than outside, and bluebells have been able to flower. They are likely to be a relic from when the moor was more wooded. The reservoir was opened in 1970, and the fence looks to be at least 50 years old. This fenced-off area of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall encloses the shaft of an old tin mine, protecting animals and people from falling down it. The enclosure is probably 100 square metres, and this photo was taken in September, when the heather and gorse are are at their best. This fence in Waberthwaite, west Cumbria, has been up for about six years and sits on a common grazed by sheep. On the left side vegetation is starting to get thicker and scrubbier thanks to reduced pressure from grazing. There are few trees up in this harsh, denuded landscape, so natural succession takes longer. More lush, heath-like plants such as heathers, bilberry, crowberry and cranberry are starting to take hold. This will draw in more birds, such as redwing and fieldfare, on the hunt for autumn berries. Black grouse and short-eared owls will also make use of this habitat. In Mollen Woods, a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) in north Cumbria, sheep and cattle graze to the left of the fence, which has been there for more than 10 years. On the right, bracken and bluebells are doing well, and there is a mature woodland of sycamore, beech, hawthorn and crab apple trees. Not all grazing is bad. Less intensive grazing is an important way of maintaining habitats, and can be crucial for many wildflowers . The timing of grazing, density of animals and type of animal used all affect the amount of wildlife on the land. Many regenerative farmers manage their stocking densities and use rotational grazing, or mob grazing , to enhance farmland ecosystems. This photo was taken in August at Loweswater , Cumbria, and shows an area left for woodland regeneration that is only grazed by cattle or fell ponies for a few days a year. The other side is grazed by sheep all year round. The fence was put up three years ago. The left side is dominated by tall, tussock-forming grasses, including cocks-foot and tufted hair-grass , Yorkshire fog and sweet vernal-grass . It is home to grasshoppers, froghoppers , spiders and beetles. The right-hand side is made up of much shorter, mat-forming grasses, including rye grass and crested dogs-tail . It appears to be relatively devoid of insect life. Grass is seen on both sides in Brough, Cumbria, pictured in July. But on the left where sheep are excluded there are also orchids, ladys mantel , wood avens and young trees sprouting up. Sheep nibble close to the ground, and can bite off single leaves or shoots. If the land is given a break from grazing, sheep can create conditions for delicate wildflowers to come through, because they create space for them. Traditional livestock breeds are often hardier and better at eating in rough grassland than commercial breeds. However, if they are still on the land when these shoots come up, they eat them too. Creating fences to keep sheep and other grazing animals out shows what happens when heavily grazed grass is given space to breathe. It is an indication of the sort of wildlife-rich mosaic habitats that could be recreated if there were fewer sheep in the landscape. Find more Age of extinction coverage here , and follow our biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features\n', 'Goats with horns and wire hog panels dont mix. Inevitably, the goat sticks its head through the panel to reach a tasty morsel on the other side, and when it pulls back, its horns prevent it from pulling its head out. During a presentation on Keeping goats in and predators out, Reid Redden, Texas A&M extension sheep and goats specialist, offers some fencing tips for producers with goats. When considering woven wire or net fencing for goats, Redden said producers need to pick something with width spacing of less than 4 inches so the goat cant stick its head through the fence and become stuck. When picking out a type of fence for goats, remember they arent all the same. Net wire fencing can be cost prohibitive if you are planning to fence a lot of acres. It is a little more pricy than standard fence, he said. Some producers have successfully kept goats in with electric fencing. Redden said its a lot less expensive for the materials and cheaper to put up. The key is purchasing the right electric fence charger with the right voltage. The trick is to get the correct fencing. You will need no less than five wires, and keep it extremely hot. Once the goat gets a sharp bite from the fence, it will learn to respect it. It is the same for predators. Once they get bit, they will stay out, he said. In many areas, ranchers opt for traditional barbwire fencing. Many of the fences are four or five wires, but Redden recommends at least five wires for goats, and notes that seven wires would be even better. You could even add some electrified wires, he said. If the fence is getting older, Redden said smooth wire or poly wire can be added to the fence. A more temporary option is electrified netting. It is not necessarily a long term solution because it degrades, Redden said. It might only last 10 years, but it is easy to put up. You can just step it in. HIRE A HERDER Keeping goats in and predators out can be a challenge, but producers have other options besides fencing. If you are growing into a larger entity where you dont own all the land or dont want to build fence, you could hire a herder to stay with the sheep and goats all the time, Redden said. Redden shares his experience with sheep and goat herders after taking a trip to Kenya a few years ago. He noticed