ArtisticFarmer said:
babsbag said:
Mine will stay in with one wire when we do cross fencing. But for me it is just nice to know that the worst that will happen is a doe gets bred. I would hate to trust a fence like that for the long run. What will you do if the fence fails, no power, battery dies, charger breaks, etc.? Mine honeslty know when the fence is not energized. Also do you have to worry about keeping predators out?
Hmmm....Would it work if I put chicken wire (with a strand of electric at goat knee high) about 3-4 feet high, and top with a couple strands of electric? We occaisonally have dogs and coyote to keep out. They will be put away in the barn at night, where the biggest thing that has ever gotten in there is a pregnant raccoon. (took us FOREVER to get all the coons out!!!) But we fixed the barn door so now the only thing in there is chicken and cats.
My goats don't touch my fence so chicken wire would work for them, but I would worry about the other animals getting in. Goats are easy prey so it is good you will lock them up at night, but domestic dogs can be a problem during the day too. Sometimes animals learn that they can just rush the wire and it will only hurt for a second and then they are done and free. I am not trying to discourage you from owning goats, but it is heartbreaking to lose them once you have them.
I know welded wire isn't preferred with livestock but it might be something that is a middle ground between nothing and chicken wire. Whatever you get you want to make sure that a predator has to climb it and that they will touch a hot wire, preferably with their nose, before they get over the fence. We also run a hot wire about 4-6 inches from the ground on the outside of the pasture so nothing digs under. Chicken wire would be easy to get under; especially with fence posts 20 ft apart. Once a year where I live I have to trim the fence line to mow down the deep green grass or the fence doesn't work as well. Here, once the grass turn brown the charger keeps it down for me.
I use welded wire on my garden and stretched it nice and tight so nothing could get under it. I was surprised how well the fence held up to stretching.
So, do you think a plain old electrice fence wouldn't work? How many volts would I need?
Also, I saw someone who had a 7 strand electric fence that was only about 30" high...and it kept the goats in. hmm...I don't know what to do!
Yay! How high should the chicken wire be - 2-4 feet is my options. (well, 1' too, but. you know. 
)
