When we think of wild goats, we immediately think of those gravity-defying animals that seem to scale the side of sheer cliffs effortlessly. While your backyard goat might not be quite this crafty (hopefully!), it\u2019s nevertheless the case that many goats have a reputation for being escape artists \u2013 and for a good reason! With this thought in mind, today, we\u2019re looking at some of the key things you need to know about fencing your goats. Good goat fence ideas should help keep them contained and (critically) safe; however, you\u2019ll need to take steps to ensure that your new fencing is 1) goat-proof and 2) safe for the goats to be around. After all, not all fencing is goat-friendly, and considering this can help you find the right goat fence ideas for your four-legged friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goats are escape artists, and if you don\u2019t want them to get somewhere, it can sometimes feel like they\u2019ve made it their life mission to get there solely to frustrate you! Indeed, I often joke, \u201cif there\u2019s no reason for a goat to do something, that\u2019s reason enough.\u201d So, just because you don\u2019t see why your goat would want to escape through that tiny hole in the fence, don\u2019t trust them. It\u2019s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to goats. And in many cases, they seem to be better at finding weak points in fences than we do ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, you now know why goat fence ideas need to be strong \u2013 but what options are there? Well, there are numerous different types of goat fence ideas you could try, but the following are among the most common (or potentially the most \u201cup and coming\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Electric fencing is one of the most common modern goat fencing ideas, and the appeal is easy to see. It\u2019s cheap, lightweight, easy to move, and easy to install. You won\u2019t have to spend hours banging in poles or trying to straighten our stock fencing \u2013 but it may not be as reliable for goats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, most livestock will respect electric fencing. Some goats will, too. Others… Well, if reports online of goats getting here, there, and everywhere are anything to go by, others aren\u2019t as respectful of electric fencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As such, if you decide to try electric fencing, you should ideally stay with your goats, to begin with, to see if they\u2019re likely to respect it or not. It is also vital to remember that electric fencing can be dangerous \u2013 if your goat gets stuck in electric fencing, the results can be severe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another common type of fencing that\u2019s widely used for goats is stock fencing or stock netting. This is potentially excellent for goats that don\u2019t have horns, but it\u2019s not uncommon for horned goats to get stuck in the large squares of stock fencing and unable to free themselves. Moreover, even some disbudded goats could still get their heads stuck \u2013 so, if you\u2019re using stock fencing, be cautious of this potential. Always ensure the fencing is suitably sized so that your goats can\u2019t get trapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For our herd, we usually use stock fencing with a strand of electric fence above and below to keep them away. Usually, it works \u2013 but there\u2019s no guarantee!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barbed wire is another common fencing option for goats, but it is not one I\u2019d personally use (considering the tendency of many goats to try and jump fences). Barbed wire is cheap and easy to put up, but it may risk injuries for your goats, so this is always a decision that you should make carefully. Using barbed wire alone may not be enough to keep your goats contained, either, and they may injure themselves while climbing out. The grass is always greener on the other side, as they say!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Post and rail fencing can be an excellent option to keep goats contained \u2013 provided that you have multiple rails kept close enough together to prevent the goat from trying to clamber out. You\u2019d be amazed by the tiny gaps a goat can escape through, so when investing in post and rail fencing, ensure you have plenty of rails to narrow the gaps. Don\u2019t forget that your goats will likely also climb post and rail fencing, so ensuring it\u2019s strong and well-built is possible to withstand the weight of the goats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a final option, you may have heard of specialist GPS fencing. GPS fencing is only just being introduced but offers a new way to contain goats to a specific area without a physical fence. Instead, GPS virtual fencing (often called \u201cgeofencing\u201d) gives out a small electric shock to encourage the animal to retreat. While this technology is new, it may be rolled out one day for goats \u2013 but its efficacy will, of course, depend on individual animals and whether or not they can be trained to use the GPS virtual fencing collars. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goats \u2013 they\u2019re troublemakers. And, in fairness, it\u2019s part of what we love about them. But oh, boy, can it also be frustrating! One of the biggest challenges many goat keepers face is the seemingly endless fight to keep a goat contained and where it is supposed to be \u2013 which is where we hope that today\u2019s goat fence ideas may have helped. But, of course, this often comes down to individual animals and your own personal preference. So, always do your research and planning before erecting any of the goat fence ideas we\u2019ve outlined today; not every fence is suitable for every goat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When we think of wild goats, we immediately think of those gravity-defying animals that seem to scale the side of sheer cliffs effortlessly. While your backyard goat might not be quite this crafty (hopefully!), it\u2019s nevertheless the case that many goats have a reputation for being escape artists \u2013 and for a good reason! With…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/herdiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/herdiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/herdiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herdiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herdiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/herdiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273,"href":"https:\/\/herdiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions\/273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/herdiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herdiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herdiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}