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How To Build a Livestock Fence

Livestock fencing is dependent on the type of livestock you intend to keep inside the fence. There are many types of fence that will control livestock .This article provides a simple brief overview of typical livestock fencing.

Determine or know what livestock you own or will potentially have to help you consider what your fencing needs will be.

Most fences are suited for a variety of farm animal species, but ideally you shouldn't waste money on building something that will end up being what you don't need or is not enough to hold in the animals you are wanting to keep. For example, you shouldn't put up chicken wire if you're only going to have cattle, nor should you install cattle panels for chickens, goats or pigs. Chicken wire is best for chickens and other poultry and other small stock, and cattle panels are best for cattle and horses. With that in mind, you must also understand the risks of having a particular individual animal that may be more of a Houdini than the rest, which should be encouragement enough to make sure you make your fences, "goat-tight and bull-strong."

Goats are notorious for testing fences, being prone to climb up, jump over, crawl under, crawl through or even walk through fences. Build your fence so that it's tall enough that they are not likely to jump over and in the ground enough that they won't crawl under. The space between wires need to be smaller than the size of their heads, because if a goat can get its head through, then the rest of its body is sure to follow!
Sheep are less notorious for testing fences, yet are as small as goats; thus similar fencing requirements are required for this domestic species.
Pigs are worse for digging under and crawling under fences than going over them. You will need to install fencing that is deep enough underground that pigs won't root too far underneath to escape.
Many horse owners will argue that barbed wire fencing is the worse thing for horses to be contained in, and would rather spend the extra money on rail, or board fencing than wire fencing. Horses are much more apt to jump over a fence and figure out a way through the gate latch than crawling under or through a fence. However a stallion hot on the trail of a mare in heat will test a fence to its limits; thus if you own a breeding herd of horses, make sure the corral you are containing your corrals in is strong, sturdy and tall enough a stallion won't test it.
Fencing for cattle is a little more easier to choose because there are more choices a producer can make for holding their cattle in depending on where a producer wants to hold them in. Barbed wire fencing is the most common type of fencing for pasturing cattle. Electric fencing is best for those fence lines that are being tested too much or those who are rotational-grazing cattle. More rugged fencing such as stand-alone iron panels, wood board or iron rail is best for corrals, handling facilities and working or holding pens, and highly recommended for bull and cull-cow pens.

Determine what type of fence or fences that needs to be built.

Once you know what kind of livestock you will have to contain and what needs to be done to keep them in, ultimately what you choose depends on how much money you are willing to spend to buy the supplies, and how long the fence-line needs to be (or, what perimeter or area needs to be contained with a surrounding fence). Note that there is a huge difference in fences for corrals versus those for pasture.

With cattle for example, corral fences need to be tougher and stable than pasture fences. Pasture fencing for cattle require simple barbed-wire or high-tensile fences, whereas for pigs, goats and sheep, pasture fencing requires page wire up to a 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) tall, respectively. Pasture fencing for horses can also be barbed wire or high-tensile, but others like to get a little more fancy and have painted wood fences or aesthetically-pleasing iron fencing.
There are numerous types of fencing available. Some examples include:

Barbed wire fencingwith barbed wire installed alone in four to six or more-wired fences, smooth-wire fence in the form of high-tensile or low-tensile fencing (this type of fencing is often electrified) or a combination of smooth and barbed wire--one strand of barbed wire usually runs across top and sometimes at differing levels, or one strand of smooth wire runs across the top with the bottom wires barbed. Both types are fencing are best for livestock

Paige wire, though more expensive than barbed or smooth wire, is best for operations that pasture or raise goats, sheep, and pigs, and is a common pasture fencing for holding bison and elk. Paige wire may also be used on farms or ranches that run a cow-calf operation, and necessitates use if the producer doesn't want their calves out of the corral. Paige wire is also called "farm fence" or "woven wire," and comes in the form of woven chicken wire or 12 to 14 gauge wire welded together to form squares of varying lengths apart, from four to six inches apart. It can stand as low as three feet or as tall as eight feet.
Wooden horse railing or wooden boards are best for those who want more aesthetically pleasing farms and don't want to worry about the potential problems posed by wire fences. It can be expensive but safe and effective for horses. Wooden board fencing is also suitable for holding cattle.
Iron railing fencing is also suited for farms that have horses or wish to have aesthetically-pleasing yards. It can also be used for other livestock like cattle and sheep, especially in high-traffic areas such as holding corrals or sacrifice corrals.
Iron panel fencing comes in panels that need to be stabilized with wooden posts or stand-alone panels that simply require a tractor to put them into place. These, depending on the size, are great for keeping large animals such as deer, cattle (especially bulls), horses (including stallions), bison and even elk.

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