Hello everyone,
I just realized my dream of moving out of the suburbs and into the country. I have 16 acres with a huge old barn and chicken coop. I already bought 25 RIR chicks and they're doing great about 4 weeks old now. My next type of animal I want to get is goats, possibly a couple of dairy goats (LaManchas I'm thinking). Problem is, none of the property is fenced. If anyone can tell me what kind of fencing would be best for goats but wouldn't break the bank, I'd really appreciate it. I don't know if this matters but my property is pretty steep. Also, there's a possiblity of us one day getting a couple horses so it would be good if the fencing would work for them too. I've been told electric fencing is good but I'm kind of worried about kids (human kids) getting shocked. Can anyone give me some advice on my fencing options?
Thanks,
Jenica
What's the best fence for goats?
The locals here with best quality Boer Goats use the 5X18 ft small gauge pig fencing with RR ties in between. The small gauge wire is so they cannot put their heads through the wire under and circumstance. Nobody wants to find an animal hanging by a wire fence ..... dead or alive. Goats are terribly inquisitive animals and can get into deep trouble if the greatest of precautionary steps are not taken.
If you want to put in electric, check out the Premier website:
http://www.premier1supplies.com/
They have great tutorials on fencing. The fencing is really pricey, so you may just want to look at the site for the knowledge. And request a catalog...
I have standard field fencing, but have a small amount of land like you (30 acres.) I have on occasion had a kid get his/her horns stuck in the fence, but due to the relatively small size of the property you'll know in a heart beat. There is nothing more melodramatic than a goat. "I'M DYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Jenny
I raised Boer goats and used field fencing with a strand of electric top and bottom. The bottom strand was to keep goats from sticking their heads thru the fence or standing on it breaking it down and the top strand was to keep in my Anatolian Shepherd dog and keep the horses from hanging their heads over and pushing the fence down. If you put the bottom strand just high enough, maybe 12-14" the goats will eat under the wire so weeds don't over grow it. I also used hi-tensile electric and love it! Have had trees fall over the fence but when you cut the tree off the fence bounces right back up. You might have to replace some insulators on posts but that's easy and cheap. I've also used some hog or cattle panels with a strand of electric top and bottom. Used cattle panels for round bale feeders too. Used hog panels for flakes of square bales in the barn, was cheap and saved hay. Electric fencing is your friend and the kids of either species would only touch it once ;~) Whatever you do don't use cheap electric fencing even just for the one or two strands used with other fence types. You want 14-16 gauge which will last a very long time, won't be broke by tree limbs, animals, and wear. Also, the smaller guage(thicker)wire carries electricity better because there's less resistance. Get the biggest hitting, best charger you can afford because it will teach your critters to respect it, keep away predators, and burn off weeds. Which means less work and worry for you. Any questions ask away cause I love talking goat!!! I had to sell my herd several years ago because of an auto accident and I miss them lots. You can see pics of my critters here http://community.webshots.com/user/wvdaisy
Lana
www.nasrn.com
National Anatolian Shepherd Rescue Network
Thanks everyone for your replies. Thanks for the advice about getting themselves stuck in the fence I hadn't even considered them injuring themselves on anything but a barbed wire fence which is why I ruled that out.
Jenny, thanks for the link. They do have a lot of good information on there. I learned a lot about the different types of fencing available.
Lana your goats were so cute. I had thought about getting a cow but there's no way I would use all that milk and goats just seemed a lot easier. Now that I've been researching them I like them even more because they are just nice looking animals. I also like your idea of the two strands of electric fencing with the field fence. I hadn't even thought about the weeds growing up under the fence so that's a great tip. My husband would kill me if I told him he had to weedwack around all the new fencing :^)
So what about posts? If I go with the field fencing and two electric strands should I do wood, steel, or fiberglass posts. What do you all like best? Wood seems really labor intensive but I heard it's more sturdy. Also, just how much labor is involved in putting up a fence. My husband works a regular job all week and I'm home but I have a bad back would we be able to do it ourselves over several weekends or should we bite the bullet and wait until we can afford to hire someone to do it?
Okay Lana, you asked for it, I've been waiting to find someones brain to pic about goats so if your upt to it here's a whole bunch of questions :^) I've heard that goats will eat just about anything and will clear out brush from woody areas. Is this true or am I still going to have to bushhog my land? What about them getting bored. Are they going to get into all kinds of trouble or is 16 fenced steep acres enough to keep a couple of goats entertained? Also how much do they eat. Do you think I'll have enough grazing for them or will I have to get hay for the winter. Should I fence it off in sections so I have a couple of different pasture areas? Oh and by the way my husband and I love Anatolian Sheep dogs, he's of Turkish decent so he's definitely partial to them.
Thanks again everyone for your replies, you've been so much help!
Jenica
Goats are browsers, which means that they will eat most any plant. The goats around here even eat Cedar trees! If you put 30 goats on your 16 acres, they would keep it cleaned out. You'd probably want to cut back to about 15-20 goats from September-March as most plants stop growing and/or go dormant. Be sure and keep them all wormed. I keep mine wormed but I still lost 2 this year from some kind of "superworms" as did many folks in this area. We had abnormally large amounts of rain that created ideal conditions for parasites and insects. As far as fencing, I used horse wire and landcape timbers when building my fence. So far, I haven't had to make any repairs, I've had no ecsapes, and nothing has gotten in that I didn't put in. I, too, have chickens along with guineas and turkeys, which all free range with the goats. Good luck!