Barb Wire(Low Tech) Versus High Tensile Electric(High Tech)

[jhambley]

I am repairing perimeter fencing and adding cross fencing to an 80 acre pasture I recently purchased.

I want this fence to be as maintenance free as possible in the long term. Although HT Electric looks to be the the easiest to install and a bit less expensive, it looks to have a high cost of maintenance/frustration.

For example, I've read the following things about HT Electric on these forums:

- My charger isn't working...Again!
- I keep relacing batteries
- I have a grounding problem
- My charger was hit by lightning and fried
- The weeds are shorting out my fence
- The plastic clips keep breaking and shorting out the system
- Ice storms knocked out the power to my fence
- etc, etc, etc

Although a barb wire fence may cost a bit more and not be as easily installed, it's "Low Tech" approach seems to hold many advantages.

I'm a computer programmer by day and I really don't want to turn my fence into another hardware problem / debugging exercise. In fact, the longer I work in high tech (over 25 years now) the more I think the Luddites are on to something.

In short, I'm leaning toward building a barb wire fence using "T" posts with a wooden post every 8-10 posts. Can anyone talk me out of it?

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

JH

 

[dun]

Can anyone talk me out of it?

JH

Wouldn;t even try. The majority of the problems with the powered fencing can usually be traced to not doing it right the first time.

dun

 

[suscofa]

If cost is not a problem, you should be able to hire someone to build a six strand barb with good posts for around $1.50 a foot plus corners and braces and gates etc. That could be a lot of money. If you desire and have helpful and skilled neighbors you could cut this by around 40%. If you put the wire on the outside of the posts, you could run one strand electric on the inside for insurance and to keep the cattle from pushing on the fence. This is what I did, but I fenced a much smaller area. good luck.

 

[KenB]

If cost is not a problem, you should be able to hire someone to build a six strand barb with good posts for around $1.50 a foot plus corners and braces and gates etc. That could be a lot of money. If you desire and have helpful and skilled neighbors you could cut this by around 40%.

If you put the wire on the outside of the posts, you could run one strand electric on the inside for insurance and to keep the cattle from pushing on the fence.

:roll: Bad idea to put the wire on the outside of the posts.
;-) You can still put a hot wire on the inside even with the main wires there, ( they make a stand off insulator just for that purpose.)

This is what I did, but I fenced a much smaller area. good luck.

 

[msscamp]

If you put the wire on the outside of the posts, you could run one strand electric on the inside for insurance and to keep the cattle from pushing on the fence. This is what I did, but I fenced a much smaller area. good luck.

Generally speaking, it is not a good idea to put wires on the outside of the posts.

 

[plbcattle]

The key to electric is doign it right the first time. Spacing your post so the wire doesn't sag is important. I have one big charger that is pluged in up by the barn and runs every pen and fence on the farm. Once they get used to it, they won;t think about going near it. I sometimes use 1 strand to rotate graze. They are so used to not going near it that only 1 strand works. If you do it right the first time and what I gathered is having a couple wires be ground wires will help with he initial lesson. That my 2 cents

 

[dun]

If you put the wire on the outside of the posts, you could run one strand electric on the inside for insurance and to keep the cattle from pushing on the fence. This is what I did, but I fenced a much smaller area. good luck.

Generally speaking, it is not a good idea to put wires on the outside of the posts.

In heavy deer running areas I alternate inside and outside of posts. That way when the deer run through it, during the running portion of the rut they run through every fence, they only knock off 1 insulator.

dun

 

[AngusLimoX]

Generally , mixing barbed and electric is not recommended. Pretty cruel way to die if something or someone got caught up in it.

Barbed is not worry free if you get cattle that don't respect fence.

A lot of people who have problems with electric don't train their cattle before putting them out. They gotta learn under controlled conditions to respect that wire. Then it is like plb say's - one wire for an interior fence is often enough.

Your terrain and ground conditions may come into play as well.

You keeping cows/calves or grazing steers.

Power source if you do decide electric?

All stuff to think about.

ALX

 

[dun]

We hve miles of single starnd high tensile 12.5 gauge all supplied off of a backbone sourced at the house/shop. We use a lot of single strand poly wire for temporary divisions. The calves till they're a couple of weeks old don;t seem to be all that bothered by the electric so there is a bit of "forward grazing". After a couple of weeks they start getting lit up when they touch it and that's the end of any problems. Most times, even with the power off they don;t mess with it. For fenceline weaning we just take one pasture and run a single strand of poly with the calves on one side and cows on the other. Don;t have problems with them getting together. After a couple of days the cows get moved to a back pasture and the calves get the entire pasture.
The single most important issue is grounding. 2-3 ground rods may not be ebough depending on the soil type and moisture content. With our soil, rock is a loosey ground, we use 6 rods sunk at an angle to a depth of 4-5 feet. We still get reading of around 8k volts at all parts of the fence and around 7k volts off of the poly wire.
People think because it's a single wire aqnd electric that it's a quick and dirty way to fence. It still takes all of the planning and proper fencing skills to make it work right. They're different skills, but it's surprising how many shortcuts people take and then wondewr why the fence doesn;t work. I've been helping a friend put up hot wire goat fence. It's his first time fencing with hot wire and I found it's easier to help him up front then go back and unscrew up some of the things he's done.

 

[Tod Dague]

Running one strand of HT electric fence on the inside of the fence will keep cattle from pushing on the fence. This also gives you an easy way to fence off an area that you may need fenced off.

 

[suscofa]

todd dague That is what I was trying to say. Non electric barb wire on the outside with one or two strands of electric non barb on the inside just for respect and to keep them from pushing and/or laying on the posts etc. Some have said that it is a bad idea to put it on the outside, but they have not said why. I am open for their ideas and reasons.