[Hogwarts]

 I'm fencing a paddock myself for some pigs (8 week weaners to 6 month porkers) and its the first time I have ever done it. I'm using high tensile stock fencing (ht8/80/15). I have erected all the bigger strainer posts about 3ft in the ground with struts on the corner ones and I've bought a  draper tensioning tool ready to put the fence up. But I have some questions if anyone can help?

1/ The fence netting has small holes and big holes, should I put the small holes at the bottom or top? Would a pig get its head stuck if I put the small holes at the bottom?

2/ Is a row of barb wire below and above the netting a good idea/ necessary?

3/ The paddock is not entirely flat, but has some small gradients, does that mean I will have to cut the netting into segments rather than doing it all in one go?

4/ How tight does the fence need to be?

5/ Does the fence go on the inside or outside of the posts?

[Black Sheep]

You're going to love having the pigs! I'm not an expert at fencing and don't necessarily know the "right" answer but these are my thoughts.

First be careful with the tensioning tool. I have the same one and it can suddenly slip on the wire. Trust me that when it does that and hits your kneecaps you know about it.

1. Normally the small holes go at the bottom of stock net. I'd really suggest adding some strands of electric fence on the inside of your stock fence to deter the pigs further. Not only will this increase your chances of avoiding a break out it will also stop them pushing or rubbing against the posts, which means the fence will survive a lot longer. By putting the stock net on the outside of the posts you can mount the screw in insulators on the inside and so the netting and electric "layers" will be separated by a few inches. Plus they can't get their heads stuck either.

2. If you are adding some electric you don't need to worry about barbed wire as well I suspect. If you aren't doing so then a line of barbed at the bottom can help deter the pigs from trying to get under the netting. But remember that the grass will grow quickly and they will push soil up against the fence as they root and this will probably get buried quite quickly. Which in turn means you'll get caught on it when you least expect it.

3. Our fencing contractor has run stock netting in one long continuous length across some pretty significant changes of gradient. But then he has a big tractor to do the tensioning. I'd try running it in one go and see how tight you can get it.

4. As tight as you can get it really. Loose fence is more likely to get stock trapped in it or see them find a way to escape.

5. See above if adding electric too, otherwise I guess technically having it on the inside will give it greater resistance against being pushed by the pigs.

[harmony]

2. Only need barbed wire at the bottom unless you go with Black Sheep's suggestion of electric wire.
3. When you tension you will still be able to move the wire up and down the post and follow the gradients as you staple on.
4. Tight!!
5. Inside of posts.

[Hogwarts]

Thanks Black sheep the strand of electric wire I have heard about before and I had disregarded it as it sounded too much of a faff hence why I was probably going to put a strand of barb wire on the bottom instead. But how you described it sounds quite neat and tidy and if it does deter them it sounds like it could protect the fence by quite a bit! And prolong its life.  So I shall endeavour to do this, the paddock is not very big anyway so should need much power plus I already have some electric wire I can use.

[SallyintNorth]

The barbed at the bottom stops them digging under.  It doesn’t matter if it gets buried.  Everything gets buried, they’re pigs!  .  The electric wire also gets buried, which grounds it out, so then you are glad to have the second line of defence

Livestock fencing goes small holes lower, fence inside posts.  If livestock both sides, fence on the side that will get the most pressure. 

[Dan]

We don't use electric, so we add a rail at scratching height:



Otherwise they can quickly trash stock netting once they have some weight behind them, and it's easier to replace a broken rail than the netting.

[Hogwarts]

Hi Dan what is scratching height? On the floor? My posts are 3 foot in the ground so hopefully they cannot damage them too much. And I like your pig ark btw, does it have a door?

[Hogwarts]

The barbed at the bottom stops them digging under.  It doesn’t matter if it gets buried.  Everything gets buried, they’re pigs!  .  The electric wire also gets buried, which grounds it out, so then you are glad to have the second line of defence

Livestock fencing goes small holes lower, fence inside posts.  If livestock both sides, fence on the side that will get the most pressure.

Yeah on second thoughts I think barbed wire on the bottom is going to be an all round better solution. Also is barbed wire at the top really not necessary? I was thinking it might deter them from jumping up and putting their weight on the netting once they get bigger?

[SallyintNorth]

Unless you encourage them to jump up for fuss or treats, I doubt they will jump up on the fence; none of mine have.

The only reason to put barbed wire along the top is if you think you might have cattle or horses either side of the fence.  They need to be deterred from leaning over or jumping it. 

Some fence builders recommend one strand of plain wire along the top, well tensioned.  Helps to maintain the tension right along the fence and protects the expensive stock fencing if anything does lean on it.

[harmony]

Top barb not needed for pigs and it is horrible stuff for people and their clothing.


No need for floors in arks if you can site them on a dry, raised area. If you do go with a floor make sure it isn't too smooth and slippery. Dan's looks like it has a floor as it is sat on pallets. Railway sleepers are good for standing arks on. Last for years.

[Dan]

Hi Dan what is scratching height? On the floor? My posts are 3 foot in the ground so hopefully they cannot damage them too much. And I like your pig ark btw, does it have a door?

We put a rail at about 2 feet off the ground, and another about a foot higher. I don't think the precise height is important, more that they can scratch on them if they want.

We also put a strand of barb at ground level - it's prevented all but the smallest weaner from escaping by burrowing.

The ark has a removal door at each end - we used to have it on a fence line (shown in the photo) so we could rotate pig between two paddocks year about without moving the ark. It sits on those big rubber feet used for Heras fencing.

[Hogwarts]

Hello again my paddock is basically shaped like a triangle I have large posts (I gather they are called strainers) at the corners with struts. But also I have placed a large post half way along each side of the triangle, do these needs struts as well to stop them leaning? On two of the triangle sides the mid way post is in line with the corner posts so I figure no struts will be needed here but on the third side the mid way post is not in line at all with the corner posts so do I need struts on this post do you think to stop it leaning over time?

Here is a diagram the post I am talking about has a question mark on it.

[SallyintNorth]

Always strut when changing direction.  Good idea to strut every xty yards, where the value of xty depends on the ground, climate, etc, and each of us finds for our own spot! 

[gilesm]

It's really helpful having electric too.  Just a single wire on the side of your fence will keep them off your fence, prolonging the life of your fence.  The stock fencing should be an excellent (electrical) ground, so it should work very efficiently.

[Hogwarts]

It's really helpful having electric too.  Just a single wire on the side of your fence will keep them off your fence, prolonging the life of your fence.  The stock fencing should be an excellent (electrical) ground, so it should work very efficiently.

Yes I did include a single wire of electric in the end as well as the barb wire at the bottom. The electric did its job at first but now its buried in several place (so no longer working as it should!) so not sure if I should just take it out now, leave it or raise it up a bit above the 'bury zone' as it were. Would it be effective at all I wonder a foot or so off the ground?