they have virtually no fencing, and herders stayed with the goats and sheep 24 hours a day, training the animals to herd where they wanted them to go, without the assistance of dogs. The problem here is being able to afford to hire a person to do that, Redden said. Even with the government operated H-2A program that allows sheep and goat producers to hire contract herders from other countries, Redden estimates producers will pay $1,500 to $1,600 a month, or $12,000 to $15,000 a year. He figures producers will need to have at least 500 goats, and realistically 600-800 goats to afford a herder. PREDATION KILLS PROFIT Predation can cost producers more than 10 percent of the kid crop each year. Coyotes are the biggest culprits, followed by domestic dogs, bobcats, eagles, vultures and mountain lions. Coyotes are very good at killing sheep and goats. They will eat anything from newborns to adult animals. They are a threat year-around, Redden said. Finding a control method that works can be a challenge. Calling in coyotes isnt real effective in Texas because the varmints have become accustomed to it, and wont come for the call, Redden said. Snares are effective for catching coyotes, but he points out good fencing is needed for success. Producers can also use lethal control methods, leg hold traps, aerial gunning, live trapping, M44 cyanide guns and 1080 collars. Each method has benefits, but also drawbacks, Redden pointed out, recommending producers enlist the help of a good trapper or someone specializing in predator control. GUARD ANIMALS One of the most effective methods of controlling predators may be preventing predation in the first place. Redden said guard animals like donkeys, llamas and guard dogs can be very effective. Donkeys and llamas have been successful guard animals because of their aversion to canines, Redden said. They are low maintenance and will eat what the sheep and goats eat. They need limited training, but if one animal cant prevent predators, adding a second animal isnt recommended. If you add a second donkey or llama, they will wander off and form their own herd, leaving the sheep and goats unprotected he said. Donkeys or llamas may not be effective against a pack of coyotes, because one coyote can lure the guard animal away, while the others attack the goats or sheep. If a producer is planning to use a donkey or llama as a guard animal, Redden said to make sure they pick one that will tolerate kid goats or lambs. Redden finds livestock guard dogs to be more effective in protecting sheep and goats, and more than one livestock guard dog can be added to protect the animals. The dogs are effective because they mark their territory by barking, urinating and defecating in the area where the sheep and goats are. They are constantly letting predators know they are there, Redden said. A good guard dog will also keep the animals together. Guard dogs can be high maintenance. Redden said they need feed daily, although feeding stations can be set up. They arent respectful of fences, and some dogs may venture over to the neighbors and kill their chickens and eat their cat food, he said. Redden told producers to do their research before getting a guard dog. The best way to get started is with a puppy. By raising a dog from a puppy, it will become accustomed to you, your environment and your animals. If you buy an adult dog from someone else, it has less than a 50 percent chance of working out, he said. Clark is a freelance livestock journalist from western Nebraska. She can be reached by email at tclarklivenews@gmail.com Llamas can be effective guard animals for sheep and goats because of their nosy presence. However, only a single llama can be used to guard sheep and goats. If another llama is added, the animals will wander away to form their own herd, leaving the sheep and goats unprotected. Photo by Teresa Clark Show Captions Hide Captions\n', 'Bighorn sheep shouldnt be on Vails frontage roads, and they really shouldnt venture onto Interstate 70. Keeping the animals off the road could be tricky, though. The sheep spend the winter on the hillside north of I-70 in East Vail. The herd isnt big somewhere between 40 and 55 animals and that population has declined by roughly two-thirds since the 1990s, according to Colorado Parks & Wildlife. The fate of the sheep has gained public notice since a parcel just north of the East Vail I-70 interchange has been proposed for workforce housing, and a number of animals have been spotted this winter. The animals often lick the salty magnesium chloride residue off the roadways. Vail code enforcement officers often are stationed along that part of the frontage road to slow down traffic through the area. The job gets harder when the sheep venture onto the interstate sometimes with deadly consequences. The Vail Town Council on Tuesday heard an update on ways to keep the sheep on the hillside. Vail environmental sustainability director Kristen Bertuglia told council members that the town is working with both Colorado Parks & Wildlife and the Colorado Department of Transportation on ways to keep the animals off the roads. The problem is the salt in road de-icers. Bertuglia said the sheep respond like Pavlovs dogs to de-icer trucks. Vail Public Works director Greg Hall told the council that the state wildlife agency has asked the town to use de-icer on the frontage roads to keep bighorns off the interstate. The problem, Hall said, is that dry conditions meant town crews werent spraying de-icer, and the sheep went back to the interstate. Councilmember Kim Langmaid asked if crews could just spray de-icer on the roads shoulders. That seems like the lesser of evils, she