Barb Wire & High Tensile Fencing

[skyhightree1]

Barb Wire & High Tensile Fencing



Hello,
I am new to this forum but I am not new to farming. I grew up on a Beef Cattle farm in a small place called Floyd,Va. I recently moved out of the "suburbs" and back into the country. I bought 5 acres and its a un-fenced field. I want to purchase a couple calves so that my kids can basically have the same kinds of animals around that i grew up with. I am goinjg to fence in about 4 acres and on the outer boundaries have a 4 strand barb wire fence and in front have high tensile wire so that kids wont get cut up petting or feeding the calves. I basically had questions on which strand am I supposed to put up first on each of those types of fencing. When I was on the farm the fences there probably had been there for 20+ years so I never got the chance of putting up a new fence. Can anyone tell me which strand it is best to stick up first for both types of fences. I also may leave out the high tensile for woven wire not sure yet. I am open to suggestions. I apologize for what probably is a stupid question. But my grandfather isnt around any longer to ask these questions to.

 

[msscamp]

I would suggest at least 5 strands(6 is better) on your perimeter fence, it makes for a stronger fence. As far as which wire to put up first - top wire first tends to prevent the lower strands from getting tangled/hung up as your putting them up. Our spacing was generally a little above the ankle, an inch or so below the knee, an inch or so below the hip, waist, and shirt pocket. On six strands, the top one was about shoulder high. Adjust as you see fit.

 

[Angus Cowman]

we always put the top wire first and use it to drive our line post by ,we don't stretch it completely just enough to get it off of the ground and use it for a straight line as for spacings on a 5 wire fence we use
12' from ground then 10" between all of the rest of the wires on a 4 strand we use 12" spacings all the way
on a 5 strand fence we use 6' t post and a 4 strand we use 5 1/2ft t post

 

[mtncows]

Maybe the least cost fence to contain calves would be hi-tensile.I like 8 wires starting 8 inches off the ground and space 6 inches apart.At 20" and 32" you may want to make them electric. Be sure to brace the ends and corners well.A lot of people don't like hi-tensile because they are loose, probably because of poor braces.Va Tech has a website for extention which shows a good brace system.You will also want a small area fenced with boards or woven wire to get calves up to load or treat.
Welcome to the forum.How far from Floyd are you.I'm about 7 miles N of Goshen :welcome:

 

[skyhightree1]

hey thanks everyone. I grew up in Copper Hill, Va a portion of floyd. I am going to buy some pressure treated posts today. I don't want to deal with the creosote posts does anyone prefer one over the other?

 

[farmwriter]

Get the sturdiest thing you can for the corners, then whatever you prefer for the rest. Any reason you're not considering t-posts? LOTS easier to drive as long as your tall enough to do the job - at 5'1" I'm not tall enough.
And hey - it's your fence, but what other posters are recommending is way more fence than we use.
We've got some as little as two strands electric or barbed. Our 'heaviest' fencing is 5 strands hi tensile and electric - hot, not, hot, not, hot - and that has horses behind it.
I also differ from the others as I most definitely prefer to start at the bottom and go up. 1 - my back is stronger at the outset than the end. 2 - bending near upper strands of barbed wire puts my face closer to it. My jeans take it better.
And if you've got the youngun's in mind, why not put up a section or two of board fence for them to pet and feed through? If not, good luck keeping them from climbing on your gates! And as mtn said, you might want to think about getting enough boards for a hold pen/working corral.
Just my 2 cents worth. Again, it's your fence. Have fun! and :welcome:

 

[skyhightree1]

Farmwriter everything you said makes alot of sense to me... I appreciate your imput... I just figured that a wood post would be better and stronger than a t post ya know maybe im wrong but thats just what i figured. What do you think?

 

[farmwriter]

Wood posts are sturdier, no doubt. We use a wood post here and there for that reason, but here's how I think about that: Are you building a fence to hold them or a barrier they will recognize? Most of the time, it's really just the idea of a fence that stops them, know what I mean? And especially if it's electric, the posts don't have to hold up to a whole lot. Here's a link to a PDF that has lots of fencing info. Start with appendix D, pg 138.

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-132 ... 9114a6ff11

 

[farmwriter]

One more thing - how much fence you need in a given situation also has to do with what's on BOTH sides of that fence. If you're just keeping them in a given area, that's one thing. Keeping your bull on one side of a fence and neighbor's bull on the other, well that's a different issue. Maybe that's why so many others are building more fence than I've got. Just a thought.

 

[skyhightree1]

well my idea on the wood posts and most sturdy is power goes out frequently in my neck of the woods and I plan on building barbwire with 2 strands of electric fencing all around the fence. Basically I want the barb wire to really act as a back up if the power goes out and im not home to start generator then cattle will be contained with no problem. I know some of you will ask why not get solar powered fence charger but honestly I don't trust solar powered stuff yet.

