Goat fences ??

shortlogger · May 13, 2014, 10:28:47 PM

I have had a few goats for a while but I want t expand and get more . So here's my question what are others using for goat fences? I want to either fence in a 13 acre tract I have that already has barbed wire around it or I've got a place that's about 30+ or so acres 10 of it is a clearcut with barbed wire fence too . The 4x4 goat fence will cost a fortune to go around either place so I'm looking for cheaper alternatives . So what are y'all doing to economically fence in your goats ?

pineywoods · May 13, 2014, 10:40:29 PM

Ben my experience, there's no such thing as a goat proof fence ;D Some work better than others, but sooner or later a goat will find a way to get under, through, or over

drobertson · May 13, 2014, 10:43:23 PM

This may seem sarcastic, sorry for that, but fencing and economics at least around here are not in the same sentence. Woven wire, barbed top and bottom, and maybe even an electric on the very top to keep your heard in. Never had them, but helped my aunt and uncle with theirs for years. They are great brush eaters, but love to get into trouble now and again. I want, and need some around here too, fencing and the cost is the hold up for us.

LeeB · May 13, 2014, 11:02:45 PM

When you build your fence, spray it with a fire hose as high as you can reach. Every where the water goes through or over, the goats will too. The only reason goats stay in a fence is if they want to.

drobertson · May 13, 2014, 11:10:09 PM

Quote from: LeeB on May 13, 2014, 11:02:45 PM
When you build your fence, spray it with a fire hose as high as you can reach. Every where the water goes through or over, the goats will too. The only reason goats stay in a fence is if they want to.

Pretty much covers it, outside an enclosure, they are escape artist, cute critters, smelly billy's, great brush eaters, with a mind of their own for sure.

Ianab · May 13, 2014, 11:41:02 PM

Breed of goat makes a difference though. Saanen (milking), or Boer (Sth African meat) breeds are a bit bigger, and less athletic. Sheep proof fencing will keep them in.

Feral goats just laugh at standard fences and go where they please. :D

shortlogger · May 13, 2014, 11:49:49 PM

I'm gonna have Boer , Kiko nannys and a Texmaster billy .

yukon cornelius · May 13, 2014, 11:59:52 PM

we HAD goats... heavy on the HAD. we had 2 Nubian does and a Nubian buck. until we bought cattle panels they were always out. electric no chance, barbed wire nope. cattle panels worked!! UNTIL... the buck. he had horns and was stuck in the fence all the time and since he was extremely skiddish and hated being touched made things interesting. then would tunnel out to the does. separated he would scream at the top of his lungs to the point my closest neighbor around a mile away came looking to see who needed help. no more goats for us for a long time. we seem to be the home for misfit animals...

Ron Wenrich · May 14, 2014, 06:33:17 AM

I had 30 at one time. Barbed wire ain't gonna cut it. They'll walk through it. I had several strands of barbed wire when I first got them, and they were out in the first 5 minutes.

Then I went to woven fence. 4' high keeps them inside, but if you have any type of a hole, they'll find it. The biggest problem will be if you don't debud the horns. As the horns develop, the little goats will put their heads through the fence, and won't be able to get them back out when their horns catch on it. After the horns are long enough, that stops to being a problem. You'll need to do a head count to find out if you're missing a couple.

I never tried electric fence, but heard that wasn't too effective.

Eventually, I gave in to the whims of the goats. I left the gates open and gave them free range. I didn't have any neighbors that would mind. Natural barriers were wet areas. They didn't like to go where their feet got wet. Most of them never roamed too far from home. They loved the neighbors field. Every so often one would roam off for a couple of days and then come back to the herd.

red oaks lumber · May 14, 2014, 06:55:09 AM

i run electric to keep my wifes goats contained. 4 strands will keep preditors out and goats in.

Woodboogah · May 14, 2014, 07:26:45 AM

I have 4' of woven fence we dug out the bottom and bent about 18" of the fence and buried it so nothing could dig out or in. More so the goats couldnt get out. I would supposed electric would work if you ran it close together and from the ground to about 5' or higher. I would agree with disbudding the horns, they will be a pain if you use woven fence. Good luck! What kind of goats do you have?

shortlogger · May 14, 2014, 07:43:10 AM

Right now I have Kiko cross and I plan to get some Boer also and probably a Texmaster billy to cross em with .

thecfarm · May 14, 2014, 07:44:15 AM

We always had ours dehorned. For the safety of them and others goats. I only had a slab fence about 4 feet high. The only time they got out when when I did not latch the gate,2 times. But that was with only 3 goats at a time. I had 3 trained that if they got into something,like the wife's flowers,I would sharply say,Out,Out,Out and they would stop and leave it alone. We had 3 goats that we would let loose and take them to the pasture that I am claiming back as a field. Two would wander off and get their backs turned to me and look up and think that I had left them, they would start to blat. I would have to speak to them and they would come running and leaping and jumping like I was their long lost buddy that just came back from the war. Than it start all over again. It was funny. The other one would not leave my side. Even If I was using the trimmer. She stuck to me like glue. Than we got 2 more in later years,I could not teach them nothing. Let them loose,head right for the flowers and had to go push them away. They would not follow us at all. But they did not try to escape either.

chevytaHOE5674 · May 14, 2014, 07:55:15 AM

I have 5 strand of electric High tensile wire around my place. The juice is hotter than the blazes of he!! and will just about knock you off the feet if you touch it. My experience with goats is that if they want to stay in this fence they will, if something on the other side is more appealing then they will just go over or through it.

