[Shawn]

Hi i am getting two Boer goats at the end of this month and two sheep which i intend to fence in with electric fencing. If they get out they will be safe as the boundary is stock fenced, but could anybody advise in the pitfalls and what hight i would need to go to to stop the goats jumping the electric fence ?

[Fleecewife]

For the sheep you need to be very careful that they don't get stuck in the fencing.  This could be by wool or by horns if they are a horned variety, so the mesh type is out.  We gave up using electric fencing of any type with sheep many years ago after a couple of near disasters

[Shawn]

OK thanks for the advise, the sheep and goats are not horned and the intention was to use rope maybe i should rethink then ?

[Anke]

I use electric fencing with both sheep and goats successfully. I use the tape (standard horsey one), so they see where it is, three strands with the usual plastic stakes, but it's on a mains charger coming from the house. Our outside boundary has normal stockfencing (sheep netting) plus a top electric wire. The goats have "tested" that one - only once though, and we had no escapes. Watch gates though, mine haven't gone across, only when left open by absentminded goatkeeper....

It is best to "train" them to the fence, hook over a long piece of nice greenery, they will get shocked, and they will know. It does sound cruel, but it's quick and that way they are safe where they should be.

I have horned tups (Shetlands) and they respect the fence as well, but I wouldn't use netting with any animal other than poultry (and that's more to keep the fox out). Sheep will go through netting (especially if it's turned off) and take the whole caboodle down with them.... and eat the poultry food within seconds....

Also I would have thought Boers are a lot calmer than milking goats, and with them being chunkier maybe not so jumpy....

[Shawn]

Thanks Anke we also have the electric fencing running off of the mains i do have some tape so i will look at that option as well. We have post and rail down one side as we have horses and i was thinking of putting electric fence rope between each rail to keep the sheep / goats in.

[fifixx]

Boers - jumpy jumpy!  Can't keep mine in with just stockfencing and a wire - or with a strand of electric fence in front - so the plan is this year to try and add 12 inches of height to the fence plus electric on the top!

[Shawn]

mmm what height is your fence at the moment.

[cuckoo]

We have boer goats and use standard stock fence with 2 strands of wire on top and then run a single strand of electric around perimeter about a foot off the ground - this is just to stop them standing on the fence and breaking it and not to eat the hawthron hedge.  We have never had a problem with them jumping out.  We use a battery powered unit - we just test the fence daily.

We also have a rented field the perimeter of which is 3 strands of barbed in a hedge.  We have run 3 strands of electric tape around the perimeter which seems to keep them in.

[Shawn]

thanks cuckoo i have spent the weekend putting 60 mtr of stock fence up 32" with single wire above and electric tape above that didn't think about the low level wire but will see how it goes.

[groovy alpaca]

we used electric netting for keeping chickens in, but in our sheep field. We didn't really have a problem as the sheep learned pretty quickly. We did, though, have one occasion when Romulus, our Jacob ram, got caught up in it in such a way that it had wrapped around his testicles . Doesn't seem to have affected his performance this year as they are all in lamb