Perimeter fencing pasture

[drumminj]

For me, treated posts set in the ground with concrete is still the best way to build a pole barn. With proper drainage so the posts never get wet, it will be there for 100 years without any issues. Creative Marketing has led to a large variety of ways to spend more money accomplishing the same thing without actually making the building stronger or last longer.

I've never dealt with this scenario but the thing I like about concrete in ground with posts bolted to it is that if you ever need to repair/replace the post it should be doable without much disruption to the building. You can support around the post, unbolt, and disconnect the post from the structure. Replace in reverse order.

Using a single 6x6 post set in concrete makes that more difficult, but thinking about it more it's the ease of getting the replacement in place where I can see the advantage of the other approach. So maybe a PT post set in concrete is just fine for the first pass, and if one ever needs to replace a post you can go back with the two-part solution. Food for thought...

As far as the overall price, the items I desire which I can see adding cost:

* interior posts set in the ground for building out stalls. Maybe it's not needed, but I'd feel better with rafters vs trusses as the interior posts would be tied into the structure (my understanding is with trusses tieing in the interior posts may impact the engineering). If trusses, being 12ft on center for headroom and ventilation.

* more windows for natural light if possible. Having it in the (south facing) sliding doors would be great. Otherwise having it above the doors on the gable ends might be nice.

* cupola for aesthetitcs, but having a fan it it to make it functional would be nice for better airflow.

I plan to finish out the interior of the barn myself - stall walls, kick boards, electrical, etc. Just need a good shell in place to start

 

[drumminj]

So whatever you end up building for fence and use for guardian animals, sooner or later you will probably end up with some guard dogs. I'd recommend it sooner than later since you are probably going to end up doing that anyway. We stumbled upon Catahoula dogs by accident. Extremely smart, protective of THEIR place but really stubborn and bull headed. And they are relatively good around people who are not suspicious. Did I mention they are fast?

We don't have (many) big cats or black bears here yet so I'm not too concerned. Just coyotes, foxes, and bobcats. And the pack of feral dogs that run through every once in a while. So good fencing should do most of the work for us.

 

[RB5]

I had

As said above, horses will chew wooden boards. Also run a top strand of electric with woven wire or the horses will lean over the woven wire to get at the greener grass on the other side. A 1000 pound horse leaning on woven wire will cause all sorts of problems.

I had a cow that did that and destroyed my fences. Now I have another one that leans on the posts and they eventually break. I've tried field fence and barbed wire. If they really want out nothing can stop them. The only thing I've used that has worked is cattle panels with longer t-posts. I over lap the panels one square and tie them together. I still have one cow that hops the fence, but at least she comes near the house and hangs out with the dog instead of running off. She only tears up where I have not put panels and can't hop them. Other than going with welded pipe not much else I can do.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never dealt with this scenario but the thing I like about concrete in ground with posts bolted to it is that if you ever need to repair/replace the post it should be doable without much disruption to the building. You can support around the post, unbolt, and disconnect the post from the structure. Replace in reverse order.

Using a single 6x6 post set in concrete makes that more difficult, but thinking about it more it's the ease of getting the replacement in place where I can see the advantage of the other approach. So maybe a PT post set in concrete is just fine for the first pass, and if one ever needs to replace a post you can go back with the two-part solution. Food for thought...

As far as the overall price, the items I desire which I can see adding cost:

* interior posts set in the ground for building out stalls. Maybe it's not needed, but I'd feel better with rafters vs trusses as the interior posts would be tied into the structure (my understanding is with trusses tieing in the interior posts may impact the engineering). If trusses, being 12ft on center for headroom and ventilation.

* more windows for natural light if possible. Having it in the (south facing) sliding doors would be great. Otherwise having it above the doors on the gable ends might be nice.

* cupola for aesthetitcs, but having a fan it it to make it functional would be nice for better airflow.

I plan to finish out the interior of the barn myself - stall walls, kick boards, electrical, etc. Just need a good shell in place to start

Eventually I'm going to build my dream workshop. I keep working on my plan, then changing it, then doing it all over again.

I always start with Posts in the ground every 12 feet and trusses for the span. That gives me the basic starting point. Then I start adding doors, windows and walls to figure out the best layout for everything I have, and plan to have.

That's when it gets out of control. In all realty, I'll probably just decide on the biggest size that I can build by myself and deal with putting everything in it after it's built.

I also struggle with pouring a concrete pad and building it stick frame without any posts, or some combination of posts in the ground with stick framing other parts of it.

I've even changed where it will be built 4 different times. I've gone so far as to start clearing the trees in other areas, only to change my mine to a better spot. Hopefully my current location is the one I'll stick with. I've already started moving fencing and measuring the layout so I know how many trees to remove.

