HELP! lol...2 big goats and an unfinished fence!

[jimmyj]

Add up the total length of your wire run and ask the salesperson at the store to match you up with the appropriate charger. You have to decide solar vs electric but it sounds like electric is probably easier.

There are a lot of brands of chargers, I've used Gallagher and Snapper, Gallagher is more costly and seems to be the "cadillac" of brands but my Snapper cost half as much and works just as good.

 

[Soundguy]

I'd get more charger than I have fence...

soundguy

 

[2manyrocks]

Depends on the personality of the particular goats. We had a pair of goats that more like pets. They stayed in the fence. We'd let them out and they'd follow us around.

But generally, goats have a reputation for being escape artists.

 

[BigE_]

I have a couple of "hair" sheep that look just like goats, and pretty much act like them as well. I took my time and strung up a good electric fence with charger, etc. I spaced my wires 6" apart, alternating hot and ground.

Those stupid sheep walked right through the fence like it wasn't even there. I tore it down the same day and went out and bought field fencing, 4' high. Surprisingly, it was about the same price as an electric fence, and much cheaper in the long run when you figure a new charger every 2-3 years and the cost of electricity.

Since I put up the field fencing I haven't had them get out yet.

 

[weldingisfun]

I keep my Boer bucks in place with 4X4 by 4' field fence topped with two strands of barbed and a three strand
10KV electric at 12", 18" and 24". It works even when does on the other side of the fence are in heat. Oh yeh, that is as long as the power is on.

 

[firefighter9208]

I'm with Weldingisfun... I have 48" field fence and three strands of electric around the buck pen. Southern States 50 Mile Low Impedence charger that puts out 19,000 volts unloaded and about 14,000 volts loaded. The idea with goats is to go with a low impedance charger. The more of a load on the fence the harder it hits. They have very thick skin.

I have a funny story I need to share. My mom was in the pasture the other day and thought the fence wasn't working because she saw one of the goat kids bump into it and the kid didn't receive a shock. There was a piece of fence wire hanging on the fence, so she picked it up and touched it to the electric wire. BANG!!! It hit her so hard her thumb was bruised and had a small burn from where she was holding the wire. She forgot that the fence pulses.
She said that her arm hurt for three or four hours.

We haven't let her live that one down yet.

Chris
Hill Farm Boer Goats

 

[tallyho8]

My wife raises pygmy goats to show so I built her a small pen by my barn. If you have a small pen and small goats you can use heavy gauge chain link but it must be built sturdy. Besides having all the posts set in concrete, I have stakes in the ground between posts connected to a heavy wire that I ran through the bottom of the fence to keep the goats from pushing the fence out. Very heavy wire ties must be used as the goats butt the fence and rub on it continuously.

I had field fence on the back side but had to reinforce it with cattle panels to keep the goats in.

I keep my horses in with one strand of white electric tape on portable posts which you can see in the background because they are much easier to control than goats.

 

[BX Tex]

An oldtimer once told me the best way to test if your fence is goat proof is to stand on one side of the fence with a bucket of water, throw the water at the fence, if any water lands on other side of the fence then it ain't goat proof

 

[greenmule]

Your going to need some goat ropers,heard there was several in texas who travel,expensive yes,but worth it.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Big goats with attitude? You will need a rifle and a bottle of brandy. Depending on the situation you are gonna use one or the other

I will never have another goat, ever. The fence round the pasture looked like part of Somme fortification and she still got through. The only thing that worked was to tie her to a cinder block, because when she hopped the fence, the block on the other side of fence would stop her from running away.