Your Options For The Best Fence For Sheep (and Goats)

Establishing infrastructure first is a good general rule to keep on your homestead. That means you’ll need sturdy fences before bringing in animals. With so many options out there, how can you know what is the best fence for sheep and goats?

What is the Best Fence for Sheep?

Construction costs, and the way you want to move and keep your sheep are going to dictate which kind of fence is right for your farm. A few things to consider:

• Sheep and goats can climb and jump.
• Separating males from females is necessary at times.
• Weaning babies from dams will require additional separation.
• You need to keep out predators.

Let’s look more into the details before you decide what is the best fence for sheep on your own homestead.

Who Are the Natural Predators of Sheep?

Not only do you have to worry about keeping your flock of sheep inside of their fence, but you also have to understand what their predators are. Predators will vary by location, but here are a few to protect against:

• coyotes
• bobcats, lynx, mountain lions
• bear
• domesticated dogs

Also know that predatory birds such as eagles can prey on your sheep, and no type of fence can protect them. Livestock guardian dogs are a good addition to your homestead to protect sheep and goats from such nuisance.

How to Build a Good Fence

Good Fencing is made with high-quality materials. Whatever you choose from these fencing options, choosing the right materials for each should be your first priority. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen new homesteaders choose the cheaper route, with lower cost materials, and have to spend twice as much to replace that fence later.

Three Types of Fencing

There are three types of possible fencing that are recommended.

Perimeter Fence

Permanent boundary fences are the best way to ensure you don’t lose your flock. If they get out of their paddock spaces provided, the perimeter fence is the last attempt to keep them in. A breach-proof high fence is a good plan for both sheep and goats alike.

Cross Fences

Cross fences are those lines inside of the boundaries that allow for separation within the flock or rotational grazing. These are usually constructed as permanent interior fencing with gates to connect fields.

Temporary Fencing

We aren’t talking about short term fencing until you can get permanent fence established. Again, make sure to build your fences right the first time. 

Temporary fences are usually made to be moved as needed, specifically for rotational grazing purposes. Solar-energized electric fence is commonly used for temporary fences.

Making Plans for Your Protective Fencing

Considering what predators are in your area, decide on your best option in fence materials. Calculate the length of linear feet that you need to fence before shopping for best prices. Here are some main points to consider:

Strength

Sheep farms need a fence line that can withstand climbing by the sheep and the occasional fallen tree or branch. A weak cross fence may result in improper breeding of sheep causing a health risk to young ewes. 

A breech in your perimeter fence can be more serious. Tracking down your flock or herd that escaped your homestead through a downed fence is a nightmare.

Sheep and goats like to scratch themselves along fences, pushing and rubbing along the bottom. Also, they may climb the fences with their front feet. 100 pound animals can easily find weak spots in your fences by doing this. Make sure that your fencing can withstand this kind of everyday wear and tear.

Fence Posts

Wire fences can be stood up with wooden fence posts or metal T-posts. Wood posts may cost less money but more in time and labor. Digging by hand, a low cost posthole digger would be the only tool that you’d need to set posts. 

You could save time by using an auger to drill the holes for the posts, but then you’re spending money. A hand auger is less expensive than a tractor attachment, assuming you have the tractor to use in the first place.

T-posts, on the other hand, are set by pounding into the ground with a driver by hand. The actual posts often cost more than wooden posts, but the simplicity of driving them into position makes for a fast moving project. Enlist some help, so that you can take turns when your arms, back, and shoulders get tired during this laborious task.

Fence Post Do’s and Don’ts

• Don’t space your posts too far apart. Depending on your chosen fence material, your posts shouldn’t be anymore than eight feet apart. Wooden and wire fences alike should have posts spaced anywhere from five to eight feet apart.

• Don’t choose untreated wood such as landscape timbers as posts. They will be eaten by termites in no time and rot where they stand. Sheep and goats can then easily push them over when they lean on the fence.

• Do make sure to bury your posts about one-third deep. You’ll need to account for this measurement if you’re building a taller fence. Use longer posts to accommodate the depth needed for a sturdy-set post.

• Do make sure to pack in your posts well. Use water in the holes to pack dirt back in. Shove a smaller post down the hole as you fill it to help pack the dirt in tightly around the post.

• Do brace corner posts with additional boards or posts to withstand the pulling that each line brings. 

• Do find the appropriate fiberglass step-in posts to use with temporary, movable, electric netting type fencing. They are easily placed into the ground with your feet. These only go into the ground about six inches or so.

Fence Height

Fence height matters. Goats love to jump up onto anything possible. If they find something near the fence to climb onto, they’ll easily jump over the fence. Large breeds can jump over a 4′ fence. Sheep don’t jump quite as easily, but every now and then, one may try. Smaller breeds will be fine with a 4′ fence.

Common Fencing Materials

Here are some common fencing materials used for sheep fencing and goat fencing alike. 

Fence Material

Wooden board fences are aesthetically pleasing on the farm. The will need to be maintained more regularly as wood warps with weathering and time. Repainting or staining, adding screws or nails, and replacing broken boards is just a regular part of having wood fences on the farm.