said. Hall said crews could do that. Another option to keep the animals off the roads is putting salt licks on the hillside. That runs counter to conventional wildlife wisdom. Putting out salt licks or food can sometimes prompt animals to stay in an area past seasonal norms. In addition, Bertuglia said that wildlife officials worry that salt licks could lead to concentrated use by animals, making the spread of disease more likely. Vail Town Manager Scott Robson told council members that another method could be putting shiny mylar material on bamboo poles. That could create a sparkly visual that would deter bighorns from venturing on the highway. The complication with that is the need for a permit from the transportation department since the poles would be put into state right-of-way along the highway. Robson added he believes that permit could be issued fairly quickly. Robson added that the town has also asked for a variable message board on I-70 to inform motorists that sheep may be present. The town has also put out information asking residents and visitors to stay away from the sheep. People are asked to not stop alongside the road and urged to not approach the sheep. Even standing still at a (quarter-mile) distance will raise the sheeps heart rate and burn excessive calories needed for their survival, the material states. People cycling or hiking are asked to keep their distance and try to find alternate routes to avoid them. The flier also notes that theres an approved bighorn viewing area on the south side of I-70 at the East Vail interchange parking lot. Langmaid urged residents to call the towns code enforcement officers if they see something that could present a danger to either the animals or humans. Vail Daily Business Editor Scott Miller can be reached at smiller@vaildaily.com or 970-748-2930.\n', 'The type of fence you build for your animals will be most effective if youve first considered the nature of your animals and the size of area to be fenced. The size and location of the enclosure determine the pressure the fence will receive from animals. Consider, too, the labor and skill available for installation. For many applications, electric fencing, in particular, offers flexibility of design and construction. Properly designed electric fencing can effectively restrain many types of animal from bison to geese and rabbits. While not a good choice for deer and elk, electric fencing works well for pigs, cattle, and horses. With effective design and animal training, electric fencing can even work for sheep and goats. After animals are trained, electric fencing presents a psychological barrier rather than a physical one. While deciding whether the area to be fenced requires fixed materials or lends itself to electric construction, determine how the size and use of the enclosure will affect animal behavior. For instance, sheep grazing good pasture in a large acreage may be restrained by electric fencing because they behave differently from sheep confined in a small area where they are fed hay. Sheep, in particular, tend to walk a fence looking for a way out, and if theres a dip in the ground, for instance, creating a 10- to 12-inch gap between the ground and the fence, theyll slip beneath the wire there, says David Lautt of Lautts Feed and Supply, a livestock fencing and supply outlet in Harvey, North Dakota. His retail business formerly offered a contract fencing service for all classes of livestock. Sheep confined to a relatively small area might best be contained by physical-barrier fencing. Sorting alleys or small enclosures, too, are high-pressure areas also best suited to physical-barrier fencing. Fencing that creates a physical barrier is constructed of fixed materials such as wooden planks, metal livestock panels, sucker rod, welded wire, or high-tensile mesh wire well supported with line posts set in the ground. If you choose to install an electric fence, first consider that its effectiveness will be influenced by two aspects of animal behavior. 1. Imprinting. When animals learn respect for a fence at a very young age, they tend to carry this obedience into adulthood. For instance, even a minimal electric fence built from two well-energized polywires can imprint baby goats so effectively that, even as adults, they will respect two-wire electric fencing systems. Effective first lessons are the key and depend on proper wire height relative to the baby goat and a powerful energizer. 2. Escaping. Any weakness in the fence that permits or encourages animals to escape trains an escaping behavior into the animal. Once an animal finds a way out of an enclosure, it tends to repeatedly return to the weak spot, seeking a way out. Some individuals within any group of animals tend to persistently find ways to get outside of the fence, particularly in the case of electric fences. These troublemakers lure other animals outside the fence, and that trains the whole group in the art of escaping. The only way to solve that problem is to get rid of those individuals or to confine them in a fence constructed of materials creating a physical barrier, says Lautt. When designing electric fencing, consider that multiple wires and line posts set at a relatively close spacing strengthen an animals perception that the electric fence, indeed, presents something of a physical barrier. When multiple wires are used, Lautt suggests first setting the bottom wire at a level that discourages an animal from going underneath. Next, set the top wire at the face level of the target species to be contained. Set the middle wires at spacings relative to the size of the animal. On a five-wire sheep fence thats 3 feet high, space