# # of strands for non-electric high tensile wire



## ugabulldog (Jan 28, 2009)

I am planning on having sheep in the near future and building fence accordingly. Entire perimeter is already fenced with 48" woven field wire. This question deals with interior fence only. From what I have read I need 8 strands of high tensile wire if non-electric, do I need this many? Also, if I choose to go electric, I plan on using 5 strands, sound right?


----------



## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

IME high tensile without a GOOD charger electrifying it is wasted money. They'll walk right through it. Either get it hot or invest in more Paige wire or electric netting or something. Smooth wire, barb wire, etc....sheep just laugh at it IME.


----------



## goodhors (Sep 6, 2011)

Tensile wire is designed with the animal in mind. Different animals react or choose to do things in various ways. Tensile wire is also designed to work with electricity. As Bret4207 said, not electrifying the tensile wire is putting up useless fence. Sheep will quickly devise ways to go thru or under the tensile wire without electric heating it up. Bottom wire NEEDS to be hot, YOU have to keep the fence cleaned of vegetation, or again the electric is not going to keep the sheep from going thru the wires.

Our TRAINED New Zealand fence installer, WAY BACK when high tensile fences were new ideas, said cattle are recommended to have 14 wires, with horses only needing 8 wires. Each species had a number of those wires running hot. Didn't have sheep then, so don't know their wire numbers. 

Once the high tensile wire got to be commonly available, you could "install it yourself", then locally, no one put it up "correctly". Wire needed was all over the place in recommendations by the wire sellers who were NOT New Zealand Fence trained. People ran 2-3 strands, expected it to do the job of containing ALL animals. High tensile fences got the terrible reputation for hurting animals, "cheese-cutter effect" when animals tried to go thru or over those wrongly built fences. I asked a LOT of questions each time I heard about "bad high tensile fence" accidents, and in EVERY instance the fences were badly built with too few wires, not enough posts or braces, great overcrowding of animals to enclosed spaces like barnyards. Not enough wires, poor posts way too far apart, and EVEN the NO ELECTRIC fencer!! Further question on electricity got me "They has been in that fence, should KNOW it is hot, and not test it! I was saving on my electric bill only running the charger now and then to keep him "taught" about hot fences."

I am the only person with the 8 strand fencing within 40 miles, and those 40 mile folks were the ones we used the same fence installer with. Our fences were built to the same standards, have both held up well over those many years.

So know now, if you cut corners to skimp on correct installation with too few wires, improper spacing of those wires for sheep, not keeping the fences clean of vegetation and wires hot, keeping fencer on ALL THE TIME, you will have problems with that fence. If this is the case, you should put up some other kind of fence for your sheep, because the high tensile wire is NOT going to keep you happy.

I love my high tensile wire fence, would have it installed again if I needed anything fenced. But you MUST do things as recommended by the originators or the finished product won't do the job you expect of it.


----------