Even if you choose wood, you’ll need to back it with wire. They say that if you can throw a bucket of water at a fence and water splashes through to the other side, then a goat will get through it too. The same goes for sheep. They’ll find their way under or through a wooden board fence.

Welded Wire Fence

Don’t go cheap on the steel wire fence. Red Top field fence works for older sheep and goats, but young lambs and kids can often squeeze through the bottom holes. Instead, choose a 4″ square wire, or a 2″ x 4″ wire, often sold as goat fence. Welded wire will fall apart in no time by the climbing with their feet. Woven wire is a sturdier wire fence that lasts for many years.

Barbed Wire

Sheep aren’t particularly bothered by barbed wire since they have such thick coats of wool or hair. We do like to run a strand of barbed wire on top of our field fences to discourage dogs and coyotes from climbing their way in. However, the persistent canine may not be deterred. A single strand of electric wire on top is a better investment to protect your flock or herd.

Permanent Electric Fencing

I personally don’t like using electric fencing for keeping animals inside of their contained spaces. Electric fences work really well to keep predators out, which is half the battle. Creating that physical barrier between predator and prey is important, and electric easily accomplishes that. 

Make sure to walk electric fences on a regular basis to prevent shorts caused by debris. Periodically testing the strength of the electric output is also wise, so that you’re sure the fence is working well as intended. 

Electric Wire Spacing

If you’re choose electric fence strands or tape, you’ll have to consider the spacing of each wire. Again, it greatly depends on the animal. Goats will not be held in by a single strand of wire electric fence. 

I’ve seen sheep successfully trained on two strands of electric tape. To do this, place tapes at 18″ above the ground and the second one at 12-18″ above the first. Usually, the sheep won’t even try to jump the electric once they’ve been shocked by it.

This is my least recommended way to fence in sheep, and I wouldn’t suggest it for goats at all. Electric wire is better suited for large animals like cows and horses.

Temporary Electric Fencing

Portable electric net fencing is the most popular choice to move sheep throughout pastures on a rotational grazing system. It’s lightweight, and a single person can easily move it alone. It’s expensive though, and you’ll need solar energizers and batteries to carry along the way.

Make sure that your netting is at least 36″ high to keep sheep from jumping out.

Fence Chargers and Grounding

1. Electric fences need to be energized by a hard line that is tied or plugged right into your electric grid, or through a solar, portable system.

2. Solar systems are more and more popular amongst homesteaders because they provide freedom to move them wherever needed.

3. Batteries only hold the charge on portable systems for so long. Once a battery has been recharged and drained so many times, they tend to lose their charge forever. These batteries will have to be replaced.

4. Solar panel and chargers will also stop working after a couple of years and need to be replaced. Chargers seem to be prone to lightning strikes, ruining them.

5. Grounding both hard line electric and portable electric fence is needed. Sandy soil is often a problem and causes poor grounding, but moist soil conducts better. Follow the manufacturers’ recommendations on grounding for whichever electric fence you choose.

6. Energizers are another part needed for electric fences. Make sure that you choose an energizer that offers a pulsing shock of the wire instead of a steady stream of electricity. This way, if your sheep or goats do somehow get themselves tangled in the electric wire, the pulse is less likely to kill them. It offers them a break between pulses to free themselves of the wire.

Training Sheep to Electric Fences

You cannot just put your sheep in a field and expect electric wires to hold them in. Especially using those electric tape or netting options. Not training them will often result in an animal tangling herself in the fence. This can result in great harm or even death of the animal. 

They have to be trained to electric, so that they know the fence is a barrier not to be crossed. The best way to do this is to stall them for a week or so, and set up a small length of fence inside of their stall. Let them test the fence with their noses so they catch a low voltage shock. 

Maintaining Existing Fences

Whichever kind of fence you choose, you’ll have to maintain your wooden, wire, and electric fences as long as you have animals to protect. Down trees, flood erosion, and natural elements of weather take their toll on fences. 

Be sure to keep repair kits and materials on hand so that you have them before you need them. 

Walking fence lines on a regular basis to make sure that coyotes or dogs aren’t digging under the bottom of the fence is just as important.

Final Thoughts on the Best Fencing to Protect Sheep

As a shepherdess, I’ve found that the best fencing for sheep and goats has been the three board fence with wooden posts, backed by 4 inch square woven wire. This has proven to be the most reliable fence on our property and it looks nice too. 

Happy Homesteading!

Donna and her family have been homesteading for most of their 20+  years together in some shape or fashion. She currently lives on their 20 acre farm where they grow as much food as possible. What started as a just a few laying hens, has grown into large gardens, pastured poultry, pork, and lamb. They are continuously evolving their small farm to not suit their family’s needs, but also providing to their local community. Donna’s favorite part of the family farm is her self-built micro-dairy, where she gets to love on dairy cows while serving her local community. Milking, cheesemaking, and processing dairy have become the soul of their homestead and the center of their farm.