the wires 6 inches apart, he says. For rabbits and poultry, you might space the wires 2 to 3 inches apart. Animals well trained to electric fencing may require only one wire. 1. High-tensile wire. This wires relatively thick 12.5-gauge dimension conducts electricity effectively. It also offers strength, making it a good choice for perimeter fencing because it resists breaking. On the downside, the thickness of the wire can make it hard to handle. High-tensile wire requires strong corner and end bracing. The bracing is best built in an H design using 6-inch-diameter wooden 8-foot posts set 3 feet in the ground. Line posts for high-tensile electric fencing should also be of strong construction, such as steel T-posts or wood posts of 3 inches to 5 inches in diameter. Cost: High-tensile wire costs 2 a foot; treated wood line posts, $4 to $10 each; 5-foot steel posts, $5.30 each; treated corner posts, $16.50 each. 2. Galvanized 14-gauge wire. This lighter wire is relatively easy to work with and can be hand-stretched from single corner posts. Wood posts or steel T-posts can serve as corner braces. For relatively short fence spans, 1-inch or larger plastic pound-in posts can also serve as corners or end posts. This wire will break or stretch if larger animals, such as cattle or horses, hit it with speed. Light step-in line posts of diverse designs can work with 14-gauge wire. Plastic posts require no insulators. Metal-rod step-in posts are particularly durable, and the screw-on insulators offer infinite adjustments in wire height. Cost: Wire, 3 a foot; step-in posts, $2 to $2.50 each. 3. Polywire. While conducting electricity is slightly less effective than metal wire, light and flexible single-strand polywire offers ease of installation for temporary fencing for domesticated livestock. Wider and more visible polytape is an alternative choice for horses. Handheld reels permit ease of unrolling and rolling up the wire. Any type of step-in, insulated line posts will support the polywire. Cost: Varies by brand, diameter, and electrical conductivity; 2 to 5 a foot for -inch polywire, up to 14 a foot for -inch polywire. 4. Polywire netting. This portable mesh fencing suits all classes of livestock, particularly sheep and goats. Mesh squares range from 3 to 7 inches. Netting comes in rolls with built-in step-in posts. Height varies from 28 inches to 48 inches. Cost: $1.50 a foot for 48-inch-tall netting with 3-inch spacings; $1.20 a foot for 48-inch-tall netting with 7-inch openings. 5. Energizers. These are available in plug-in, battery-powered, and solar models. A fencing supplier can help you match energizer size to the design of your fencing system. Purchasing an energizer of more-than-sufficient power helps ensure conductivity even under less-than-ideal conditions such as tall grass or weeds, which impede electrical current when touching the wire. Install with one or more ground rods. Cost: Varies by manufacturer and joule output. Plug-in 110-volt energizers providing .30 joules and sized for a 20-acre system may cost $85; a plug-in model providing .50 joules and sized for a 50-acre system may cost $115. Solar energizers sized for smaller systems may cost from $100 to $200. 6. Voltage meters. Handheld digital voltage meters tell you the strength of the electrical current in the wires. Low readings indicate electrical shorts or poorly performing design components in the fence. For cattle, I like to see a reading of 3 kilovolts or higher, says Lautt. A reading of 3.5 to 4 kilovolts is better for sheep, for instance. Cost: $100.\n', "There are a number of different types of electric fence conductors available, and knowing which one to choose can be a bit tricky for those new to electric fencing. This overview of the different electric fencing conductor wires, and the benefits of each, will help you choose the most suitable type for your application. Electric poly tape is highly visible, strong, can withstand all weather conditions, and wont rust. Its available in a variety of colors (white, brown, and green), making it easy to choose a color that best suits your conditions. White tape is more visible against green vegetation or brown landscape, whereas brown or green tape is more visible against a snow background. Electric poly tape is available in three different widths 12, 20 and 40mm with each width being better suited for different applications. Because of its enhanced visibility and superior strength, the 40-mm tape is recommended for perimeter fences, but its not the best solution in areas that experience strong winds in these situations, poly rope would make a better choice for perimeter fencing. The 20 or 12-mm tape are better suited for use in windy areas as their thinner width provides less resistance to winds, and thus are less inclined to suffer wind damage. The width of the poly tape does affect the price, with wider tape costing more. Electric poly wire fencing lacks the strength of steel wire fencing but it won't rust and is more visible to animals. Its suitable for containing animals that don't move too quickly, such as sheep or cattle, rather than horses, which move much faster. As its available on a reel, it provides a convenient option for temporary fencing solutions, such as strip grazing, and also offers a cost-effective option for subdividing pastures. Electric poly rope fencing is much thicker than poly wire and is reinforced with stainless steel woven throughout the rope, making it both robust and a highly effective conductor. Like poly tape, its available in a range of color options to make it more visible, and won't rust. Because of its superior strength and conductivity, poly rope