Fence building

I have approximate 8 acres to fence in this summer. I need to keep some cows fenced in. I want to go with all wood post. Is that stupid? Just kind of a personal preference but seems a lot more expensive. Maybe do 2-3 t-post then one wood post?

Next up is what type of fence do you guys prefer? Woven wire with a starnd of electric or barb on top? Or all electric. I want a good strong fence with the least chance of cattle getting out. I do not believe all my neighbors are thrilled about it. So I"d like the least chance of escapees.

Also, I do plan on keeping a few horses around.

Thanks everyone for advice.

I used all treated wood posts. It's all expensive but at the time steel was high and so where the t posts. I used a high tensile no climb horse fence/woven wire. It has a single barb wire across the top. This fence was designed to keep in whatever I want to put in the pasture.

47 inch high woven wire, 2 strands of barbed wire, 1 strand of electric fence maybe 2 feet high inside the woven wire to keep cows from pushing at the woven wire. Haven't had any dealings with horses. From observation of others maybe have a strand of electric fence on top of the fence to keep horses from sticking their heads over the fence, but like I say I'm not a horse owner and someone who is can advise better.

KEH

Steel posts are standard for one good reason, as you are finding out.

Woven wire with a couple strands of barbed wire on the top will work. If you are only running cattle, an electric fence would work until the battery goes down or a weed shorts out your fence or any of a hundred other things that can go wrong, goes wrong.

Horses do not get along well with cattle fence. They can get spooked and cut up on the barbed wire. The best fence for horses is steel pipe or smooth wire with spring tension, and the fence needs to be tall.

Good luck!

I like to do wood with two T posts in between each wood. I don't purchase - there are lots of hedge and locust trees that need cutting here each year. I just use straight ones. I like 5 wire barbed. Depends on the cattle but for horses I would definately string a hot wire towards the top. Horses love to reach and cattle will too if it looks greener over there.

High tensile 12.5gauge wire with posts spaced at 60-100 feet apart, then some fiberglass or PVC spacers between to keep the wires spaced. Get the "H-brace" corners solid and the wire nice and tight and it will keep it cattle no problem.

So how tall of posts and how far in the ground? I think I can settle for t-post with a wood braced corner.

Havong several miles of hi-tensile fence makes me partial to it, both for ease of installation and cost. There are a few new products on the market to make it more highly visible to horses. Call 1-800-KENCOVE and they'll send you a great catalog and a manual to show you how to install it. Their prices are very good, and they'll ship it to you in a couple of days.

I have 47in woven fence with 2 smooth hot wires. One hot wire about 16in from bottom and one about 6in from top. One hot wire alone will keep cows in but I have steers also and they need more fence to keep them in. Oh ya I have wood corner and brace posts and steel every 10 to 12 feet. Jim

I Build alot of fence. Make sure your corners are solid,otherwise your waisting your time. I set corners 3 1/2 ft.in rock to 4 1/2 feet deep if in dirt, in cement. I wood never use pressure treated post for corners, they pull out .I use 2 7/8 in oilfield pipe, then weld a brase between them.For cattle 6ft. tee post work good .I use 5 wires but starting to see guy's go with 6 if they have cow/calf operations. I build
Fences that my grandkids won't replace & they're not born yet. The golden rule of fencebuilding is
Good fences make good nieghbors

Your fence is only as good as your end post and bracing. I am maybe a little old fashion, but I set 10' hedge end post 6' in the ground, and also in the dark of the moon. You can all laugh, but it works. I have set in both the dark and the light, and you can definitely see the difference in a few year's. Also, never set in concrete as this will tend to make the post rot a lot quicker. Gravel is okay though. I am not much of a fan for steel post, but i have used a lot of them. They are quick to put up, but will also lean and fall over quicker. As far as wood post you just can't beat a good hedge post that was slowly grown on some rough ground. They may not be available everywhere. The right hedge post can last a 100 year's.

(quoted from post at 02:40:27 05/21/13) High tensile 12.5gauge wire with posts spaced at 60-100 feet apart, then some fiberglass or PVC spacers between to keep the wires spaced. Get the "H-brace" corners solid and the wire nice and tight and it will keep it cattle no problem.

Click to expand...

^^ This. ^^

Of all the fencing I've tried, I like this the best. Easiest to install, low maintenance, best results Does require power, but a decent solar charger will keep the critters off just fine...

Tractor Supply Co has a section in their catalogs showing recommended fencing construction for different types of livestock. They also have conversion calculators for lengths.

What's your terrain? Climate? Is your ground rocky? Can you get anyone to pound posts with a post driver? Is it close to a place you can plug a GOOD fence charger in? How permanent will this fence be? The answers will determine the type of fence you need to install.

I usually use treated railroad ties for corner assemblies and gate posts, and occasionally along a fence. But mostly I use heavy metal T posts, driven in well past the spade. I try to get my T posts in the ground just after the Spring thaw, when the ground is the softest. I usually use barb wire, either 4 strands or 5 strands, and install it so if a critter pushes against the wire, he is pushing the wire into the posts, not off of the posts.

A lot of my ground is quite rocky, and it is very hard work to have to DIG a post hole with a shovel, clamshell digger and heavy bar. Years ago we tried a 3 point post hole auger. It worked OK where we were not hitting rocks, but where there was rock, the auger just bounced around. As a kid, I dug hundreds of post holes on our ranch, and I always thought "there has to be a better way to make a fence that will hold in cows and not need to be redone in 10 years".

Railroad ties used to be very cheap, as lots of track was being taken up. Good used ties are now pretty costly, but I think they are still worth getting. We used railroad ties for all the posts in our corrals, and those posts are still good 50 years later.

We used split cedar posts that had been treated on both ends by soaking them for months in used crankcase oil, penta and who knows what else my Dad put in the soak. Lots of those posts are still in pretty good shape. The tops have got pointed and weathered, but the part down in the ground is usually still very firm and solid. It is still possible to get used crankcase oil, but I don"t think that penta or other preservatives are still available. I have not been impressed with the green treated posts that have been used the last 20 or 30 years...after about 10 years they don"t look very good. So I don"t mess with wood posts, other than railroad ties.

The metal T posts work best for my situation. They cost a bit, but if pounded in in the early Spring, they go in with the least effort on my part. And except for a few that were damaged by a guy who went off the road and hit my fence, every one of the T posts I ever set is still working fine doing its job, and I believe that they will continue to make good fence for the rest of my life.

I generally put T posts 10 feet apart, and use the wire clips that come with the posts to attach the barb wire. I like the looks of a 5 strand fence along the road, but a 4 strand fence is probably plenty to keep cows and steers home. Bulls can be much more of a challenge, but I doubt that I will ever have another adult bull.

Fences require some maintenance. The wires should be tight and if there are any holes, cows will find them. When I was a kid, I always wore the back pockets of my jeans out first, because that was where I constantly carried my pliers. Fixing fence was easier than chasing cows back home!

Good luck with your fence! I do not envy you the work.