# moveable goat fencing - is there such a thing?



## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

At year two, we are *still *trying to clear enough land to fence in a trio of goats. Here in the PAc NW, it is slow going. There's a mix of blackberry, salmonberry, nettles, stumps, scrub alder and thatch well over our heads, so thick you can not get through without a machete. With such a bonanza of browse though, it would seem that the goats themselves could help us get ahead. Our initial thinking is that we should fence _atleast_ a half acre with secure, protective fencing first, hence the blackberry battle - though we are gaining ground.

We don't want to tether, so I'm wondering if there IS, in fact, some sort of moveable fencing that we could erect to help us meet our objectives sooner - those being land clearance and goat ownership. 

I heard that old addage - if it doesn't hold water, it won't hold a goat - so I'm dubious... but hopeful. 

Thanks


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## GoatNamedDunn (Jun 20, 2008)

you can try to build a system of hotwire/electic fencing. It would be the easist to assemble/reassemble as needed.


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## Kittikity (Oct 21, 2004)

There is also electric netting from Premier1.. http://www.premier1supplies.com/c/fencing/electric_netting/


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

We use the electric netting. Wonderful stuff.


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## Tadpole (Feb 7, 2005)

I'd like to know what one will work. What else do you need besides the electric netting fence? I'd love to try this way, seems to be easier than cow panels to put up. What are the pros and coms about this way of fencing?


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

Thanks for the advice. Looks like we'll need to bone-up on electric fencing. We had wanted to avoid the electric route (and still may in deference to high grade standard post and field fencing), but it might be a nice option.

My question: we work during the day - would we be able to safely leave the animals inside an electric fence? Knowing little about this type of fencing, is their any danger of fire? And finally, what about predators? Yep! We have em. Coyote mostly - an occasional cat. 

We do have a couple of good dogs which seem to keep the coyotes at bay, our geese free range and we have suffered only a two losses, in two years...as for the cats, well - we could only hope their mostly night foragers. The goats would have a small, but sound barn for protection.


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## nubiansinny (Jul 31, 2007)

Will the brush cause the electric fence to short?.... I always wondered?
Was thinking about getting some myself.
Right now i use cattle panels...LOVE THEM! They might be a better idea for you if you are only getting a couple of goats.I can move them myself.
No one can escape but my guys are not very motivated too either!
How long of a life do you get out of the electric fence?


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## chma4 (Feb 27, 2005)

If you have predators, electric is a must. To train your predators to stay away, wrap a piece of bacon on your hot wire. They learn quick not to mess with your fences. I have problem bears, but only when the fence is down. They know to stay far away when it is on. I have had electric fence running here for 5 years non-stop and never had a problem with a fire or predators. If I thought for even a minute that fire was a concern, I would never use it. 
Also, they sell plastic poles with spikes on the ends. The spike gets pushed into the soil to hold your electric wire and can easily be moved. This is what I use for my "moving" pen.


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## Bona Fide (Oct 30, 2007)

We use cattle panels (and round pen panels) - the cattle panels or concrete or paige wire on top of the round pen panels. The round pen panels make it easy to move and set up, the wire on top keeps the goaties in . 
GL


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## chma4 (Feb 27, 2005)

Yes the fence will short if there is alot of brush on it. Try to avoid running the wire right through thicket. try to edge it. With the white poles, it is easy to use alot of them and go where you need without much expense. i think they are about $2 each, and wire is super cheap.


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

Round up along the base of the electric net fence when necessary. We use electric net a semi-permanent fencing for the area where their goat shed is located. That's where I use the Round Up.

We have other spans of electric net that we move around as necessary. It is placed so that brush is not a problem.


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## oceanmist (Mar 21, 2006)

lessons I've learned

#1 it works and so will YOU! LOL

you have to cut a line, a grass free, brush free, relatively rock free fence line!

enjoy that project...  

#2ok then you need to train your goats and your dog to the fence... you have to teach them that it is bad... horned goats can and WILL push the bottom wires up and go right through if they are not taught to stay away

#3babies will walk right under as well... and stand on the other side a bawl all day long because inevitably when they try to go back to mom they get shocked... 

on a good note eletric rope fencing is effective and inexpensive, it is just high maintainence and you are going to have goats getting out at some point in time and you have to be prepared for that...

Misty


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## oceanmist (Mar 21, 2006)

LFRJ said:


> At year two, we are *still *trying to clear enough land to fence in a trio of goats. Here in the PAc NW, it is slow going. There's a mix of blackberry, salmonberry, nettles, stumps, scrub alder and thatch well over our heads, so thick you can not get through without a machete. With such a bonanza of browse though, it would seem that the goats themselves could help us get ahead. Our initial thinking is that we should fence _atleast_ a half acre with secure, protective fencing first, hence the blackberry battle - though we are gaining ground.
> 
> We don't want to tether, so I'm wondering if there IS, in fact, some sort of moveable fencing that we could erect to help us meet our objectives sooner - those being land clearance and goat ownership.
> 
> ...


out of curiousity why are you trying to clear land to run goats???

that's what they are for!!! clearing land and they are good at it... they will be fat and sassy, you will just get tired and sweaty.... LOL

run a perimeter fence... clear only that line and let them eat through the black berries... remember black berry leave change taste throughout the year, losing their appeal to the goats at various times...but I promise your goats WILL eat them to a nub sooner or later!

let them eat the brush, don't clear it for them!