is very effective for constructing perimeter fencing to contain horses. Because of its much thinner profile than 40-mm poly tape, it offers the best solution for perimeter fencing in windy conditions. Electrified high-tensile wire fencing may be your best option if you want to construct permanent fences over a large area. However, as wire fences dont give like a poly tape or poly rope fence, high-tensile wire fencing isnt suitable for fast-moving animals, such as horses, who could succumb to serious injury if they run into the wire at speed. High-tensile wire is available in two options: galvanized steel and aluminum. Both are strong, hard-wearing, and low maintenance, and are a good choice for constructing perimeter fences to contain slow animals. Galvanized steel offers an economic solution that will effectively carry an electric charge long distances. Aluminum offers superior conducting capabilities four times as much as galvanized steel, and generally comes with a lifetime warranty. However, it tends to be more expensive than steel wire. Electric fencing offers a convenient and cost effective method of containing livestock. Choose the electric wire that best meets your requirements to ensure that you have the most effective conductor for your application to save yourself unnecessary expense later. This content is provided by Fi-Shock, manufacturers of top-of-the-line electric fence systems since 1968 and recognized as a leader in the electrical fencing industry. Learn more at www.fishock.com.\n", 'The secret to profitable cattle raising is your grazing plan. A focused approach to using the grass you have can help boost your stocking rates, enhance pounds per acre and put more money in your pocket. To boost grazing output, you may be looking at pasture condition, grass and feed types available, but theres one factor you dont want to leave out the fences. The fencing system is the backbone of a grazing plan. Well-planned fencing and water sources facilitate rotating livestock to improve forage utilization. Fixed, permanently fenced grazing cells and flexible grazing cells, with temporary fencing, can be used to rotate livestock for an adaptive grazing management plan. To get a more in-depth look at both fixed and flexible grazing cell approaches we turned to an expert Jim Gerrish, a nationally known grazing consultant to get insight on the finer points of fencing and grazing. Fixed grazing cells consist of permanent fencing and water sources. This minimizes daily labor and maintenance. Depending on the size of the fixed cell, says Gerrish, you might just open the gate and call the cattle to you and through the gate to rotate cells. And thats the daily labor. Permanent fencing, with high-quality materials installed correctly, requires minimal maintenance. There are many options for permanent fencing, though. One popular type is high-tensile wire. On Gerrishs ranch in Idahos Pahsimeroi Valley, the original perimeter fence around the center pivots consisted of 170,000-PSI (pound-force per square inch) high-tensile wire. He installed fixed fencing of 200,000 PSI to subdivide the pivot circles. The elk regularly break the 170,000-PSI fences, Gerrish says. It is a much inferior wire. In the last 16 years, elk havent broken any of the 200,000 PSI. Absolutely use high-quality wire when building permanent fences. For sheep, space three high-tensile wires from the ground at 8 inches, 16 inches and 28 inches. The 28-inch-high fence works fine for cattle, too. If a cow or yearling crosses a 28-inch-high fence, I consider that culling criteria, Gerrish says. You cant have one or two recalcitrant animals dictate the fence policy for the entire ranch. For cattle-only fencing, Gerrish sets a bottom wire at 18 or-20 inches, and the top wire at 30 to 32 inches. A large elk herd lives on Gerrishs ranch. The low-profile, 30- to 32-inch fence creates space for elk to hop over it without damage, because its low on their center of gravity. Additionally, the combination of 200,000-PSI high-tensile wire and flexible-line posts like the wood-plastic composite PasturePro post or Timeless Fence poly T-post minimize the elk impact on the fence, Gerrish explains. Antelope also roam Gerrishs ranch. I was told for a long time that antelope dont jump fences, Gerrish says. But I see them routinely scoot under and hop over our fences that have the bottom wire at 18 to 20 inches and the top wire at 30 to 32 inches. Fixed grazing cells are most economical for expansive operations, because permanent infrastructure costs can be spread over more acres. Its the increased animal production per acre that pays for infrastructure investment, Gerrish advises. Recently, I consulted on an 8,000-acre ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills to design fixed grazing cells, he explains. For water, nine-and-a-half miles of pipeline and 15 stock tanks. Nearly 20 miles of new permanent fence. It cost $40 an acre. In contrast, Gerrish designed similar fixed grazing cells on a 540-acre ranch that cost $130 per acre. If flexible grazing cells, instead of fixed cells, had been created there, I think the cost could have been $70 per acre for the small operation, Gerrish says. The rancher wanted fixed cells because he also works in town. His perception is that he doesnt have the time to move temporary fencing. With the right equipment and tools, Gerrish says the less expensive temporary fencing of flexible grazing cells can be moved efficiently. The management flexibility, combined with the lower price tag attracts many to the flexible grazing-cell model. The framework of flexible grazing cells consists of perimeter permanent fence and some