cattle fence

Mark W. · Sep 10, 2009

How many rows of wire would you recommend on a hi-tencile fence used to keep in well-fed beef cows. Two will be electrified.

Greyhorse · Sep 10, 2009

If two are electrified you only need 3 or 4 wires, enough to have one low enough the calves can't slip under.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

Neighbor has 2 strands 1 meter and 1/2 meter and some big a$$ cows. 10 years and haven't seen one out.

Dave

Pair-a-dice farm · Sep 10, 2009

It depends. If it"s a property line fence I use 5 strands, if it"s on the highway I use 6. For cross fences I use 3 or 4 strands.

M Nut · Sep 10, 2009

I like 4 wire fences, but have gone to three wire high tencil with the middle one electric to save costs. Have never had a cow or calf get out of the three wire middle hot fence.

waltdavies · Sep 10, 2009

Depends on the cows I raise Limousin they are large animals and I have seen them go under a fence that clear to the ground and stomp a 5 ft. fence right to the ground just to get some apples on the other side. My 3000 lb bull can walk right threw any fence that he want to. So far he stays at home most of the time.

Some cattle will get threw over or under any fence but most will stay in their onw pasture if well fed and watered.
Walt

IaGary · Sep 10, 2009

Why build new if your gonna electrify?

Put one new strand on the old fence and fire it up and be done.

I have never figured that out. Why build new you have to electrify?

I always built new to eliminate the need for electric.

Gary

Chris in SK · Sep 10, 2009

Aound here most only seem to use 2 wires.....both hot. The odd intelligent one learns how to get out, and keeps getting out though, so more is probably better.
Chris

TGIN · Sep 10, 2009

I m with you Gary , if I m puttin up a new fence it will have 5 barbs and there wont be a need for electric . We have some 5 stran Hi-ten and if the elec. isnt on the calves run thru it like it s not there and the cows reach through 5 ft. Neighbor just had several thousand ft. of Hy-ten put up and he has calves runnin all over .That wont happen with a good tight barbwire fence . Electric bill is high enough , why add to it . That electric fence will work good though till your 100 mile away on vacation .

Alex.C · Sep 10, 2009

Five strand. ALWAYS!!!!!! Three is not enough, only on a hot wire type do I put 2 wire lines up( top and bottom). 5 strand will hold most in. The odd smart one and some calves will try to and might go through. Bulls WILL go through if there is a cow in heat on the other side, you can't stop that so ear tags are required on bulls(if they don't rip them out after a week or so). On the wire, use long barb with 3+ barbs, and get it TIGHT!!! The cows generally won't go though a tightly strung fence. This should answer your question.
Alex

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

If you can't keep them in with 4, them you better raise something else. Never had any problem & NONE are even electrified. You are keeping in cows not goats!

Allan in NE · Sep 10, 2009

I'm with Gary.

One hot wire will hold 'em.

Allan

Hoosier Pete · Sep 10, 2009

Fella told me one time it don't take much of a fence to keep a cow in. It takes one heck of a fence to starve a cow to death. The closer you are to the road or something of the neighbors that you would not want to pay for the tighter and hotter the fence needs to be.

Flurette Farm · Sep 10, 2009

I use 4 (high tensil 4 point) on exterior and 3 on interior fences. For electric (portable) single ribbon only. Don't have any problems but I know once in a while you can get a bad animal. Get rid of it.

kyplowboy · Sep 10, 2009

My perimeter fence is 3 strands of smooth HT. One at my knee, belt and chest. Bull and wean'n pin is 6 strands about 8" apart. Never had a calf get out of the pen when it tested over 3kV. Never had any momma cows fight perimeter (or single strand of barb wire cross fences for that matter) when it tested over 1.5kV. Baby calves won't fight perimeter over about 2 or 2.5kV.

Unless you live in a very very arid area hot and not hot wires running parrallel are not a good idea in my mind. The only reason I would do it is if I HAD to use the not hot wires as the ground. One, with that system cow has to touch two wires at the same time to get hit. With all hot she just has to touch one wire and have one foot on the ground. Two, with some hot some not every time a tree limb falls making wire one touch wire two you are going to loose alot of voltage. Also with this set up a stray piece of baler wire or a loose jumper that comes loose will kill the whole system and can be a PIA to find, even with a good tester.

Just my opinion based on what I have seen.

Dave

RodinNS · Sep 10, 2009

Ummm Hmmm....
We did that. I spent the whole bloody summer one year chasing down shorts on that fence where the new wire came in contact with the old.
Next year I dozed the whole damn thing and put up a new fence. 2 strand electric HT. Should have been three strand tho...

Rod

M w J · Sep 10, 2009

1 wire with a 12,000 volt fencer. has to be low impedence that don"t short out easy . If the cattle are use to a good electric fence they wont touch any fence. But you can have trouble moving to another pasture if they have to go threw where the fence once was.

730 virgil · Sep 10, 2009

i have 5 strands of hi tensel around pasture have top and middle hot don't have a problem with anything getting out.
around 1 lot have 4 strands of barb wire if darn bull wants out he just walks up to fence and starts to push and lean on it until the fence staples start flying then he walks through it.

PJH · Sep 11, 2009

One wire with a GOOD fencer keeps my cows in.

I do have a section with three wires spaced at 14 inches apart. It's along my neighbors hay field, and I used three to ease my mind.

"Well fed" cows are pretty easy to contain.

Paul

NEKS · Sep 11, 2009

I have seen some 4 wire fences that are tight, but still not tight enough if this one old cow wants to eat out of the grader ditch. You will always have that one critter you wish you had a hot wire to hit her with when she is leaning on your nice fence.

tjdub · Sep 11, 2009

> One wire with a GOOD fencer keeps my cows in.

I have one long run of permanent electric fence (maybe 2000ft). For 20 years it was 1-wire with no problems. Then we had a cow that earned the name Slider. Now the cow is long gone, but the fence has 2 wires.

Loren MN · Sep 11, 2009

I ran 4 strands of high tensile, and put power to all strands, except the section along the cattail swamp where the grass gets tall I kept the bottom strand as grounded so I don't lose power if the grass touches the wire. Our ground never gets really dry, so I don't know if it matters to have some wires grounded. Buy the biggest low impedance charger that you can afford. I power about 4 miles of wire, or 1 mile of perimeter, and the fence tests around 4700V. I think my charger is 1.5 joule.

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