Goat FencingGoats may be pastured along with the larger livestock, but it's not necessary to have a pasture just for goat-keeping. Barbed wire fences alone do not effectively confine goats if moderate grazing pressure is applied to the fenced-in area. Goats are very sure-footed and smart and fearless about climbing and jumping. In fact, they are notorious escape artists. Many goat herders use a combination of electric fencing, mesh wire fencing, and even install a two fence system both an exterior fence to keep out predators and an interior fence cross-fencing for pasture rotation and separation of does, bucks, and weanlings. To prevent goats from jumping fences, make your non-electric fences to be at least 42 inches tall. Your fences also need to be predator proof. If you use wire mesh wire, a 12-inch wire mesh, rather than a 6-inch mesh prevents the goats from hanging their heads in the wire. The best pens are made with 5-ft galvanized metal panels with 4-inch squares. To deter predators, you can either string an electric wire along the outside, or you can bury 24-inch wide chicken wire about 2 to 4 inches deep outside the fenced area. This will deter predators from digging under the fence. A small pole barn and a wire-mesh fence will do nicely for shelter and exercise for your goats and sheep. The exercise area should be no shorter than 20 feet, because goats need space to roam, or they'll soon look way to escape route or exit. Goats test every part of the fencing scheme, and any flaws will be challenged and possibly breached. The typical barbed wire or high tensile wire fence used for cattle is not correct for fencing goats. Many goat herders use wire mesh fencing to deter predators. Electric Fencing for GoatsIf you choose to install electric fencing, use four strands of electrified wire. Place the top fourth wire at 30-35 inches from the ground, the third wire at 18-22 inches, the second wire at 12-24 inches, and the bottom wire at 6 inches from the soil. You van also choose to run electricity on just 2 wires, and will then periodically switch running electricity on two different wires to keep the goats guessing and thus deter learning escape exits. In short, you'll teach them to respect the fence. Protecting Trees and ShrubsGoats are browsers and will eat different types of vegetation, including shrubs and trees. If you have young sampling trees and shrubs, you'll need to put fencing around them to avoid destruction by goat browsing. Sheep are not grazers, not browsers. Sheep prefer grass over trees and shrubs.
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