 

[dun]

well my idea on the wood posts and most sturdy is power goes out frequently in my neck of the woods and I plan on building barbwire with 2 strands of electric fencing all around the fence. Basically I want the barb wire to really act as a back up if the power goes out and im not home to start generator then cattle will be contained with no problem. I know some of you will ask why not get solar powered fence charger but honestly I don't trust solar powered stuff yet.

99.9% of the time, unless the power is off for a week or so, the cows won;t know the difference between on and off. I'm referring to cattle that are trained to hotwire and undrstand and respect it.

 

[skyhightree1]

very good point dun....

 

[c farmer]

well my idea on the wood posts and most sturdy is power goes out frequently in my neck of the woods and I plan on building barbwire with 2 strands of electric fencing all around the fence. Basically I want the barb wire to really act as a back up if the power goes out and im not home to start generator then cattle will be contained with no problem. I know some of you will ask why not get solar powered fence charger but honestly I don't trust solar powered stuff yet.

99.9% of the time, unless the power is off for a week or so, the cows won;t know the difference between on and off. I'm referring to cattle that are trained to hotwire and undrstand and respect it.

I was told one time by a old man that the cows could smell the electric in the fence. :lol2:

 

[dun]

well my idea on the wood posts and most sturdy is power goes out frequently in my neck of the woods and I plan on building barbwire with 2 strands of electric fencing all around the fence. Basically I want the barb wire to really act as a back up if the power goes out and im not home to start generator then cattle will be contained with no problem. I know some of you will ask why not get solar powered fence charger but honestly I don't trust solar powered stuff yet.

99.9% of the time, unless the power is off for a week or so, the cows won;t know the difference between on and off. I'm referring to cattle that are trained to hotwire and undrstand and respect it.

I was told one time by a old man that the cows could smell the electric in the fence. :lol2:

Hogwash. If they get clsoe enough they can probably sense (feel) it. But properly trained to it they won;t mess with it.
Some old timers maintaine that the direction the cow is facing whne she's bred governs the sex of the calf. Not all old folktales are to be believed

 

[edrsimms]

Perimeter fence: Forget the barbed wire you dont need it and maintenance is harder, plus high tensile will keep the kids safer. Always start with the bottom wire first and work your way up. Start with the bottom wire and put in your line posts preferably on level. The best kind of inline strainers (tightners) will be those that are spring loaded.

I would use a 5 wire High tensile fence with bottom , middle and top hot. The posts do not make the fence strong in this type of fence as it is the "hot" that does. Cattle will usually respect it. Since you have a small area to fence, I would just use a 6-8 in post for corners (40 inches in the dirt in concrete and wrap your posts in tar paper when using concrete and they will last forever.) For line posts, since you will have to look at this forever, I recommend a round fiberglass post with pre-drilled holes every 2 inches. These posts are intially a little expensive, but with sunguard will last longer than you will. These type posts can be found at www.kencove.com
Also, make sure you get a metal reinforced corner insulator because they will not put pressure on the plastic part of the insulator and cause it to deteriorate before its time. Also when using just one (1) corner post, you may have to go out during the winter months (as the wire contracts = gets tighter) and loosen them up a bit-- a 4 minute job.
For a gate, you should build a l----l "H" post for strength. When wanting to go under a gate with insulated wire never let some idiot at the feed store talk you into putting this underground cable in without first putting it in PVC. Use a few breakers where your kids can temporarily turn the fence off and visit their calves.
The good thing about this fence is it is very clean, it looks nice and is easily maintained if a wire should get loose--just crank it up.

Ed

Barb Wire & High Tensile Fencing



Hello,
I am new to this forum but I am not new to farming. I grew up on a Beef Cattle farm in a small place called Floyd,Va. I recently moved out of the "suburbs" and back into the country. I bought 5 acres and its a un-fenced field. I want to purchase a couple calves so that my kids can basically have the same kinds of animals around that i grew up with. I am goinjg to fence in about 4 acres and on the outer boundaries have a 4 strand barb wire fence and in front have high tensile wire so that kids wont get cut up petting or feeding the calves. I basically had questions on which strand am I supposed to put up first on each of those types of fencing. When I was on the farm the fences there probably had been there for 20+ years so I never got the chance of putting up a new fence. Can anyone tell me which strand it is best to stick up first for both types of fences. I also may leave out the high tensile for woven wire not sure yet. I am open to suggestions. I apologize for what probably is a stupid question. But my grandfather isnt around any longer to ask these questions to.

 

[marimus]

Our spacing was generally a little above the ankle

You raisin dwarf cattle? :help:

 

[skyhightree1]

LMAO... dwarf cattle thanks for the imput everyone

 

[skyhightree1]

LMAO... dwarf cattle thanks for the imput everyone

 

[hillbilly beef man]

Our spacing was generally a little above the ankle

You raisin dwarf cattle? :help:

Nope, He is just keepin his rabbits in.