Needless to say we don't currently have any goats and don't have any plans to get any in the future. ha

Planman1954 · May 14, 2014, 09:29:31 AM

I built a 4 board wood fence for Nubian goats. The only place where they got out was at a low spot that I had used wire. Goats tend to rub against the fence using their entire body weight...checking for areas of vulnerability. When they find it, they push until they win! Anyway, a well built wooden fence about 5 feet tall seemed to work well for me. I did a thread somewhere on here about the fence. Oh...and be sure to fasten the boards to the posts on the side the goats are on.

MattJ · May 14, 2014, 09:41:25 AM

My sister has goats and fences in small sections at a time to let the goats mow down the underbrush and then she moves them. She has a few hundred yards of the retractable electric mesh (5' tall, grid is maybe 3"x3") and so its pretty quick to move it around. She runs it off two solar charged power supplies and it seems to work well. I think she leaves them in one place for a few weeks at a time. The fence has a crank that retracts it while you walk and she uses reusable plastic covered metal stakes with a foot hold to push them in. I've helped her a few times and its quick to move, maybe 30min total with the chargers.

LeeB · May 14, 2014, 10:00:36 AM

MattJ,
Please impart a little more wisdom about this new modern wonder of which you speak.

yukon cornelius · May 14, 2014, 10:25:55 AM

we used cattle panels in small sections to let or goats clear small sections at a time also. 4 panels clipped with cheap d rings at the corners makes them free standing ,no post, then we added another square on one side, move them into that square and move the first square that they were in onto the next side. so a total of 7 panels. 2 goats would clear 4 16x16 squares of woods a day. when they were first put in a square they could barely be seen and within an hour or so all that was left was stems and sticks to be clipped off. it worked so well. they never got out of it either.

Mark K · May 14, 2014, 12:51:37 PM

I had a herd of 140 Boer goats a couple years ago. As said above cattle panels work best. One thing to remember if they are "kidding" in the pasture u want a tight woven fence. Them little buggers can slip thru a 4x4 fence. I used calf panels in my bred doe areas and heavy page wire everywheres else with an electric wire about 20" off the ground. Didnt have many problems. One other thing, when pasturing goats watch out for dandelions. Goats love them but excess will kill them.

Roger2561 · May 14, 2014, 01:27:58 PM

When I was much younger before we had the cattle, we had about 25/30 goats. I do not remember the breed. I still have nightmares of those dang things. It never failed, every time we wanted to go somewhere as a family those dang things found a way through the fence. We had to go inside change out of our nice clothes, go outside and gather up the goats after fixing the hole they made/found and put them in the fenced area again. And, then pray they were still there when we got back. Let me tell you, I nearly danced a jig when my dad got rid of those dang things and bought cattle to replace them. They were so much easier to handle and contain. Roger

OH Boy · May 14, 2014, 09:14:13 PM

Quote from: MattJ on May 14, 2014, 09:41:25 AM
My sister has goats and fences in small sections at a time to let the goats mow down the underbrush and then she moves them. She has a few hundred yards of the retractable electric mesh (5' tall, grid is maybe 3"x3") and so its pretty quick to move it around. She runs it off two solar charged power supplies and it seems to work well. I think she leaves them in one place for a few weeks at a time. The fence has a crank that retracts it while you walk and she uses reusable plastic covered metal stakes with a foot hold to push them in. I've helped her a few times and its quick to move, maybe 30min total with the chargers.

This is what we've used for a year and they have not gotten out once. electric mesh and its a blaster, they train to it really quick, once or twice is enough. called Premier fence, and not cheap but very portable, if your herd isn't large this is a great way to go, though I know people who have 18-20 goats in it. keeps everything else out and the goats in, at least in my limited experience

http://www.premier1supplies.com/goats/species.php

shortlogger · May 14, 2014, 09:40:51 PM

Well it seems that the only thing everyone can agree on is they are hard to keep in ! I was hopeing to find a method that most could agree was a good one . I have built fence that holds them well but it's just to expensive to do on a large scale .

Don_Papenburg · May 14, 2014, 10:01:59 PM

Old engine blocks and a long chain so you don't have to move the engine block more than one a day. If you have one of them round bale spears for your loader you could run that through one of the cylinder openings and move the goats and their anchors that way. If you got good at it you might be able to move as many as three goats at a time.

scleigh · May 14, 2014, 10:04:59 PM

I have 11 acres fenced with goat and sheep wire. I used treated post for the corners and braces and T-post' in between. The goat and sheep wire has a smaller square than regular woven wire and keeps the goats from getting hung.
I only have 3 Boer goats and a dog in the fence but have never had a problem with them getting out. The fence isn't as attractive as a nice wooden fence but is a cost saving alternative.

thecfarm · May 15, 2014, 07:14:04 AM

Nothing a matter with the looks of that fence, Field looks good too. The two times that I did not latch the gate good,once they came into the garage,the back door was open.Than the other time we was gone and came home to find the dog and 2 goats lieing on the lawn. All 3 was happy to see us. ;D