Fencing 60 acres

[David72645]

Leonz Thanks for taking the time and interest for your reply. I've been sheep farming for about four years; goats for several years before that. Steep learning curve, but learned from experience. Adapting to the new state's environment and a bigger property may be challenging. I have my own style involving llama guards and will move to a better system of rotational grazing.

They question is how to put up fencing with the tractor. So far, what I'm getting is I have to clear the trees for a path, use an auger for the corners and Hs and a T-post pounder, perhaps not manual. It seems a fence stretcher is better than using the tractor to pull the fence, although I see some using the tractor. I don't have welding skills. I'm not sure if rolling the fence or carrying it would be better. grsthegreat thanks for your photos. I like that setup. Will try to reproduce some of that. Again, all I'm trying to do is figure out what implements I may need which in turn will tell me what sized tractor to buy. I have lots of questions about fencing, but I'm tryin to stay on topic. Thanks all.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I would say the biggest question is how much the land needs to be cleared. To put up a fence you basically need the equivalent of a road. If it's just overgrown with brush you may be able to clear it with a tractor and a rough mower. But if it's gotten woody -- if you have to dig out stumps for example -- that's no work for a tractor, that's for a bulldozer or skid steer with a mulching head. That's a one-time job though. Once the fence is built you're going to have to keep it from getting overgrown again, probably the easiest way is to spray it with roundup. So budget for a sprayer. Unless your livestock can keep it clear.

I've put up lots of woven wire fence, I'm partial to the Kencove sheep and goat fence, 48" tall with 4" squares. I use 6' T-posts, put them in 18" with 6" showing over the woven fencing, then run a single strand of electric along the top of the posts. That makes the fence harder for goats to jump over and also keeps the animals from going up and pushing on the fence.

My construction process (and this is not something I invented, there's lots of videos on Youtube) is I make a corner out of wooden posts which I put in holes made with the auger. I attach the woven wire to the end post by wrapping it around the post and tying it to itself using a fence bending tool. Then I put the roll of fence on an unrolling attachment I got at TSC, and drive toward the next brace. If the roll runs out I splice it to a new roll using a crimper and keep going. When I get to the next brace I drive about 30 feet past the brace and then tension the fence. I use two come-alongs hooked to the tractor, and hooked to the fence by two pieces of 2x4 with bolts squeezing them together. I don't use the tractor to tension, the woven fence doesn't have a lot of give and I've pulled out corner braces by pulling with the tractor. I like the finer control of the come-along. When I get it the tension I want I start doing t-posts. Pound and tie. A post every 10 feet, and four ties on each post -- top, bottom and 16 and 32 inches. After a handful of posts I can see if the tension is right, if not I adjust it, then attach the fence to the brace with staples. Repeat until finished. When you get to the final brace tension the fencing as for the others, then one by one cut the horizontal wires about 18 inches past the post, wrap them around the post and tie them to themselves.

If your fence is just a rectangle, it is going to have some long runs -- 60 acres could be 2200 by 1100 feet. (It would be helpful if you told us how many feet of fence you're contemplating.) At some point you're going to hit the maximum length that can be tensioned at once. The Kencove fence is about a pound a foot, so a 2200 foot run is over a ton, you're not going to be able to pull that with a come-along. So you'll need some intermediate braces, which adds to the work and expense. I don't think I've ever done a run over 500 feet without hitting a corner or a gate so I don't know how long you can go.

 

[David72645]

quicksandfarmer

Its 1300'x2000, so 6600' of fence.

The livestock should keep it clear; won't be spraying.

The overgrowth is woody, not just brush. My estimate is the trees are about 6".

Will look at CountyLine Wire Fence Stretcher CountyLine Wire Fence Stretcher at Tractor Supply Co.. I see there is a thread about it.

Why do you like the Kensgrove sheep fence? Is is worth the premium over what can be ordered into a feed store?

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I would say the biggest question is how much the land needs to be cleared. To put up a fence you basically need the equivalent of a road. If it's just overgrown with brush you may be able to clear it with a tractor and a rough mower. But if it's gotten woody -- if you have to dig out stumps for example -- that's no work for a tractor, that's for a bulldozer or skid steer with a mulching head. That's a one-time job though. Once the fence is built you're going to have to keep it from getting overgrown again, probably the easiest way is to spray it with roundup. So budget for a sprayer. Unless your livestock can keep it clear.

I've put up lots of woven wire fence, I'm partial to the Kencove sheep and goat fence, 48" tall with 4" squares. I use 6' T-posts, put them in 18" with 6" showing over the woven fencing, then run a single strand of electric along the top of the posts. That makes the fence harder for goats to jump over and also keeps the animals from going up and pushing on the fence.

