Fence Spacing

[Bestoutwest]

Wow! Thanks for all the responses guys. There's a ton of info here.

 

[dun]

Just like everything else in this business, there is no one size fits all or silver bullet. Fencing is down to personal preference, location, use, livestock attitude, terrain, forage, soil, available labor and dollars and probably a million other factors that enter into it.

 

[coyotefur]

Do steel post then a few plastic ones in between.

 

[Son of Butch]

Thanks for the replies. I like 15-25 foot spacing just b/c it is more visible.

I know it's not aesthetically pleasing to some, but in areas where I feel the need for better visibility I take about
6" to 12" of brightly colored twine and tie it on the wire.
Often when it catches a new cow or calf's curiosity they will nose it or try to lick it and learn what an electric fence is.

 

[Nesikep]

Around here, a 'legal' fence needs 5 wires... all my HT fencing is 5 strand, and the MOST important thing are good anchors.. I cannot stress this enough.. if your runs are relatively flat, it works great, if you have dips and rises, you'll have problems with posts pulling out with that much tension (better off barbed).

Guitar string tight HT with 2nd and 4th wire hot keeps everyone pretty darned smart.. they don't even get close to it to eat the grass there, must less trouble to retension than barbed where the barbs get hung up on EVERY staple.