rotational grazing- what kind of wire?

[Howdyjabo]

I am going to do some intensive rotational grazing this year- moving a hot wire ALOT.

My cheap side wants to buy the thin strand of polywire- one- its cheaper two- when winding it would take less space.

Should I invest in tape or rope?
Any particular brand better than the others?
What is the best kind of step in post to get? Our soil is VERY Hard and rocky . I have used the plastic posts and I have to beat them into the ground in the summer.
I hope to be using the same stuff for years to come- so I don't mind investing in the better stuff if it lasts longer and/or is easier to use.

I am going to be using it on calves that have already been broke to a high tensile fence.

 

[bigbluegrass]

I use polywire for the day to day moves. I have several reels full of it. I have a back wire and then 2 or three moves ahead. I can't think of a reason you would need the rope or tape for just cows. If you have a good charger, the polywire will stop them. You can carry a reel full of 1,000 feet of polywire pretty easy - I don't think that would be the case with rope or tape. The better stuff is 9 strand, and I really like the 9 strand I have. I think it was Patriot. The cheaper 2 strand stuff is junk. It breaks after being used for awhile and doesn't conduct as well. Go with white also, cows seems to see it better. The dark colors seem to get lost in the grass color. I would go with a reel for sure. The ones I have are O'brien reels. Gallegher makes a nice one as well from what I have been told. I know several other manufactures make similar ones. I know some use the electric cord reels from Lowes with good success.

I have three or more varieties of step in posts. The old O'brien posts I have hold up really well. I haven't had any break yet. I understand they changed their post design last year, so I don't know about the new ones. The tractor supply posts are not that great. I broke two already out of a box of 50. The black southern states posts are doing pretty good. I haven't broke any yet, but they are hard to get into the ground. They have a sharp tip, but it is a lot fatter than the O'brien tip. I use some pigtail posts as well. I didn't like the O'brien pigtail posts. They seemed too thin and are easy to bend. The tractor supply ones hold up better, but the insulated part on top is not as good. I have had a few short out when the polywire cuts into it. I don't have a good solution for that, hope somebody else does.

Overall the charger is the most important piece. Do you have one already? I had a cheap one for 6 months and that was the longest 6 months I can remember. The cows had no respect for the wire. I got a 2 Joule Patriot and they respect it now. I want to get a nice Stafix 10 Joule, but I probably don't really need it. But you can get that with a remote shut off which would be nice if you don't like working on the wire hot - which I don't. I hate getting shocked.

Hope that helps. There are many others on here with more experience than I have. Agmantoo is one. I know he does daily moves and has a pretty sweet setup.

 

[Howdyjabo]

Thanks that info helps alot.

I'll be hooking it onto my hi tensile fence. Its hot enough that hubby hit it with his head and it knocked him to the ground and he stayed there for a few minutes.
Funny thing is I have a neighbor that can hold it with his hand and it doesn't faze him in the least. He has alot of fun baiting people into thinking fences are off

 

[bigbluegrass]

Yeh, I'm not into playing with electric fence when its hot. Just hearing it crack when the cows get too close is enough to make me jump :lol: :lol: I use the insulated gate handles to hook my polywire up to anything hot. Some people act like it just doesn't bother them. For me, it tingles for a half day if I get hit.

 

[dun]

9 strand of stainless conducter polywire is all we use. The tape because of the wind tends to chafe too much and doesn;t last as long as the wire, never tried the rope. I quit using the step in posts becuase they are had to pound in and around here you have to pound them anytime of the year. I've gone to the 3/8 sunshield fiberglass posts. I know I''ll have to pound them but with the driving cap they will still last for years. I have a copule of hundred of them and every year I have to repair the tip that has gotten shattered by trying to drive it through a solid rock. No big deal, it's only may 4-5 posts a year that I have to fix. I use a regular gate type of handle at the end that hooks over the hi-tensile back bone and it still has enough poop that the bulls avoid it like the plague. That's why sometimes I won;t even power up a short section if all I'm going to use it for is a runway, also can herd them with a piece of white cotton string.

 

[mack]

We use the 9strand Turbowire made by gallghers. They use a different type of metal other than stainless that is supposedly 40x more conductive. Also been using their pigtail posts and have had great luck since we quit using the all plastic ones. You can get a lot longer use out of the turbowire if you keep it on a reel and take care of it.

