# cattle panels vs goat fencing



## tansyflower (Dec 16, 2013)

So I am getting two Nigerian dwarfs in a few weeks and need help choosing fencing. I can either wire cattle panels with a string of hotwire or I can get goat fencing (woven on a roll) with a string of hotwire. The goat fencing is much cheaper than the cattle panels, but I want to make sure they stay in so I don't really care if I have to spend a little extra.

Advice? Also how many hotwire strings do you use? I was going to just run one at nose level inside the fence but I wasn't sure if I needed one up along the top as well. Thank you.


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## tansyflower (Dec 16, 2013)

Oh and for reference I am going to be milking them so by next spring I will have kids to think about as well.


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## togg75 (Nov 28, 2008)

It all depends on your goats and where they are fenced. I like the cattle panels because for me they are bullet proof. I drive t post every 8 feet and clip the panels in place. They are durable enough to work as gates and if I need to move the fence the come down easy and can be replaced easily.


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## tansyflower (Dec 16, 2013)

togg75 said:


> It all depends on your goats and where they are fenced. I like the cattle panels because for me they are bullet proof. I drive t post every 8 feet and clip the panels in place. They are durable enough to work as gates and if I need to move the fence the come down easy and can be replaced easily.


Well the goats are Nigerian dwarves, so not huge. My biggest worry with the cattle panels is the kids jumping throgh them, they will be a few acres away from the house. We have coyotes and I need to keep them contained.


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## dozedotz (Dec 12, 2012)

How much space are you planning on enclosing? We have standard Nubians (much bigger and stronger than your little Nigies) and we use 4x4 goat and sheep fencing for the perimeter with no electric. No one has ever escaped except when we left the gate unlatched (not a fence problem - an AGE problem!). For the kid pen we use 16 foot cattle panels with chicken wire attached (not a job you will enjoy..lol), but it keeps noses in and dogs of all kinds out! Pictures show both kind of fences. We do not use electric on the kid pen either.


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## dozedotz (Dec 12, 2012)

Sorry, pictures didn't make it...trying again...


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## punchiepal (Oct 11, 2008)

We have combination cattle panels (smaller at the bottom and graduate to large toward the top), no electric on anything. Held the nigies for 6 yrs so far. LOL We have had only a couple of kids get through the combo panels, but "there was goaties over there mom!". Our kids are separated from the does and bottle raised so I think they were curious. If you can pull the horse fencing tight enough, then I wouldn't hesitate to do it. 

Ideally, if I could afford it, the whole place would be fenced in 4x4 cattle-like panels. Love them things!


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

I use cattle panels with 2 ft tall hardware cloth wired along the bottom to keep babies in


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## Awnry Abe (Mar 21, 2012)

Woven wire does best on longer runs. If you have short enough runs to consider cattle panels, I'd go with the cattle panels.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

4' non climb fence....James

https://www.google.com/search?q=non+climb+fence&rlz=1T4AURU_enUS501US507&tbm=isch&imgil=M8nXjvdcdSVnPM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcSP5SzpXtrrIt4d3A8IdZPmmowXri4j6vj1mb9kQaecHR8Dzs4fJw%253B640%253B480%253Bch0C_B7Www6sOM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.merchantcircle.com%25252Fbusiness%25252FStatewide.Fence.503-393-5466%25252Fpicture%25252Fgallery&source=iu&usg=__v7tzRxDOIhlXEsWDg_YuB-WClXU%3D&sa=X&ei=B7SLU_ezFJLwoAT5o4H4DQ&ved=0CFsQ9QEwAw&biw=1093&bih=462#facrc=_&imgdii=_R1xsuxfEiJz0M%3A%3Bl9N3gdwci-q2pM%3B_R1xsuxfEiJz0M%3A&imgrc=_R1xsuxfEiJz0M%253A%3BLEfUGFHmcfrZQM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.angellscustomwelding.com%252Fassets%252Fimages%252Fcustom-metal-fencing%252Fpipe-with-no-climb-horse-fence.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.angellscustomwelding.com%252Fcustom-fencing%252F%3B650%3B373


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## Clovers_Clan (Jul 17, 2012)

ND babies can get through the cattle panels easy. They can also slip through gaps in regular woven wire. Just one of the reasons I'm selling off my NDs this year. Since they are that far from the house and there is a potential predator problem, personally, I would secure the perimeter with the 2"x4" woven wire horse/goat fencing. Or at least any areas where babies will be. The adults are fine with either woven or cattle panels. Like Abe said, long runs are best suited for woven wire. The cattle panels are great for smaller areas that get a lot of wear and tear, like loafing areas and buck pens. They're also perfect for temporary confinement pens.


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## tansyflower (Dec 16, 2013)

Thanks everyone! Maybe I will do cattle panels with chicken wire on the bottom


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## Kaos (Oct 7, 2008)

tansyflower said:


> Thanks everyone! Maybe I will do cattle panels with chicken wire on the bottom


 As others have said, 2"X4" gap woven wire or 2"X4" gap horse panel (expensive) is the worry free way to go with babies, imo.


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## mrs whodunit (Feb 3, 2012)

Chicken wire on the bottom of the cattle panels didnt last long for me as the goats stood on it and smashed it down.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

If you have cattle panels, the benefit is you don't have to ever do anything to fix them.


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

mrs whodunit said:


> Chicken wire on the bottom of the cattle panels didnt last long for me as the goats stood on it and smashed it down.


That's why I use hardware cloth instead. My ND does were determined to poke their noses through the chicken wire and even chewed it apart in a few places so the holes got too big.


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## tansyflower (Dec 16, 2013)

Squeaky McMurdo said:


> That's why I use hardware cloth instead. My ND does were determined to poke their noses through the chicken wire and even chewed it apart in a few places so the holes got too big.




My husband still wants to run the hotwire on the inside of the panels, think they would still chew?


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

If you have other goats, the babies will stay with the herd. We had one NG dwarf with 4 others, and he would come running for grain (crawl out) but otherwise never left the goat pasture, he stayed with the "big " goats. 
And yeah I think chicken wire wont last long, and we do have both the woven wire and cattle panel fencing.
Hotwire I think will still have a tendency to sag and go kaput, babies are easier to keep in but goats have time on the hands, and as they mature they will test and test it and find some weakness, but it might work (we dont use it so cant give you feedback on that)...


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## sriston (Mar 30, 2013)

My adult Nigerian Dwarf fits through cattle panels. To solve the problem, we added some 2x4 field fencing to the bottom half of the cattle panel enclosure. Our cattle panels are 4x6. It's the 6" spacing he can easily fit through.


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