Who likes counting sheep when they cannot sleep? Counting sheep is a popular term that we use over decades as a means of putting oneself to sleep by counting every jumping sheep over a fence until we are sleepy. But, have you ever questioned, why sheep? and why the sheep are jumping over e a fence?
Well, sheep can jump over fences, just like its friend, the goat. Both sheep and goats are climbing animals by nature. Not a fence, but ledges or mountain cliffs. So maybe in their eyes, jumping over a fence is a just a piece of cake.
That is why fencing is important if you have goats or sheep on your farm. Not only to prevent any livestock predators but also to prevent the goats from running away and keep them where they belong.
In this article, we will talk about the basic of fencing for goats and sheep that may help you to start a farm.
Fences For Your Sheep And Goats: What, How, Why?
Fencing might not be the most important things or the top priority on new owners’ checklist, but having a fence can help you a lot afterward. You should have known that sheep and goats are a good jumper, especially the goat. The problem is they are not only good at it but also like to do it over and over again. They will try to climb on a fence, stick their head through the bars, rub themselves into it, or even, somehow, run through it!
While fencing may not be the first thing new owners raising goats may be concerned with, it should be a priority if you want to make your life easier. Having a fence can keep your livestock from unwanted predators and also prevent your goats from running away and eating poisonous plant because they are such curious animals.
For short, at least you need your fences to be high and sturdy enough to keep them escape, about 4 to 5 feet high, strengthened with strong wood and sunk deep into the ground.
Whatever you need, the fence adapt to it!
Specifically, the basic that you need to consider before putting up fences is your goats or sheep condition and situation; how many of them, their size, their breed and temperament behavior, and also their sex.
The more goats or sheep you have, the more active and destructive they are. Again, they like to bash their heads to everything including fences, whether you have them as livestock in a farm, or as a pet in your home. So make sure you have enough strong fences to keep all of your little friends (and your properties) save! The same thing goes with the goats or sheep size since the bigger they are the strong they become, and how different breed have different temperament and needs. Sex, on the other hand, is also important because bucks or male goats are likely to be more aggressive rather than doe especially when it comes to breeding season. They like to ram and smash his head into everything! So make sure you put the right fence into the right type of your goats or sheep
How do we do built the fence?
Let’s be honest. Building a fence is not easy and can be tiring because it takes time and experience. If you are not sure what are you doing or worry about the building quality, there is no shame in calling an expert in your area for constructing the fence for you. You don’t have to do all of these by yourself, after all!
But if you are willing to get things done by yourself, the basic of building fence for goats are ship is how solid and tall is it. Since your goats love to jump a lot, build your fence tall enough, at least 4 feet in minimum height. For the material, choose a woven wire that can withstand climbing and leaning, and also safe for your goats’ head so it will not be stuck through it. If you have to, you can have a combination of electric and wire. Use a lot of staples to make the fence strong enough.
If you want to use bracing wires materials for your fence, make sure you pick the single strand type one. The two strands bracing wires are twisted together, which may lead your goats or sheep stuck their heads or horns between it.
Barber wires fencing is also a good option that you can choose if you want to minimize the possibility of unwanted predators prey your livestock, especially if your farm location is prone to it. You have to bury the strand underneath the fence, or just below the surface so predators cannot come in.
Some people do not recommend this type of fence. It may be good to keep your goats or sheep from escaping, but at the same time, it also cannot keep a goat inside sometimes. This is also can be dangerous for young goats or sheep due to electric shock if they accidentally touch it.
The classic one is always the best. It can be great and stronger than any other type of fence because it cannot mend and bend like wires and safer than does not kill your livestock with an electric shock. But it is more expensive and takes longer time to build, but does not last as long as wire fencing.
That’s all on what is fencing, why we need it, and how we start to build it. From here we know that fencing is important to keep our livestock safe, and because of their natural behavior which is love to climb over things, we need to put extra work on our fence to make them strong and sturdy enough for our goats and sheep.