Types of Goat Fencing

Goats are notoriously difficult to fence.

There's an old saying that if a fence can't hold water, it can't hold a goat. Between their natural intelligence, an insatiable curiosity and a penchant for testing the limits, goats often drive their owners to distraction with their repeated escape attempts. Take the time to build a goat-proof fence before you get your goats, choosing a style that you're comfortable with and fits in your budget.

Electric Fencing

Goat owners seeking an inexpensive but effective goat fencing option often turn to electric fences to keep their goats from munching on the next-door neighbor's bushes and flowers. In addition to posts, insulators and electric wire, you'll need a fence energizer; with costs starting around $100 (depending upon brand and power capabilities), your energizer will be the most expensive part of your electric fencing system for your goats.

Extension.org suggests that you use at least four strands of electric wire for your goat fence. Locate the bottom wire approximately 6 inches from the ground, placing subsequent wires in 8-inch increments to create a fence that measures at least 30 inches tall. Use wooden or metal posts, spacing them as far apart as 25 feet. Make sure the wires are taut so they don't ground out on vegetation.

Stock Panel Fencing

At a cost of approximately $25 per 16-foot panel, stock panel fencing is an expensive option for goat fencing, but it's a fool-proof way to contain larger or more aggressive goats, such as bucks. Each panel consists of intersecting vertical and horizontal steel bars that are welded together for maximum strength; measuring 54 inches tall, these stiff panels create an impenetrable barrier that adult goats can't get through.

Use stock panel fencing for buck pens or high-usage areas, such as corrals and feedlots. Young goat kids can slip between the bar spaces, so you should avoid using the panels for kid pens. Install the panels end-to-end, placing a wooden post or steel T-post every 8 feet to provide enough support for the fence. Cut to the correct length with bolt cutters, stock panels also provide excellent goat-proof gates; simply secure the hinge end of the panel to your gate post with lengths of wire or bungee cords.

Woven Wire Fencing

According to Maggie Sayer, author of "Storey's Guide to Raising Meat Goats," woven wire fencing provides an ideal perimeter or boundary fence for goats. Also called field fence, woven wire consists of vertical and horizontal strands of flexible wire joined together at regular intervals. A 330-foot roll of 48-inch-tall woven wire fence typically costs between $100 and $200, depending on factors such as wire thickness and durability.

One of the major drawbacks of woven wire fencing is its labor-intensive installation. You'll need to use 6- to 8-inch diameter wooden posts for corner and bracing posts to provide adequate support for the fence, installing them at least 2 feet into the ground. Locate wooden or steel line posts approximately 10 to 12 feet apart before stretching the fence taut and wiring it to the posts. Many commercial goat ranches also install single barbed wire strands at the top and bottom of a woven wire fence to deter predators.

References

• Extension.org: Goat Vegetation Fencing
• "Storey's Guide to Raising Meat Goats"; Maggie Sayer; 2007
• "Living with Goats"; Margaret Hathaway; 2009
• Langston University: Types of Fencing for Goats