 

[stockbub]

We tried a variety of wires and the ones at Tractor Supply and they suck. We found Gallager Turbo wire and it works great.Great Shock value. My runs are over 600' each. We mob graze with moves every day. Cheap wire will not shock.

 

[SRBeef]

I use aluminum wire on Gallagher black reels with Gallagher hot and cold orange handles and Gallagher pigtail type step in posts for wires that are moved a lot. The Dare aluminum wire is strong but lighter than steel. I do not like polywire. The Gallagher stepins are expensive but last a long time and are relatively easy to get in and out. I also like the way the curl the top so you can put a step in post on a hotwire without getting a shock. jmho.

 

[hayray]

I use the Gallagher Turbo wire and various cheap reals. The O'brien greared reels are the best. I mostly use the Gallagher step in pigtail post and fiberglass sucker rod post for corners. Go to PdfAngus website, he has some really good pictures of MIG setup with reels and wire. I have a vriety of energizers - 30 joule Taylor Cyclops, 2, 3 joule Stafix, Gallagher M1000, Gallagher M1500.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

9-strand polywire.
I use the electric cord reels (Walmart) - they're cheap, light weight & work great. Just don't have a "hook" on them to hang on your fence. I just tie them up.

 

[regenwether]

Is there a web site that shows the different type's of fence.

 

[fargus]

We use the 9strand Turbowire made by gallghers. They use a different type of metal other than stainless that is supposedly 40x more conductive. Also been using their pigtail posts and have had great luck since we quit using the all plastic ones. You can get a lot longer use out of the turbowire if you keep it on a reel and take care of it.

We use the same. I also like using the Stafix reels, they typically make good stuff. Anything I've ever bought from Dare has been cheap junk, and we don't buy another one. The Turbowire stuff lasts really well, we have no problem getting 10-11 kiloVolts through it. We use old chunks of plastic water pipe for handles on the ends of the string, and then use alligator clips to conduct from the high-tensile fence to the temporary wire. I like the white string, the cows see it well. We have some of the yellow and orange stuff, they don't see it as well.

 

[dun]

I like the white string, the cows see it well. We have some of the yellow and orange stuff, they don't see it as well.

That's interesting. I've seen the yellow stuff and thought it would work better then white. But that's because I see it better, figured the girls would too.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

The yellow & orange disappear against the green grass :shock:
White really works best - except - in the snow!!!

 

[agmantoo]

I do rotational grazing daily for the entire year. This task takes me just a few minutes with the right tools. Recently I ordered additional step in pigtail metal posts to have extra. It is difficult that a designer could foul up something as simple as one of these posts. It can happen. Normally I can pick up the 9 strand polywire (preferred product) with the pig tail post curly end without stopping and then drive the post into the soil on the go with my right foot. In order to accomplish this I need a post designed for a right handed person and the post needs to be ergonomically designed for a single hand use as I am carrying an armful of posts in the other hand/arm. With the aggravation I have experienced with these recently received posts I decided to make this post to aid in their choosing the "right kind" of step in pigtail posts.

Here are my findings
http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i237/ ... =slideshow

 

[Howdyjabo]

Thanks everyone- I think you have saved me some money in the long run.

and I liked the slideshow- I know what to look for when buying posts now.

 

[fargus]

The yellow & orange disappear against the green grass :shock:
White really works best - except - in the snow!!!

Nothing works well in the snow. Thankfully the snow is deep enough the cows are only going to one bale at a time before busting a new trail through belly-deep drifts.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

The yellow & orange disappear against the green grass :shock:
White really works best - except - in the snow!!!

Nothing works well in the snow. Thankfully the snow is deep enough the cows are only going to one bale at a time before busting a new trail through belly-deep drifts.

HaHa - no my herd is kept in HiTensile during the winter - about 6 groups at this time of year. There's enough head to keep their feeding area open. They wonder off into the deeper snow to snuggle down & sleep. And, the fence is never very "hot" to them, because snow actually INSULATES them from being grounded :shock: Luckily, they just respect 1 strand fences. (perimeter of farm is 3 strand) even if they can't see it under the snow!!! :banana:

 

[hayray]

My mommas will respect one strand of polywire no matter what. But my weaning and feeder area I have hot mixed with ground wires so in the winter they get a good jolt no matter what.

 

[c-bar-j76]

http://www.powerflexfence.com
poly braid wire, very good quality!!