Pasture Fencing Project-Completed

So the following is a post I wrote probably 4 years ago and simply never posted it. Its fun to look back to see how a project like fencing in of our upper pasture has completely transformed how we use our land and improved our little farm. What is also amazing to see how much has changed since then! I hope you don’t get too bogged down in my details of fence building, as you will see I have a passion for building fences and tend to go on and on about building them. However many years later, these fences are still super tight, posts are strong, and the gates haven’t sagged, and only when we accidentally leave a gate open do the goats get out :).

So if you have been following along since we moved to our little farm, you might have noticed a post or two about fences, gates or posts (pun intended).  I am happy to say that our Upper Pasture fencing project is officially DONE! Yay!

When we moved here there was already a wonderful pasture, barn and chicken coop, which was fenced in (mostly) from the neighbors property. But there was no fence separating this Upper Pasture from what we call the Hillside or the Lower Pasture. We didn’t mind the animals roaming down the hillside, they always came back to the barn when they needed a rest or water. The main reason for fencing in the upper pasture was to protect them and provide a safe place for them to graze. We have had coyotes in the upper pasture, within 15 yards of the goats and myself, so getting a fence built was a priority.

Here are a couple of pictures of the barn and upper pasture early on before any improvements:

We needed to create a plan, but first had to figure out what would make a GOOD plan. What did we want it to accomplish? Here were main goals that came up in the process:

1. Protection for our stock from predators and roaming dogs.
2. Containment of our animals to our property.
3. Good traffic flow and use of space.
4. Sound construction and materials.
5. Cost is always a factor, what would be the best value.
6. Effective, we need to count on it to do the job all the time.
7. Easy to maintain.

Here is a layout of the property before we started any fencing:

Based on our goals, and the existing layout of the area, we decided to to create a perimeter fence around the Upper Pasture so we could let the goats (and chickens) roam freely, and have confidence that they were protected. We also would add a couple of gates for the goats to access the Hillside and Lower Pasture for additional grazing. In addition, we would need a couple of gates for foot access going to and from the barn, and a couple larger gates for tractor and pickup/trailer access to the barn, as well as going from the Upper Pasture to the Lower Pasture.

Below is the overall Fencing Project Plan:

This plan allows us full enclosure of the Upper Pasture for protection, multiple points of access to the different locations across the pasture, and efficient use of the space. We are then able to cross-fence the Upper Pasture with electric fencing, dividing it into 3 (or more) separate grazing areas, or paddocks. This allows us to rotate the goats between the separate areas, greatly reducing the risk of parasite problems.

For any fence the most important part of the project is going to be the posts. Properly set posts will allow you to stretch the fence wire without the post leaning. Puny posts give you a puny fence. Animals will also rub, scratch, stand, climb, get stuck, push, shove, and do other silly things that will also cause your fence to sag. The tighter you can safely stretch your fence, the better. Here is what I did on every corner or end of a run:

Construction of the H-Brace consisted of two posts sunk into the ground, at least 30″ or more. When I back-fill the post holes I do about 6-8 inches of dirt at a time, then tamp/pack it down really firm. Then I add more dirt and tamp/pack. This ensures the post is solidly packed into that post hole.

The addition of the horizontal post braces one post against the other giving you a very solid support. Once you stretch the fence the wire will exert a LOT of tension onto your end posts. Puny posts give you a puny fence! That is no good.

I nailed a scrap block of 2×4 or 2×6 to support the horizontal brace, then placed the h-brace on the support blocks. I then drilled through each vertical post into the end of the horizontal brace with a 16″ long, 1/2″ diameter drill bit, and drove a 16″ long section of re-bar through. This “pins’ it all together providing more support against the pull of the fence.

Finally, using some high-tension wire, I made a diagonal loop around the upper part of one post and the lower part (close to the ground) of the other post. I spliced the wires together to complete the diagonal loop, then adjusted the wire to have equal slack on both sides of this loop. Put the stick between the two wires and twist until very tight, and then secure the stick to the post. By creating this tension wire I am anchoring the top of the one post to the bottom of the other, this resists the pulling forces that the stretched fence will have on the post.

Here are a couple pics of this process:

Once I had the H-braces in place it was simply a matter of rolling out the fencing material, securing it to one set of H-braces with fence staples, and pulling it tight with a come-along. In order to stretch the fence, I used a couple of 2×4’s, 4 feet in length, bolted together with carriage bolts. I would unbolt/separate them, put the fence between them and tighten the 3 bolts compressing the fence in between. Attaching the come-along cable to this board-fence compressor allowed me to stretch the fence tight and hold it there until I stapled it up to the fence posts.

Here are some pictures of various H-braces and end posts:

For the gates I went with Behlen mesh gates. Since our animals are smaller they need the mesh construction to keep them in. You get what you pay for and the Green Heavy-Duty gates are of much better construction than the Gray Medium-Duty ones, particularly the hinge hardware. If I were to do it over again, I would definitely get the Green Heavy-Duty gates for all but the small 4′ openings.

It really brings a lot of satisfaction seeing our animals roam around, having the freedom to eat where they like, while also providing the protection they need from critters and such.

It may be a lot of work, but it brings a lot of joy to look out for these critters. They sure are a lot of fun!

Thanks for reading, hopefully someone finds this useful for your fencing project!

From the farm,

Michael