How To Build a Goat Pen Made of Chicken Wire

Goats are inquisitive animals.

A goat pen built with chicken wire fencing will keep the goats from getting out and predators from getting in. Support for the chicken wire comes from wood fence posts and horizontal boards attached to the fence posts. Staples attach the chicken wire to the wood from the ground level upward. The fence should be high enough to keep the goats from jumping over it. Purchase chicken wire, also called poultry or stucco netting, at a home improvement store.

Things You'll Need

• 6-inch diameter wood fence posts, 7-feet long
• 2-inch-by-6-inch boards, 12-feet long
• Hammer
• 5-inch fencing nails
• 5-foot-tall roll of chicken wire
• Heavy-duty stapler
• 1/2-inch staples

Instructions

1. Dig a 1 1/2-foot deep hole wherever you want the corners of the goat pen. Drop a fence post into each hole and pack dirt around them with the end of the shovel handle. Raise the shovel up and then slam the handle down into the hole as hard as you can after each shovelful of dirt. Wiggle the post throughout the packing process to help settle the packed dirt. Stamp the soil when it nears the surface with the heal of your shoe to compact it even more. Tie a string to one of the corner posts and then run it to the other corner posts to outline the perimeter line of the fence.

2. Dig 1 1/2-foot-deep holes every 5 feet, 9 inches between the corner posts.

3. Place a wood post in each hole and fill the hole back in around the post with dirt using the shovel. Pack the dirt in tight around the posts using the handle end of the shovel.

4. Lay a 12-foot board on the ground so that one end is in the center of a corner post, the middle board touches a post and the other end is in the center of a third fence post. Lift the board 6 inches above the ground so that its 6-inch side is flush with the three posts. Hammer the board to the posts with two fencing nails per post. Position the nails vertically 2 inches apart. Repeat this process until you've nailed the first row of fence boards to the fence posts all the way around the pen.

5. Nail a second row of horizontal boards 12 inches above the upper edge of the first row of boards. Nail a third row of horizontal boards 12 inches above the upper edge of the second row of boards. Nail a fourth row of horizontal boards 12 inches above the upper edge of the third row of boards.

6. Unroll the roll of chicken wire around the entire inside perimeter of the fence posts and fence boards. Staple the end of the chicken wire in the corner of the fence to the four horizontal fence boards 3 inches above the ground and 3 inches below the topmost fence board. Staple the chicken wire along each row of fence boards until the wire is tight to the fence. Place staples 2 inches apart vertically every 6 inches along each row of fence boards.

Tips & Warnings

• The goat pen should be 5 1/2-feet-tall when complete.