Electric Fencing

[lilyperch]

Too many choices and a lot of misinformation. Anyone have experience with solar electric fencing? I am looking into small goat herd 10-15 females 1 ram then sell weaned kids. I need to be able to fencing in overgrowth areas throughout property. I am hoping to use 3 strand with T posts top and bottom electric. How strong a unit is needed and what would be best wire type of choice. Is solar best choice?
No available electric in close proximity. I can clear area for solar panel. Looking at 200-250 x 200-250 ft areas which are very heavily overgrown weeds etc.

Thank you

 

[RandyinMS]

We use the premier1 solar for many animals. what you buy depends o fence length and contact.

we use electric goat netting after mowing a path with bush hog or dr power brush mower. unless you have incredibly well behaved goats (I'm not sure there is such a thing)three wires will not do it. here is a pic

 

[newbury]

Too many choices and a lot of misinformation. Anyone have experience with solar electric fencing? I am looking into small goat herd 10-15 females 1 ram then sell weaned kids. I need to be able to fencing in overgrowth areas throughout property. I am hoping to use 3 strand with T posts top and bottom electric. How strong a unit is needed and what would be best wire type of choice. Is solar best choice?
No available electric in close proximity. I can clear area for solar panel. Looking at 200-250 x 200-250 ft areas which are very heavily overgrown weeds etc.

Thank you

You've got three things to deal with - goats, fence, sun

Recently I had a thread on it. The fencing I found is Electric Fence and Netting for Goats - Premier1Supplies and is specifcally designed for sheep and goats. And they have a solar option.

 

[RobA]

I use Horseguard Bi-Polar fencing. HorseguardFence.com : the best electric fence for Horse

It was very easy to install and our horses won't go near it. If they do it has some give to it so it won't break. I think it looks better than thinner plain white tape fencing. Does not require a ground rod and tall vegetation touching it won't short it out. Highly recommend it.

 

[lilyperch]

Yes I can see goat netting is a must. Thank you for the names and links will get checking.
Thank you.

 

[Hammy75]

Goat need about 7000-8000 Volts and proper training to electric fences. We use permanent 5 strand high tensile but I have heard good things about the goat specific netting and may use it in our forest before we get the permanent fence up. We use poultry netting to keep new born kids and Moms in a small area by the nursery and it works well for them. Mind you the Moms have been trained to electric and happy/well fed goats are easier to contain. Lots of great info about training online. We use a 6 joule AC fencer so no help there. Good luck and enjoy the goats.

 

[JD15302155870]

Goats are fun. I've heard them referred to as. "Poor man's bush hog". If you have overgrown areas they will clean it up as high as they can reach and you can shoot marbles on it. My experience with fencing in goats is they will stay inside any fence you build until they want to get out, then they're getting out. I have a shallow creek on the back side of my property and they never crossed it. Goats will not get wet unless there is no place for them to be in the dry. We loved watching the little kids jump around in the pasture. Sometimes they would jump up and then flip around.

 

[EddieWalker]

My electric fence pegs my tester at 12,000 volts most days. If it's really dry, it's not as powerful because your ground rods have everything to do with how well your fence works. I have three ground rods ten feet apart all connected to each other. If you stand close enough to the wire, it will arc out and zap you through your clothes. My 2 pygmy goats walk right through it like it's nothing. Fortunately they are very tame and prefer to follow the horses around, so they are never far from them. I do not believe you can keep a goat inside a fence that is not made of field wire net of some kind.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Electric will contain goats, but they aren't afraid of it the way horses, cows and even pigs are. The fence has to physically contain them, the electric is to keep them from pushing on it and trying to knock it over. Goats will test it, they'll try to go under. This means the bottom wire has to be about 4" off the ground, which means you have to keep the vegetation lawn-short to keep it from shorting out. Like a lawn, weekly trimming is required.