14 / 152
14 SHEEP AND GOAT FENCES
www.premier1supplies.com • 1-800-282-6631 Temporary… Boundary sites? Electric netting is the best temporary boundary fence. Why? Because sheep, goats, dogs and most coyotes cannot penetrate it and, after the initial “pain/ shock” event, rarely try to jump it. Specific suggestions: • Use 35" ElectroNet ® only if animals are trained to netting and are neither tall nor flighty. It’s less $$ and easier to use than other netting. • Use the taller ElectroStop ® or ElectroFence ™ for flighty animals. Internal sites? • Netting is more reliable but also more expensive per ft to purchase. • Multi-strand fences with 2 to 3 strands of IntelliRope ™ 4.5 or IntelliTwine ® on reels are much cheaper per ft than netting . They will stop most adult ewes and feeder lambs. But not coyotes, dogs, young lambs/kids, dairy goats, hungry sheep or rams/billies during the breeding season. IntelliFence ® solutions for… Sheep &Goats Unique situations… Floodplain sites? We use a 5-strand fence composed of: a. IntelliRope ™ 4.5 below the normal high-water level. b. HT wire above that. c. Wooden line posts—because they resist the side pressure created by floods better than steel or fiberglass. Floods will break the IntelliRope and leave the posts in place. It’s easy to fix the IntelliRope. Water gaps? (see p. 149) • Old or damaged electrified netting supported by extra FiberRods. Each flood will degrade or remove it. • Or install up to 4 strands of live tape/ twine on 1/2" fiberglass rods. This is much cheaper than net, less likely to tangle and easily repaired—but less reliable against creative animals. Field gates? • Temporary gates? Use NetGate ™ 3.0. Repels coyotes and dogs as well as livestock. Can be adapted to any length. Low cost. Easy to install. • More permanent gates? Premier’s 4 fttall welded wire panels (though some
guard dogs crawl over them).
• For electrified netting—just remove
the end post and pull the net back to let
animals or machines in/out.
Semi-Permanent… What do we define as a semi-permanent fence? One that will be moved monthly to once a year. (We reset some of our PermaNet 10/48/6 fences in the spring and leave them until the next spring.) PermaNet features taller, thicker, stronger posts and more conductors than temporary fences. Specific suggestions: • PermaNet ® , ElectroFence ® or QuikFence ® . They are faster to install and remove than 4 or 5 strand multi- strand fences. More expensive. More reliable. All nets must be electrified. • 3 to 5 strand electrified multi-strand fences. Much less expensive. Less reliable than the netting options. Multi-strand fences, by definition, lack vertical strands—vertical strands increase visibility and act as a psychological barrier to livestock. And multi-strand fences need stronger end and corner posts because the strands are tensioned. (photo below) ElectroNet 9/35/12—the gold standard of temporary sheep and goat fencing. Lightweight and quick to move. We (and our flocks) would be lost without this netting.