Fencing for bulls

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We have five strands of high tensil wire. Three of the five are "hot"-hooked up to a very good electric fence charger. I also keep the "slinky" type wire with a rubber handle in front of all gates. It works very well. So well that I have been able to use a flexable wire in a pasture that floods and they don't get near it. I like this set up because the wire has nothing that will damage cattle if they did choose to go through it, it is much easier to install, and they are actually afraid of the fence. I don't have a large farm so it is ease but chargers can work for several miles of fence.
 
What is a slinky type wire that you put in front of the gates.
 
cedarview farms":25lllpu2 said:
What is the best type of fencing to keep in a bull?
Depends on the bull. I have seen some you would need deer high fence and some that would stay with a single wire.
Personelly I wouldn't keep one that wouldn't stay in a 5 wire.
 
As Nova said, depends on the bull.

One of my big projects this year is a revamped bull pen that I rebuilt on a neighbours property. It consists of three pens covering 6 acres to keep developing yearling and mature bulls separate, as well as a holding/corral area. I looked at building a similar set up on my own place, but trenching for water lines and electric and water bowls, etc...was going to put me in the 8-10 grand range for price. I just completed Phase 1 (Yearling and corral pen) in early June (Cost=~$500). The old fence consisted of 9-10', 6-8" posts that were in the ground 4 feet at 10 foot spacings with 5 barb and one hot wire in parallel. I ripped the entire old fence out as many posts were broken, leaning badly, or ready to break. Reused all 5 strands of barb wire at the same spacings on 7', 4-5" posts, put 2-3 feet in the ground. The main difference, is that I used good quality hot wire and used offset insulators to keep it at least a foot from the barb fence. Neighbours thought I was crazy. Bulls would be out in no-time as fence wasn't at least 6 feet high. Hasn't happened yet with a small fencer and a good ground rod. Bulls can't judge the height of the main fence because they can't get right beside it with the hot wire in their way.

So in reference, the new perimeter fences are 5 strand barb wire and one offset hot wire. The interior fences are 3 hot wires, although 2 would be sufficient. :cowboy:

If you need pics, I will snap some for you.
 
Thanks for that. I know the coil spring type and use it. I also have used one that is in effect a bungy cord with stainless steel wires in it but I have found that these dont last long. The elastic in the bungy cord tends to break within a year. I put this down to exposure to Ultra Violet light which we have much more of in the Southern Hemisphere.
 
Probably shouldn't tell this story but here goes.
In the early 1950s when electric fences were very primitive and before Gallaghers were getting going our neighbour was having trouble keeping his bull in the paddock with the battery powered unit of the time.
He wired up the fence(Single Wire protecting a gorse fence) with a Magneto off an old 10/20 International Tractor. I think it was a Fairbanks Morse. He drove it off a standard electric motor so it wouldve been doing in the region of one thousand revs per minute which would give four thousand pulses per minute or sixty or seventy a second.
The neighbour was so sure it would work he invited a few locals to see what happened. The bull was tempted to the fence with some hay on the other side and sniffed the hot wire. A switch was flipped on and the poor old bull got a real shock retreating to the opposite side of the paddock.
It was only used once such was its effect on this Bull. The Magneto was lent around the district when someone else was having trouble.
 

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