Stockproof fencing.

R

Rusty Spade

Well-Known Member
I'm having a lot of trouble with my yearling heifers this year, they refuse to stay in a lot of paddocks with a good number of them either running under or jumping over the wire in the paddocks. Right now I have just one field they can be kept in without wandering off into the neighbours tillage so something needs to be done to persuade them to stay where they're put.

The river along my bounds is probably the worst, it's mostly silage ground so will be coming back into grazing in the next few weeks so I'll be upgrading there first, if I can keep them on the farm for now, I'll be happy.

I have corner stakes going up later this week rather than the polywire I usually use but what kind of wire do I put up there? I'm thinking one row of barbed wire in case the current is off and maybe two rows of high tensile electric fence. So electric, barbed and then electric again. I probably won't put current on the bottom one, it'll be about 30 inches off the ground so easy to clean off grass quickly if current needed.

Then 6 inches up to barbed and then 6 inches to current again.

Any suggestions or alterations much appreciated :thumbup1:
 
Rusty Spade said:
I'm having a lot of trouble with my yearling heifers this year, they refuse to stay in a lot of paddocks with a good number of them either running under or jumping over the wire in the paddocks. Right now I have just one field they can be kept in without wandering off into the neighbours tillage so something needs to be done to persuade them to stay where they're put.

The river along my bounds is probably the worst, it's mostly silage ground so will be coming back into grazing in the next few weeks so I'll be upgrading there first, if I can keep them on the farm for now, I'll be happy.

I have corner stakes going up later this week rather than the polywire I usually use but what kind of wire do I put up there? I'm thinking one row of barbed wire in case the current is off and maybe two rows of high tensile electric fence. So electric, barbed and then electric again. I probably won't put current on the bottom one, it'll be about 30 inches off the ground so easy to clean off grass quickly if current needed.

Then 6 inches up to barbed and then 6 inches to current again.

Any suggestions or alterations much appreciated :thumbup1:
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I would skip the barbed wire and put an extra layer of electric instead, I dont think you'll get the benefit. That said I would have thought 2 rows of electric with a good belt off it would keep them back. Was the fence off a few times and they have lost respect for it?
 
Best stuff I find is high tensile plain wire coupled to the mains fencer,my stock laughs at barb wire which usually means the whole fence is trashed and on the floor.
 
jay gatsby said:
I would skip the barbed wire and put an extra layer of electric instead, I dont think you'll get the benefit. That said I would have thought 2 rows of electric with a good belt off it would keep them back. Was the fence off a few times and they have lost respect for it?
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I bought a few weanling heifers last winter and three of them are constant pains. And they take another 4 or 5 of my own with them in training.
 
Ozzy Scott said:
You energiser must be at nothing, that's first place to start. Go sort the earth system or also a new decent fencer. They won't go through a single strand if its belting properly
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PEL 836 here, reading 5Kv on the fence tester and they just walk under or jump over the single strand wire I have on most of the fields. I'm hoping two solid rounds of electric fence and the barbed wire earthed will slow them down long enough for the fencer to kick in and train them.

I don't want to be zero grazing them but if it's what's needed, I'll do it.
 
Rusty Spade said:
PEL 836 here, reading 5Kv on the fence tester and they just walk under or jump over the single strand wire I have on most of the fields. I'm hoping two solid rounds of electric fence and the barbed wire earthed will slow them down long enough for the fencer to kick in and train them.

I don't want to be zero grazing them but if it's what's needed, I'll do it.
Click to expand...
Coralling them into a shed or confined space with strands of wire on a short run can train them up a bit easier but you do occasionally just get a bad hoor that can't be learned.
 
Rusty Spade said:
PEL 836 here, reading 5Kv on the fence tester and they just walk under or jump over the single strand wire I have on most of the fields. I'm hoping two solid rounds of electric fence and the barbed wire earthed will slow them down long enough for the fencer to kick in and train them.

I don't want to be zero grazing them but if it's what's needed, I'll do it.
Click to expand...
is it reading 5kv connected on the fence?
 
Rusty Spade said:
PEL 836 here, reading 5Kv on the fence tester and they just walk under or jump over the single strand wire I have on most of the fields. I'm hoping two solid rounds of electric fence and the barbed wire earthed will slow them down long enough for the fencer to kick in and train them.

I don't want to be zero grazing them but if it's what's needed, I'll do it.
Click to expand...
An 836 should stop a rhino,as posted I’d be looking at your earth and connection etc
 
Feck, I'd normally drop a bucket of water on the earth rods when the weather is dry, haven't thought to do that this summer.

A good start, thanks
 
headcase said:
is it reading 5kv connected on the fence?
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Yeah, checked it on Saturday when moving the fence for cows.

I normally disconnect sections as I'm finished with them so I avoid a lot of shorts as I know there's a short in the next section that I can find and fix before the cows move in.
 
Rusty Spade said:
That's very tempting, I must admit. I'm not sure if it's legal though?

No rights of way or walkers to worry about so if someone gets caught then they're trespassing anyway?
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The reason it’s illegal is if you get caught on it you’re going to naturally pull away and subsequently injure yourself,I’ve thought about it in the past it’s also more visible that a single strand of wire.
 
Polywire is not the most visible thing in front of cattle. Worth trying a roll of fence tape in front of them . Way more visible. We use fence tape here for moving bullocks that depending on where they’ve come from might never have seen a fence . Tape works surprisingly well at keeping them back with no shock in it .
Rusty Spade said:
I'm having a lot of trouble with my yearling heifers this year, they refuse to stay in a lot of paddocks with a good number of them either running under or jumping over the wire in the paddocks. Right now I have just one field they can be kept in without wandering off into the neighbours tillage so something needs to be done to persuade them to stay where they're put.

The river along my bounds is probably the worst, it's mostly silage ground so will be coming back into grazing in the next few weeks so I'll be upgrading there first, if I can keep them on the farm for now, I'll be happy.

I have corner stakes going up later this week rather than the polywire I usually use but what kind of wire do I put up there? I'm thinking one row of barbed wire in case the current is off and maybe two rows of high tensile electric fence. So electric, barbed and then electric again. I probably won't put current on the bottom one, it'll be about 30 inches off the ground so easy to clean off grass quickly if current needed.

Then 6 inches up to barbed and then 6 inches to current again.

Any suggestions or alterations much appreciated :thumbup1:
Click to expand...
 
AYF said:
I see some in dry countries run their earth wire with the powered one.

A few inches appart so cattle make contact with both and are guaranteed a whallop!
Click to expand...
When I was in Oz we visited a farm that was using 9 wires, alternating live and earth. Was to stop the roos rather than stock mind.
 
Deerehunter said:
best thing for keeping an earth bar moist is to put a 25kg bag of salt into the soil before driving in the earth bar.. my old lad did that here donkeys years ago and never a problem that way since. he did use stainless steel as earth bar so it wouldnt corrode.
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I've four galv earth rods driven into a stream.
 
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