Fencing in acres for goats, need advice

[Frolic&Malarkey]

Hey all. My house currently sits on 5 acres. It is completely unfenced, except for the yard. I've got a guy coming next week to give me an estimate on fencing it in. I have a couple questions before he comes.

A bit of backstory - I currently have 2 Nigerian dwarf goats (I've had them a week) and an Anatolian who will be guarding them.



First, I am using 48" 2x4 woven wire field fencing. Would it be better for a steel bar frame (vertical posts, plus a horizontal top bar) similar to these pics, or would T-posts work? I'd also like to add a couple strands of barbwire or do something to make it a 6' fence, if possible, to make sure my dog stays in. He hates the whine that motorcycles and 4 wheelers make, and if he were to cause one to wreck while chasing it, it would get someone killed. He's also getting a SportDog collar as added insurance.
Any ideas?

Second, I am wanting to separate into 2 pastures, or hopefully 3. I sketched this out on a google image of my house. The goat's main shelter is in the barn, which they will always have access to. I was thinking to set it up so there is the "alleyway" which will give me access with my truck to all 3 pens, and depending on where the goats will be grazing for the day/week, I can open the gate for that pasture. They will always be able to come any go freely in the alleyway and their open pasture. Part of the alleyway will include the side of the barn, which gives them access to shade, because of the barn, and a large tree.

There is pretty much no shade at this point, except what I mentioned above. There are trees along the side of the #3 pasture. I'm in west Texas, and it can get up to 117 here in the summer. I've planted trees in the other pasture areas, but they'll take time. I'm going to build some structures in each pen that will give them play/climb areas and shade underneath.

Do you see any areas I can improve, or have any better ideas for me? Thanks in advance!

 

[Goat Whisperer]

You need the corner like it is in the first picture. Good corners make a good fence.

You can use T posts in between the corners though. (See pics)

I would not use barbwire! Especially with dogs! Look at running a strand or 3 of electric fence at the top, and maybe a strand at knee hight to keep the goats from rubbing on the fence. If the dog tries to get out, he will still try to go through the barbwire and could severely injure himself causing all kinds of vet bills and possibly a dead dog.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH! There's a wealth of info on the site for goats and we have a really active, great group of goat folks! Hope you'll browse around and make yourself at home! If you have questions (in addition to above) just post away. Normally someone will be along directly with suggestions/advice/answers. Beautiful dog My 50/50 Pyr/Toli is my avatar, and cute goats! We all are picture addicts so feel free to post what pictures you will. We'll all appreciate them!

Woven wire field fence should be fine and much better than welded wire. 48" is fine as well and if you wish to put 2 strands of hot wire above it you can use 7' T-posts driven down 2' to give you a 5' high fence. Wood "H" post supports should be used every couple/few hundred feet or so and at all corners and gates. As said, barbed wire is not a good choice with LGDs involved and hot wire is generally always a good choice. If concerned the soil is too dry for a proper ground, you can also run a ground wire up top alongside the hot wires so anything trying to cross will hit both and be sure to get zapped.

The way you have it all laid out looks great to me! Very workable/accessible. You didn't mention gate size but I hope you're planning 16' to give your vehicles plenty of maneuvering room (like a tractor moving round bales of hay or your pickup towing an animal trailer or trailer load of hay). You also want to make sure your alley is wide enough for the same reasons. If you can't afford to fence it all at once (pretty expensive) I would do the alley and gates then the outline of pasture one and two together. You can then split it later as you can afford it and add in pasture 3 down the road, again, as you can afford it.

Doing it with the alley approach and individual gated pastures off the alley will allow you to only need to maintain one watering station in the alley so if you have predator problems and want to keep the animals up by the barn at night, they would still have access. They will need shade for sure and if inside the barn, I hope you have some industrial fans or something to move the air. You might want to build some shaded areas out in the pastures. You could do something as simple as a covered "hoop house" structure aligned so any breeze could move easily through it.

If the goats can reach the trees, they will eat them. Goats prefer to browse over grazing. They love to eat young trees especially; twigs, leaves, bark, branches, etc. From the pic, the adult trees you mentioned appear to be outside pasture 3 and on the east side, so they aren't going to provide any/much shade at all during the hottest part of the day right through to sun down.

Anyway, glad you joined us! This was a pretty good introduction, but you might consider doing a personal one in the new member section so we can all welcome you properly oh, you did mention west TX (I'm in NE TX) but most won't remember that so you really should put that info (general location) in your profile so folks will know where you're located when you ask for help as most times the answer will depend on where you're located...

 

[Frolic&Malarkey]

Quick reply to clarify my above post. I was headed out the door, and put barbwire because I couldn't think of what the smooth wire is called. I have zero intention of ever using barbwire, I've seen what it does to animals who run into it in a panic. Sorry for the mistake!