My construction process (and this is not something I invented, there's lots of videos on Youtube) is I make a corner out of wooden posts which I put in holes made with the auger. I attach the woven wire to the end post by wrapping it around the post and tying it to itself using a fence bending tool. Then I put the roll of fence on an unrolling attachment I got at TSC, and drive toward the next brace. If the roll runs out I splice it to a new roll using a crimper and keep going. When I get to the next brace I drive about 30 feet past the brace and then tension the fence. I use two come-alongs hooked to the tractor, and hooked to the fence by two pieces of 2x4 with bolts squeezing them together. I don't use the tractor to tension, the woven fence doesn't have a lot of give and I've pulled out corner braces by pulling with the tractor. I like the finer control of the come-along. When I get it the tension I want I start doing t-posts. Pound and tie. A post every 10 feet, and four ties on each post -- top, bottom and 16 and 32 inches. After a handful of posts I can see if the tension is right, if not I adjust it, then attach the fence to the brace with staples. Repeat until finished. When you get to the final brace tension the fencing as for the others, then one by one cut the horizontal wires about 18 inches past the post, wrap them around the post and tie them to themselves.

If your fence is just a rectangle, it is going to have some long runs -- 60 acres could be 2200 by 1100 feet. (It would be helpful if you told us how many feet of fence you're contemplating.) At some point you're going to hit the maximum length that can be tensioned at once. The Kencove fence is about a pound a foot, so a 2200 foot run is over a ton, you're not going to be able to pull that with a come-along. So you'll need some intermediate braces, which adds to the work and expense. I don't think I've ever done a run over 500 feet without hitting a corner or a gate so I don't know how long you can go.

That's pretty close to the way we used to run fence when I was a kid. Used the tractor as the anchor for the come-a-long, never to tension. In spots too rough to get the tractors in, we'd use an old Willy's Jeep.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Why do you like the Kensgrove sheep fence? Is is worth the premium over what can be ordered into a feed store?

Here's a link to the Kencove fencing I use:
Woven Wire, 4"x4", Sheep & Goat 33' Roll

It's $245 for a 330 ft. roll. It's high-tensile steel and class III galvanized.

Here's what TSC sells:
Red Brand Goat & Sheep Fence, 48 in. x 33 ft. at Tractor Supply Co.

It's $249 for a 330 ft. roll. It's low-carbon steel and class I galvanized.

Both are 12.5 gauge and weigh about the same (250 lbs).

The high-tensile fence is a lot stronger. I have some of the low-carbon fencing and it has a tendency to snap when strained. The class III galvanizing lasts a lot longer than the class I. The Kencove is slightly cheaper and a much better deal.

If you go to 6" spacing, the cost is around $150/roll and they weigh about 150 lbs. That spacing is too big for goats. Adults with horns will be constantly getting their heads stuck. Kids can go through a 6" opening until they are quite old.

 

[David72645]

I see that Kengrove is better than Red Brand. Shipping 20 rolls would be another $1500. I'll keep it in the back of my mind. I wonder if there are brands of fencing with the qualities you like that can be ordered into TSC (or the like.)

My local feed store can get this: https://fencing.bekaert.com/en/beka...b-fence/gaucho-high-strength-sheep-goat-fence. Don't know the price yet.

 

[oosik]

My 80 acres is a pure rectangle - 1320 x 2640. It took around 570 T-133 posts and 34 rolls of barbed wire. All the T-posts were driven with a home made manual pounder. I used the tractor to move supplies. It simply takes too long to position the tractor to use any type of tractor actuated pounder or auger.

A lot of my fence line is not accessible with a tractor.

Yes - I wish I would have had help but that simply was not the case.

I used my Handy Man jack to stretch the barbed wire. This five strand barbed wire fence has been up 38 years now and is still tight and strong.

I check the entire fence 2X annually. And I'm more than glad that I installed it 38 years ago. Now I would have to pay to have it installed.

 

[Birdhunter1]

A tractor mounted hydraulic post pounder will out produce a post hole auger unless you have alot of rock, you can put your corners and your steel tee posts in with. No concrete or packing dirt or rock into holes will be needed and it will be twice as solid in the ground. Shaver makes a really nice one, kencove looks to be built the same and you could be in either brands 8" driver for under $4000.
For what its worth if I was bidding pounding your posts you would be money ahead to buy a driver.

 

[MH8675309]

"A tractor mounted hydraulic post pounder will out produce a post hole auger" no doubt they will - not as straight of a fence though

 

[Birdhunter1]

If on flat ground with good straight posts it can be, on hill ground it helps keep things straight if the ground has alot of moisture in it.