Looking for Advice and Experience

[babsbag]

As you know, I am unimpressed with the Wedge-Locs and surely wouldn't trust them in even a semi-permanent fence. TSC isn't carrying them anymore so they weren't good sellers.

Somehow I missed your experience with them. I have them in one corner, been there for 8 years, stretched tight in two directions and no problems.

 

[farmerjan]

Have you called anyone to price what it would cost to fence this area? It might not be as "expensive as you think" if you were to add up all the costs of your own material; posts, wire, braces etc and so on. Around here in Va the going rate is about $3.50 a foot. That's everything, done completed. I realize that alot of the people on here are retired, and didn't win the lottery lately, and/or like me, have some limiting factors like my ankle/knee joint difficulties. The cattle panels are nice especially for short distances where stretching is a pain or next to impossible or would require too many posts/braces to make it practical. And the added extra is that it is easily removed for a gateway or something else. Regular cattle panels will have openings too big to keep the chickens in. The "combination" panels have smaller openings on the bottom but still will let chicks and small chickens through.These are both in the 4 ft height. Then there are hog panels that are 37 or 39" high and the horizontals are a bit closer together but chickens will definitely got over. The ones with the smaller openings are nice but yes, much more expensive.

I am all for doing things yourself. But I no longer can do the fencing like I did even 5 years ago. If my son can't do it, I will have anything done that I need done, and figure out a way to pay for it. I really think you ought to at least get someone out to look at it and get an estimate. Then you will know what you are looking at and can make a list and figure what the materials alone will cost you. If you were to, say, do it in cattle panels, then figure the cost of them and t-posts and clips and get a real rough estimate of the material costs. Just as a general guideline. There is one other BIG plus to having it done....it is done and finished in a day or two instead of it taking a week, or weeks, to do it.

Ask at the coop if there is someone who is looking for some side work and pay by the job and you supply the materials and some help too....That way they are not dilly-dallying along like if it was an hourly job.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Sounds like a good suggestion @farmerjan , Thanks will look in to it.

 

[Baymule]

Do you have a stretcher bar? Link on how to build your own, using a couple of 2x4's and some bolts.

http://www.louispage.com/blog/bid/63632/How-To-Pull-Your-Fence-To-Get-It-Tight

We fenced our place in the 2"x4"x48" non climb horse wire. It keeps all our animals IN and everybody else's OUT. There is goat and sheep wire, but I have read on here that Nigerian Dwarf kids can go through it, so it stands to reason that Pygmy kids could definitely go through it.

 

[Bruce]

Somehow I missed your experience with them. I have them in one corner, been there for 8 years, stretched tight in two directions and no problems.

My problem could be that I could NOT get the corner and first 2 sides posts in line. Damn rocks and concrete buried shallow by previous owner right where I needed to put the fence.

Some 'rocks' are just too big to remove without serious hydraulic equipment. As such the T-Post braces angle off some (to the inside) and the 60 degree clips don't like to stay in. It would take little pressure pulling the corner post out to drop the braces. In fact I have twice found the one on the east side on the ground.

@farmerjan If fence installed is $3.50/foot with 5' horse fence that would be a good deal. A roll of the fence (200') at TSC would be half that then you add in all the T-posts. How many H-braces and gates would that include or are those "adders"?

Clips are free when you buy T-Posts at TSC. In fact so many people either forget them or don't take them that I've been given entire bags of "25/bag" bags.

 

[babsbag]

I have read on here that Nigerian Dwarf kids can go through it, so it stands to reason that Pygmy kids could definitely go through it.

I have 4x4 squares in my kidding pens and my mini goats can't get through all of the way but they do get their heads in and think that they are stuck. But my minis are a little bigger than Pygmies. I have sheep and goat fencing on one property line and a hot wire so no goats get near it. I have had Jack rabbits get stuck and die in 4x4 and I would prefer to just keep them out altogether. 2x4 horse fencing is the best, just not the best for the pocket book.

 

[CntryBoy777]

So, I think I have settled the issue in my mind, anyway. I'm thinking of putting up the more traditional fence on the boundary lines, and use cattle panels inside around the garden area. Also, to use them to section off different areas for the poultry, I can always wire some poultry wire to the bottom of the panels. It does tend to rust and collapse before too long a time and can be easily replaced with not much effort. This will give flexability within the borders and the materials will be handy if an emergency repair is needed because of a fallen tree or limb that is as large as most trees that are on the oaks around here. This will save some time and physical labor, and allow for flexability for any future plans. Any thoughts about this set-up?

 

[babsbag]

I use poultry wire on panels and it works out ok. I use the plastic stuff and attach it with small UV resistant zip ties. 3 years and still looks the same as it did the day I put it on. Put it on before you install the panels and you can do it on a saw horses and not have to lean over.

 

[CntryBoy777]

I appreciate that "Tip" @babsbag , I will definitely file that one away in the memory "Bank". This back and legs will Appreciate a break. I already have some rolls of 3' poultry wire Mom had, brand new so, it will be nice to add her to the Place too. Especially the garden, because it was her Favorite place....except for the pond.

 

[farmerjan]

@Bruce the $3.50 ft was for standard woven wire (field) fence not the horse fence. Don't know what that would be. I should have been more specific. I was trying to give CB777 a little idea of comparison. Had a guy recently that told my son that he would do the work for $1.00 ft if we bought all the materials, since he was slow at the time and needed some work to keep his help employed. Sometimes there are guys that do that sort of stuff if they are not booked up, and according to the time of year. It wasn't a bad deal but we had already put in most of the posts the previous weekend so not a great deal under those conditions. Now if the posts weren't in, yeah it would have been worth it. We had all the stuff bought and had laid the posts out already and they had been there for about 2-3 months and we had never had the time to do it. Then Michael got some help and they just drove posts one Saturday. We would like to get it finished so we can let the cattle have this half of the 50 acre field to graze off the growth from all summer. It would really cut down on the hay for these 35 cow/calf pairs for the next couple weeks if we don't get any real deep snow. The 4 " we got 2 weeks ago was gone the following week, after temps warmed up into the 40's and now are 40's nights and hit 60 today. Crazy.