permanent water sources, with moveable stock tanks and temporary electric fences that subdivide an area into paddocks. There was a time in my life, Gerrish recalls, when I thought that the flexible design was only good for a couple hundred acres. Any operation bigger than that needed a fixed design. Now, I see thousands of acres managed as flexible grazing cells. Gerrish recommends braided poly-wire on geared reels for temporary fences. A reel geared at a 3-to-1 ratio cranks up a fence much faster than a straight crank reel. A 9-filament braided poly-wire holds increased conductivity, and a greater physical breaking strength, than a similar twisted poly-wire. Step-in posts are the quickest way to erect temporary fence. On Gerrishs website, americangrazinglands.com , he sells the two step-in posts that he likes the best: OBriens Treadaline and Gallagher Ring Top. There are a lot of knockoff posts of the OBrien, and none are as good as the true OBrien that is stamped Made in New Zealand, Gerrish says. Most plastic posts only last three to five years, but I have OBrien posts that are over 20 years old. The Gallagher Ring Top post is a steel-shank, step-in post. These two posts are usable in all ground conditions, because the post spike that goes into the ground is relatively small in diameter, Gerrish explains. The OBrien post spike is a 3/16-inch-diameter, high-tensile rod. Most step-in posts have 5/16-inch or 3/8-inch spikes. The larger the diameter of a post spike, the more resistance it gives when you try to put it into the ground. I have used both of these posts in extreme conditions, from frozen ground to desert rock to clay pack. To effectively confine livestock, an electric fence requires a properly installed energizer. Place at least 3 feet of ground rod per joule of energizer output. For instance, a 6-joule energizer needs 18 feet of ground. Typically, this is created with 6-foot ground rods spaced 10 feet apart. Energizer designs range across a spectrum of applications. One of Gerrishs favorite characteristics is an energizers capability to operate on dual power. It can either be plugged into the mains or run from a battery, which can be configured to charge via a solar panel. Gerrishs other purchase criteria for an energizer is its ability for remote control. With a remote-ready energizer, you can turn off the energizer anywhere out in the fence system, Gerrish explains. You could be 10 miles from the energizer, find that the elk came through and broke some fence; you shut the energizer down from that point, make the repair and then switch it back on. These fencing equipment and tools efficiently move fencing and cattle to rotational grazing. On our 300-acre center pivot, I daily move cattle and over 1,000 feet of fencing on that big pivot, Gerrish explains. It typically takes me 28 minutes to dismantle the fence and reset it. We generally run 400 to 500 cow-calf pairs there. When considering temporary fencing, it pays to decrease the labor needed to move it when rotating livestock to fresh grass. Whatever the size and needs of your ranch, an appropriate fence system can be developed to match your grazing management plan. Smartly designed grazing cells, with high-quality equipment and tools, will increase ranch profit by minimizing labor and increasing forage yield. Hemken writes from Lander, Wyo.\n', 'The secret to profitable cattle raising is your grazing plan. A focused approach to using the grass you have can help boost your stocking rates, enhance pounds per acre and put more money in your pocket. To boost grazing output, you may be looking at pasture condition, grass and feed types available, but theres one factor you dont want to leave out the fences. The fencing system is the backbone of a grazing plan. Well-planned fencing and water sources facilitate rotating livestock to improve forage utilization. Fixed, permanently fenced grazing cells and flexible grazing cells, with temporary fencing, can be used to rotate livestock for an adaptive grazing management plan. To get a more in-depth look at both fixed and flexible grazing cell approaches we turned to an expert Jim Gerrish, a nationally known grazing consultant to get insight on the finer points of fencing and grazing. Fixed grazing cells consist of permanent fencing and water sources. This minimizes daily labor and maintenance. Depending on the size of the fixed cell, says Gerrish, you might just open the gate and call the cattle to you and through the gate to rotate cells. And thats the daily labor. Permanent fencing, with high-quality materials installed correctly, requires minimal maintenance. There are many options for permanent fencing, though. One popular type is high-tensile wire. On Gerrishs ranch in Idahos Pahsimeroi Valley, the original perimeter fence around the center pivots consisted of 170,000-PSI (pound-force per square inch) high-tensile wire. He installed fixed fencing of 200,000 PSI to subdivide the pivot circles. The elk regularly break the 170,000-PSI fences, Gerrish says. It is a much inferior wire. In the last 16 years, elk havent broken any of the 200,000 PSI. Absolutely use high-quality wire when building permanent fences. For sheep, space three high-tensile wires from the ground at 8 inches, 16 inches and 28 inches. The 28-inch-high fence works fine for cattle, too. If a cow or yearling crosses a 28-inch-high fence, I consider that culling criteria, Gerrish says. You cant have one or two recalcitrant animals dictate the fence policy for the entire ranch. For cattle-only fencing, Gerrish sets a bottom wire at 18 or-20 inches, and the top wire at 30 to 32 inches. A large elk herd lives on Gerrishs ranch. The