The guys who are going to do the fencing will be making corner posts and H braces for me. I was going to buy some pre-made ones, but they can weld me some at a fraction of the price. I can get all the free rods I want through my job in the oilfield, so that's a huge money saving bonus.

Thank you for the gate size advice. I hadn't got that far in my research, but I definitely want to be able to access it in whatever vehicle or tractor might be needed in the future.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Beautiful dog.

I think your layout is great. You will need a lot more goats for that space.

I used all wooden fence posts for my fencing. I don't like how the T-Posts look. Good fencing can increase the value of your property. And T Posts aren't any cheaper, you just don't have to dig the whole and sackcrete like you would for wood so less labor

I think T posts are better for doing cross fencing.

You don't need horizontals at the top on the whole fence, just for cross bracing on the corners like GW said.

 

[Baymule]

Ditto to the above. One thing I noticed, your layout doesn't seem to include swing room for driving through the gates. 16' gates are big enough for tractors and truck/trailer, but the turn radius needs to be considered. For instance, going through the main alley gate to pasture #1 looks to be an awkward turn.

I would hang a 16' gate on that short run of fence from the barn to #3, giving a straight shot to #2. I would also hang a gate on the corner brace of #1 for straight in access to #1. This gate would face the back of the house. Then you would have swing room to go through the end gate of your alley for a straight shot into #3. Why no pasture on that strip of land between #1 and the property line? Is that for the chickens? You can never have too many gates!

Here is a link to a tutorial how I built my Hoop Coop for my chickens. It would easily be adapted to a Hoop House for your goats. The tin heats up in the summer, mine is under a tree. But many use only a tarp over the cow panels, but it needs replacement occasionally. You might be able to come up with a cooler covering.

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/hoop-coop.18291/

Here is a link to my Hawg Hut. I built it with scraps and stuff I already had. It currently is in the back yard, it was used as a lamb hut when I weaned the lambs. It is a convenient shelter to have to skid from place to place, where ever it is needed.

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/hawg-hut-or-goat-or-sheep.18321/

So those are a couple of ideas, you can possibly get some good ideas for what kind of shade shelter you can build for your goats. There is radiant barrier you could use, but I don't know how you could put it over a cow panel that the goats couldn't reach and nibble on.

If this link doesn't work, just google Home Depot Radiant Barrier

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Building...r_pmt_b_product__slid_&cm_mmc=SEM|THD|google|[THD-Marcom];&mid=s[uniq_id];|dc_mtid_0tm59h1qf0_pcrid_72662997035_pkw_%2Bhome%20%2Bdepot%20%2Bheat%20%2Bbarrier_pmt_b_product__slid_&gclid=COqZwu2rq9ECFYZlfgod2YgCeA

 

[Bossroo]

just an observation ... This choice of livestock is setting oneself up for a very expensive money pit of a hobby. With the property and resources that you have and develop, it would be wiser to invest in livestock that would have a much better chance of a return on investment.

 

[Frolic&Malarkey]

Thanks for the advice. I'm not expecting an return investment in them. They are solely for my enjoyment and amusement. They won't be any more expensive than the horses I used to own.

I'll be reconfiguring the gate situation. I just slapped them on there with no real thought.

The empty strip of land is going to be a shooting range for my husband. He would protest greatly if I didn't leave him something. When I have them scrape the blow dirt off the top of my soil, I'm going to have them pile it all there, and along the side of the pasture fence as a barrier between the range and the pasture. He doesn't use it often, and I would move the livestock to the other side when he does use it.

Thanks for the shade and shelter ideas! I've been scouring this website and Pinterest for ideas.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Thanks for the advice. I'm not expecting an return investment in them. They are solely for my enjoyment and amusement. They won't be any more expensive than the horses I used to own.

I'll be reconfiguring the gate situation. I just slapped them on there with no real thought.

The empty strip of land is going to be a shooting range for my husband. He would protest greatly if I didn't leave him something. When I have them scrape the blow dirt off the top of my soil, I'm going to have them pile it all there, and along the side of the pasture fence as a barrier between the range and the pasture. He doesn't use it often, and I would move the livestock to the other side when he does use it.

Thanks for the shade and shelter ideas! I've been scouring this website and Pinterest for ideas.

You can get a small return or at least break even if you go with good quality, registered stock at least with Nigerians.

There are a number of Nigerian Breeders around the country doing quite well making a living breeding quality animals.

 

[NH homesteader]

Bossroo please remember that some of us have animals we choose to keep because we like that breed, it makes us happy, and in my case, I have milk goats to feed my family. There is more to farming than money. I would never advocate for getting more animals than one can care for, but having a small goat herd that makes me smile every day is what I'm looking for.