Goats and electric fence - finally giving up
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2manyrocks
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Smart cow.
ultrarunner
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New meaning to Cowtow?
OP
beowulf
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Eddie, It is the woven field fence - from TSC. 330' x 47" rolls. We have used that fencing in two very large areas placed over three strands of barbed wire on T-posts without any issues. No escapes and no hang ups with the goats. I may decide to bite the bullet and permanently fence in a couple more large areas that way - including the ravine I was trying to fence in with electric fence. That will give me additional fire mitigataion/management and also more feed for the goats.
timbatrader
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No experience with goats but my experience with electric fences is that the animals you want to keep behind it need to be trained first make a small easy to manage paddock with a very powerful electric fence with white electric fence tape rather than wires well earthed put the animals in for a week and let them learn there is no escape and touching the white tape hurts After this week you can put them out in your larger paddock that because of the longer distance from the power unit uneven ground poor earth etc the electric fence is less effective but because the animals are scared of the tape they won't go near it
Moxie 15
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I cannot argue with you on that. Do you have a better suggestion on how to get a 1000 pound plus animal to peacefully go back into the pasture when it is not what she wants to do?@Moxie 15 Maybe it is just me, but I am not sure that giving an animal a reward after breaking out is training for the behavior that you want...Funny stories though.
All the best,
Peter
Thank you
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Torvy
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My family who raise cattle would either sell that one at the next available auction, or eat it.
ponytug
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Dogs?
Two in the morning is definitely not my idea of the great time to be out dealing with animals, so you definitely have my sympathies. We have feral cattle in the area that routinely jump local fences, though not ours, perhaps due to our dogs, or the electric fence, or us.
We keep dogs with strong herding instincts, and the cows know that when we move them, the dogs will help if the act up. So, when we turn up with the dogs, the cows know that it is time to move, and it is all pretty quiet.
On the other hand, we train the cows from an early age about what is in bounds and what isn't, and ours are quite good about staying in. One time we had an adult bovine out, he came up the driveway bellowing be let back in. It was our bull, and he had gotten into testosterone match with the neighbor's bull, who was twice his weight. The neighbor's bull had had enough, pushed through our joint fence, pushed our bull around our pasture and then pushed our bull through another fence on to the county road. Our bull turned up in front of the house, having worked out how to get up the road, in through our front gate and wanted to get back into his pasture, not the cows' pasture. Both bulls looked fine after the fact. We had to corral our neighbor's bull because he did not want to go back to his pasture. Pretty funny.
All the best,
Peter
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My brother was thinking of adding a few head... the two he had were daughters 4H project and like pets.
Anyway one morning he sends me a picture and his back 40 is filled with happy grazing cows... I thought he really did it but why so many?
Turns out vandals against cattle on parkland had cut his back fence in several locations so the herd could wander out.
The rancher/owner was so apologetic but the rancher was not to blame...
Brother said it was a good excuse not to go to the office that morning so he saddled up and help moving the herd back to the park... said it was kind of fun.
He didn't really know the rancher but had seen a number and called asking if he was missing a herd of strays...
In 30 minutes several hands with dogs and a quad arrived and also repaired the fence...
Anyway one morning he sends me a picture and his back 40 is filled with happy grazing cows... I thought he really did it but why so many?
Turns out vandals against cattle on parkland had cut his back fence in several locations so the herd could wander out.
The rancher/owner was so apologetic but the rancher was not to blame...
Brother said it was a good excuse not to go to the office that morning so he saddled up and help moving the herd back to the park... said it was kind of fun.
He didn't really know the rancher but had seen a number and called asking if he was missing a herd of strays...
In 30 minutes several hands with dogs and a quad arrived and also repaired the fence...
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