 

[drumminj]

I raised and trained horses for many years; never even considered rounded corners, never had a horse hurt in a square corner.

What I've read is that if one horse is bullying another, the 'bullied' horse could get trapped in the corner. Never having owned horses, I don't know how often this might be an issue

 

[grsthegreat]

What I've read is that if one horse is bullying another, the 'bullied' horse could get trapped in the corner. Never having owned horses, I don't know how often this might be an issue

Ive had horses all my life, never seen this. But i guess anything could happen

 

[Elviscaretaker]

Over the last few years I've tried a few different fence ideas. I need different types for the animals... Ducks are in with the goats so they get no climb red top but it's placed in a trench and buried 8" down due to fox's that were dealt with at a later date. Now to protect them better I have my "guard" cattle (horned) pens surrounding it on 3 sides. The cattle were hard on all the fences I tried until I found a charger that worked well in our climate and a braided black/while 3/8" wire that they could see. Now for them it's t-post and wire. My horses are in a separate pen that is also t-post and wire but much to their displeasure, they get the weanlings put in with them until they are ready to be moved to a larger pen. The only ones that will touch the wire are my calves and they learn by 1 week old that that is not a good idea. Their birthing area has horse tape and welded wire to keep the calves in until they are trained. I've never had any issues since going to this. My bulls used to test the wire but not anymore, the newest one touched it once and now gives it a 3' buffer even with a cow in heat on the other side. Once or twice a year I have fresh off BLM land Mustangs I tend to for up to two weeks, never an issue with them getting out the wire either. Yes, I know.. BLM requires a 6' fence but these are not mine. They are here for the time it takes to get their forever homes ready in most cases. In the meantime they get some training under their belts, still be able to run free and meet quarantine away from mine (a few have been back for visits with their new owners to go swimming and ride). None have gotten out, except once when an owner visited and forgot the cardinal rule of gates but just ended up in another pen so.... I also like the flexibility to be able to resize/move the pens, add an extra or two as needed to meet my current needs.
But, everyone has had decent ideas and what works for me may not for you and your needs. But if you are worried about predators, get a good rifle and scope and you won't have to worry about them for long unless your state doesn't allow that. My long winded way of saying what you think will work may not, build in flexibility to be able to change it until you settle on what works for you. Lots of good ideas here and some nice looking fence posted. Plus if you do wire, build/buy a roller for your tractor! Freaking wonderful when you are dealing with the larger rolls.

 

[lman]

I had

I had a cow that did that and destroyed my fences. Now I have another one that leans on the posts and they eventually break. I've tried field fence and barbed wire. If they really want out nothing can stop them. The only thing I've used that has worked is cattle panels with longer t-posts. I over lap the panels one square and tie them together. I still have one cow that hops the fence, but at least she comes near the house and hangs out with the dog instead of running off. She only tears up where I have not put panels and can't hop them. Other than going with welded pipe not much else I can do.

Did you ever try one or two electric wires in addition to your fence. I remember when I was a kid, we moved cattle to corn fields in the fall after the corn was picked. We used one strand of electric fence for temporary fencing. Very seldom did a cow escape, usually if they were spooked by deer. The cattle would learn about the wire and the perimeter very quickly and a lot of fencing was unnecessary.
I'm using high tensile electric wire for my horses and it's worked good for 28 years. I do need to replace some of the wood posts that have rotted, no animal has ever touched them.

 

[gckshea]

But an LGD can be so sweet!

View attachment 4432699

Anatolian Shepherds are THE BEST!!!!!

 

[redman135]

RB5, To deal with the cattle and horses leaning on the fences problem, use a GOOD quality electric fence energiser. Then lay in an outrigger hot wire on the SIDE of the fence a cattle height to stop stock even contacting the fence.(See pggwrightson.co.nz and click shop online : option 1 :insulated wire standoff out rigger. option 2 is speedrite side fix out rigger. ) Both option keep stock off the frence and if hit will spring back. I mostly use the insulated wire standoff option. Out rigger wires are better protection for fences compared to electric top wire.
In New Zealand the big 3 are Gallagher Speedrite and Pel.
Personally I use a Gallagher unit. NOTE with ALL mains electric fence units INSTALL the EARTH SYSTEM by the BOOK, and you will have little trouble. I inherited a bad earth system and had trouble with no power. I upgraded the system to meet spec (4 x 2m long rods minimum 4m apart) and zero earth trouble since. Just the occasional short to deal with.(branches or turkeys hooking the fence top hot wire into the top barb wire and making the whole fence live).