low-profile, 30- to 32-inch fence creates space for elk to hop over it without damage, because its low on their center of gravity. Additionally, the combination of 200,000-PSI high-tensile wire and flexible-line posts like the wood-plastic composite PasturePro post or Timeless Fence poly T-post minimize the elk impact on the fence, Gerrish explains. Antelope also roam Gerrishs ranch. I was told for a long time that antelope dont jump fences, Gerrish says. But I see them routinely scoot under and hop over our fences that have the bottom wire at 18 to 20 inches and the top wire at 30 to 32 inches. Fixed grazing cells are most economical for expansive operations, because permanent infrastructure costs can be spread over more acres. Its the increased animal production per acre that pays for infrastructure investment, Gerrish advises. Recently, I consulted on an 8,000-acre ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills to design fixed grazing cells, he explains. For water, nine-and-a-half miles of pipeline and 15 stock tanks. Nearly 20 miles of new permanent fence. It cost $40 an acre. In contrast, Gerrish designed similar fixed grazing cells on a 540-acre ranch that cost $130 per acre. If flexible grazing cells, instead of fixed cells, had been created there, I think the cost could have been $70 per acre for the small operation, Gerrish says. The rancher wanted fixed cells because he also works in town. His perception is that he doesnt have the time to move temporary fencing. With the right equipment and tools, Gerrish says the less expensive temporary fencing of flexible grazing cells can be moved efficiently. The management flexibility, combined with the lower price tag attracts many to the flexible grazing-cell model. The framework of flexible grazing cells consists of perimeter permanent fence and some permanent water sources, with moveable stock tanks and temporary electric fences that subdivide an area into paddocks. There was a time in my life, Gerrish recalls, when I thought that the flexible design was only good for a couple hundred acres. Any operation bigger than that needed a fixed design. Now, I see thousands of acres managed as flexible grazing cells. Gerrish recommends braided poly-wire on geared reels for temporary fences. A reel geared at a 3-to-1 ratio cranks up a fence much faster than a straight crank reel. A 9-filament braided poly-wire holds increased conductivity, and a greater physical breaking strength, than a similar twisted poly-wire. Step-in posts are the quickest way to erect temporary fence. On Gerrishs website, americangrazinglands.com , he sells the two step-in posts that he likes the best: OBriens Treadaline and Gallagher Ring Top. There are a lot of knockoff posts of the OBrien, and none are as good as the true OBrien that is stamped Made in New Zealand, Gerrish says. Most plastic posts only last three to five years, but I have OBrien posts that are over 20 years old. The Gallagher Ring Top post is a steel-shank, step-in post. These two posts are usable in all ground conditions, because the post spike that goes into the ground is relatively small in diameter, Gerrish explains. The OBrien post spike is a 3/16-inch-diameter, high-tensile rod. Most step-in posts have 5/16-inch or 3/8-inch spikes. The larger the diameter of a post spike, the more resistance it gives when you try to put it into the ground. I have used both of these posts in extreme conditions, from frozen ground to desert rock to clay pack. To effectively confine livestock, an electric fence requires a properly installed energizer. Place at least 3 feet of ground rod per joule of energizer output. For instance, a 6-joule energizer needs 18 feet of ground. Typically, this is created with 6-foot ground rods spaced 10 feet apart. Energizer designs range across a spectrum of applications. One of Gerrishs favorite characteristics is an energizers capability to operate on dual power. It can either be plugged into the mains or run from a battery, which can be configured to charge via a solar panel. Gerrishs other purchase criteria for an energizer is its ability for remote control. With a remote-ready energizer, you can turn off the energizer anywhere out in the fence system, Gerrish explains. You could be 10 miles from the energizer, find that the elk came through and broke some fence; you shut the energizer down from that point, make the repair and then switch it back on. These fencing equipment and tools efficiently move fencing and cattle to rotational grazing. On our 300-acre center pivot, I daily move cattle and over 1,000 feet of fencing on that big pivot, Gerrish explains. It typically takes me 28 minutes to dismantle the fence and reset it. We generally run 400 to 500 cow-calf pairs there. When considering temporary fencing, it pays to decrease the labor needed to move it when rotating livestock to fresh grass. Whatever the size and needs of your ranch, an appropriate fence system can be developed to match your grazing management plan. Smartly designed grazing cells, with high-quality equipment and tools, will increase ranch profit by minimizing labor and increasing forage yield. Hemken writes from Lander, Wyo.