Misty


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

THanks Misty - and thanks all. We are clearing land becuase at this point, we could not get ANY type of fence through until we do. I was going to try and post pics. All I can say is that it's pretty thick. In case you've neve seen a good Pac NW blackberry thicket, it's hard to describe - kind of like a wall of woven, well thorned rose bushes, nine or ten feet high. No matter what you wear, clearing with handtools will leave you pretty exhausted, covered with surface lacerations all over your arms and legs, and utterly flustered when next spring, they come right back. We NEEEd goats. Infact, the goat rental biz is pretty common here. 

My thoughts were that if we can clear a perimeter - as opposed to an entire area, perhaps we could erect some type of fence, add goats and voiala! living brush hogs - as you say - fat & sassy (thought the sassy part worries me a little  

We'd have to march them in and out of their enclosure morning and evening - but maybe our australian cattle dog could learn to help with that. He needs a job. 

Oh, and fair warning - when it comes to fruition, I'd suddenly be a regular on this section of the forum. Hope you all can put up with me, but thanks for the advice thus far. 

LF


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Jan 10, 2004)

We use posts and cattle panels and it works pretty well and it relatively portable. it may not look pretty, may not be even on the ground, you may have issues with roots, etc but it works. Also we have fond that with a lot of goodies to eat INSIDE, they are less likely to challenge the fence to get OUTSIDE.


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## oceanmist (Mar 21, 2006)

Qvrfullmidwife said:


> We use posts and cattle panels and it works pretty well and it relatively portable. it may not look pretty, may not be even on the ground, you may have issues with roots, etc but it works. Also we have fond that with a lot of goodies to eat INSIDE, they are less likely to challenge the fence to get OUTSIDE.


you know that would be a good option, make a small pen with cattle panels and use them goats to eat the brush down... if you force them into a smaller area they will eat it faster and cleaner, of course they aren't going to eat the stems so much of the lovely Himalayn blackberry... yes I grew up in Oregon and am waaaay familiar with the difficulty of removing them! 

at any rate, make them goats work for you cattle panels can be tossed down and pushed through black berries....but remember this, goats can and will escape many fences! they like challenging you!

LOL

Misty


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## Starsmom (Nov 7, 2004)

I use cattle panels, works great. For a portable or temporary pen, I use 4 metal post and 4 panels. Attach together with wire or even twine at each post. This is just a temporary pen and I move it or take it town after a few hours. Takes about 15 minutes or less to put up and quicker to take down. My sons bucks have learned to wander, so they have to be contained. My does however will just wander around and eat whatever and come home when called, so I don't worry so much about them. They never stray further away than they can be seen...can't lose sight of the barn!


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

An electric fence will cost about 15% of any other. But you have the constant electric bill. So after 20 years it may be a wash.

A well constructed fence will keep all stock in and predators out. Here are the keys to success with goats.

1. Get a charger rated for at least twice the area you plan to fence. I have a 50 mile fencer on about 2 miles of fence. Dead grounding even in the snow doesn't stop it's bite.
2. Run wire so you have grounds and hots next to each other.
3. The fence doesn't need to be super strong just well built and wires spaced well.
4. All fences work best if they have room to roam. So if you fence 2 acres instead of 1 they will stay better or 4 instead of 2 ect..
5. Where they sleep and you interact will be the highest priority and get the most stress. 
6. Here is an image of how mine is built. 


Hosted on Fotki


If you get a big fencer you can run the fence through all the carp to the point of having to throw the spools to the other side of the mess. Ask me how I know???. Then the goats will do the job you got them for. They will clear everything to about 6' in hight. You can nail it to trees or even the bigger branches of the brush. 

One thing I did here because of the bears is I made all the grounds away from the house Barb wire. It's a lot stronger than the smooth wire I used and it bites.

As to the question of temp fence. I'd work on a perimeter fence then worry about the rest. Believe me I know about running the fence through the brush but it really is worth the time and once it's done they can clear it for you over the next few years.


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## Christiaan (Mar 13, 2004)

I use electric netting and panels depending on terrain. I also raise Fainting goats, they are so much easier to confine. They don't jump and they don't climb! They'll also eat stinging nettles once they are wilted.


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## kidsngarden (Mar 24, 2006)

We are in WA too and we use cattle panels and our adult goats never get out. Newborn babies can though. For a larger area we want to use 6 strand electric - which I think is hardly portable! We tried the fiberglass posts with the plasticy wire stuff - totally didn't work after awhile.


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Jan 10, 2004)

Yes, newborns can get out of cattle panels. for our babies we use utility panels. pricey but it isnt for a huge area and we know they are secure.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Another Washingtonian here! Well familiar with blackberries and salal. If you can't hack your way all the way around the perimeter and put up a fence ( T-posts, field fence, and a hot wire to keep the goats off the field fencing) - which would be the easiest in the long run, then I would have to say stock panels, too. I've used them effectively. Cut into 8' sections, you can just tie them together with baling twine - helps if you have some trees or at least saplings to tie them to. The 8' sections are easier to handle in heavy brush than are the 16' panels, and you can use as many of them as you can find trees to tie them up to, T-posts to support them or zigs and zags in the fenceline to keep the panels upright. I never have any trouble keeping adult goats inside stock panels - in fact, it's the only way short of a barn stall that I CAN keep a couple of my escape artists IN!


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## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

LFRJ, I live in the PNW, too. I know exactly what you mean by "blackberries". I have no idea what your budget is, but have you looked into hiring someone to come put a perimeter fence in? The people who put our fence in (before we bought the property) also put the neighbor's fence in. They had a tractor that they tore out the brush along the fence line with, and pounded the posts in with the shovel on the front. They got the neighbor's done in just a couple of days. 10 acres about square, with one side in heavy brush. Your mileage would vary on how long it would take, I'm sure.


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