Author Topic: Horned sheep and electric fencing (Read 3956 times)

Bramham Wiltshire Horns · « **on:** November 12, 2018, 04:14:53 pm »

hi
what are anyones thoughts on Horned Sheep and electric fencing in particular Wiltshire Horns

i have a small flock of 6 one tup and 5 ewes, i am on 2.5 acres of rented land and with Half an acre stcok fenced off for my tup

I want to manage the grass better next year and and was going to put electric wire across the middle of the 2 acres to rotate every week or so during the summer months

just looking for advice

bazzais · « **Reply #1 on:** November 12, 2018, 05:31:16 pm »

If the rotation is going to be the same year on year - stick a stock fence up.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #2 on:** November 12, 2018, 05:43:00 pm »

Electric mesh can't be tensioned well enough, so even when it's not energised they will strangle themselves in it, and when it is energised there's the added joy of electric shocks.
In our earliest days, when we were young and naive (and TAS wasn't even a twinkle in Dan's eye), we tried keeping ewes and a tup in an electric fenced section. One ewe caught her horns in the mesh and started to struggle, turning herself round and round and over and over. Getting that lot of monofilament plastic and wire mesh off in the dark before she died was a mad panic, but we did it and promptly gave up on using electric fencing.
Another time a Shetland tup lamb, so tiny horns, got caught in a similar electric mesh fence, and to add to his fun, his chums were butting him from behind as he received his electric shocks. I recued him, but he needed several weeks of TLC and nursing before he was fit to go back with the crowd.
Now the only use we have for the several rolls of electric mesh we have, is to use it non-energised to make a funnel for rounding up the flock into a catching pen. Even then we have to roll it up and take it away immediately as tups in particular will bash around at it and get a whole roll stuck round their horns

So, find an alternative to your strip grazing unless you can watch the flock 24 hours a day.

Anke · « **Reply #3 on:** November 12, 2018, 07:17:30 pm »

5 ewes on two acres… you will have to mow in the summer as they won't be grazing it down (even if on smaller paddocks and rotated)… and lambs and electric netting doesn't work that well. I have successfully used electric tape (3 strands) to keep ewes in a smaller area of a large field and moved them that way, but that was in winter with no lambs about. Wouldn't use it on horned sheep (or horned goats).

fsmnutter · « **Reply #4 on:** November 12, 2018, 07:38:46 pm »

I have a field at the moment that was split for horses with a few strands of high tensile wire.
Needless to say the goats and sheep (Hebrideans) thought nothing of walking through that! I now have several strands of electric tape in the gaps between and it works perfectly fine.
I agree that netting is a complete no go with horned sheep as the potential for entanglement is too high, but several strands of wire, rope or tape should be effective.

PK · « **Reply #5 on:** November 12, 2018, 09:06:13 pm »

I have Wiltshire Horns and for a couple of months in the summer I had 14 of them in a borrowed field which was unfenced. I used three strands of electric fencing to contain them and encountered no problems. In the last few years in my own holding I have had several incidents of a sheep catching a horn in stock fencing seemingly unable to release itself without help.

Tim W · « **Reply #6 on:** November 13, 2018, 06:37:34 am »

We used to run wilts behind 3 strand electric with no more problems than the polled sheep (80 acre blocks /300 ewes)
Just don't starve them and make sure they train to the fence early on

Bramham Wiltshire Horns · « **Reply #7 on:** November 13, 2018, 07:43:12 am »

Thanks for the reply guys
I think I will look at alternative and put stock fence up, probably not worth the risk

I will he expanding the flock through next year so the gymnasts should be no problem keeping down
I’m just conscious of over stocking and having no grass

I also intend to look at a bigger plot over the next few years

Thanks again

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #8 on:** November 13, 2018, 10:20:20 am »

Quote from: PK on November 12, 2018, 09:06:13 pm

In the last few years in my own holding I have had several incidents of a sheep catching a horn in stock fencing seemingly unable to release itself without help.

Nearly as dangerous as electrified netting for horned sheep is inadequately tensioned stock fencing, especially if pickings are slim. They find it much easier to extricate themselves if the wire is properly tensioned, and far too easy to get proper caught up if there’s play in the wire. It’s not just horned sheep, either - I’ve rescued more than one polled sheep with a foot totally caught up in inadequately tensioned stock fence.