\n', 'Goats with horns and wire hog panels dont mix. Inevitably, the goat sticks its head through the panel to reach a tasty morsel on the other side, and when it pulls back, its horns prevent it from pulling its head out. During a presentation on Keeping goats in and predators out, Reid Redden, Texas A&M extension sheep and goats specialist, offers some fencing tips for producers with goats. When considering woven wire or net fencing for goats, Redden said producers need to pick something with width spacing of less than 4 inches so the goat cant stick its head through the fence and become stuck. When picking out a type of fence for goats, remember they arent all the same. Net wire fencing can be cost prohibitive if you are planning to fence a lot of acres. It is a little more pricy than standard fence, he said. Some producers have successfully kept goats in with electric fencing. Redden said its a lot less expensive for the materials and cheaper to put up. The key is purchasing the right electric fence charger with the right voltage. The trick is to get the correct fencing. You will need no less than five wires, and keep it extremely hot. Once the goat gets a sharp bite from the fence, it will learn to respect it. It is the same for predators. Once they get bit, they will stay out, he said. In many areas, ranchers opt for traditional barbwire fencing. Many of the fences are four or five wires, but Redden recommends at least five wires for goats, and notes that seven wires would be even better. You could even add some electrified wires, he said. If the fence is getting older, Redden said smooth wire or poly wire can be added to the fence. A more temporary option is electrified netting. It is not necessarily a long term solution because it degrades, Redden said. It might only last 10 years, but it is easy to put up. You can just step it in. HIRE A HERDER Keeping goats in and predators out can be a challenge, but producers have other options besides fencing. If you are growing into a larger entity where you dont own all the land or dont want to build fence, you could hire a herder to stay with the sheep and goats all the time, Redden said. Redden shares his experience with sheep and goat herders after taking a trip to Kenya a few years ago. He noticed they have virtually no fencing, and herders stayed with the goats and sheep 24 hours a day, training the animals to herd where they wanted them to go, without the assistance of dogs. The problem here is being able to afford to hire a person to do that, Redden said. Even with the government operated H-2A program that allows sheep and goat producers to hire contract herders from other countries, Redden estimates producers will pay $1,500 to $1,600 a month, or $12,000 to $15,000 a year. He figures producers will need to have at least 500 goats, and realistically 600-800 goats to afford a herder. PREDATION KILLS PROFIT Predation can cost producers more than 10 percent of the kid crop each year. Coyotes are the biggest culprits, followed by domestic dogs, bobcats, eagles, vultures and mountain lions. Coyotes are very good at killing sheep and goats. They will eat anything from newborns to adult animals. They are a threat year-around, Redden said. Finding a control method that works can be a challenge. Calling in coyotes isnt real effective in Texas because the varmints have become accustomed to it, and wont come for the call, Redden said. Snares are effective for catching coyotes, but he points out good fencing is needed for success. Producers can also use lethal control methods, leg hold traps, aerial gunning, live trapping, M44 cyanide guns and 1080 collars. Each method has benefits, but also drawbacks, Redden pointed out, recommending producers enlist the help of a good trapper or someone specializing in predator control. GUARD ANIMALS One of the most effective methods of controlling predators may be preventing predation in the first place. Redden said guard animals like donkeys, llamas and guard dogs can be very effective. Donkeys and llamas have been successful guard animals because of their aversion to canines, Redden said. They are low maintenance and will eat what the sheep and goats eat. They need limited training, but if one animal cant prevent predators, adding a second animal isnt recommended. If you add a second donkey or llama, they will wander off and form their own herd, leaving the sheep and goats unprotected he said. Donkeys or llamas may not be effective against a pack of coyotes, because one coyote can lure the guard animal away, while the others attack the goats or sheep. If a producer is planning to use a donkey or llama as a guard animal, Redden said to make sure they pick one that will tolerate kid goats or lambs. Redden finds livestock guard dogs to be more effective in protecting sheep and goats, and more than one livestock guard dog can be added to protect the animals. The dogs are effective because they mark their territory by barking, urinating and defecating in the area where the sheep and goats are. They are constantly letting predators know they are there, Redden said. A good guard dog will also keep the animals together. Guard dogs can be high maintenance. Redden said they need feed daily, although feeding stations can be set up. They arent respectful of fences, and some dogs may venture over to the neighbors and kill their chickens and eat their cat food, he said. Redden told producers to do their research before getting a guard dog. The best way to get started is with a puppy. By raising a dog from a puppy, it will become accustomed to you, your environment and your animals. If you buy an adult dog from someone else, it has less than a 50 percent chance of working out, he said. Clark is a freelance livestock journalist from western Nebraska. She can be reached by email at tclarklivenews@gmail.com Llamas can be effective guard animals for sheep and goats because of their nosy presence. However, only a single llama can be used to guard sheep and goats. If another llama is added, the animals will wander away to form their own herd, leaving the sheep and goats unprotected. Photo by Teresa Clark Show Captions Hide Captions\n'