Are 2 hot wires enough for a fence?

[True Grit Farms]

Probably 25 acres are ravines and woods

. Since I started running cattle I hardly hunt anymore

.

I can relate to that.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I get by with 1 strand in a lot of spots, and half the time it aint even hot.

2X

 

[Caustic Burno]

I get by with 1 strand in a lot of spots, and half the time it aint even hot.

2X

What you can get by with and what can cause you to loose the farm due to liability are two different things

 

[Lucky_P]

Only about 110 acres of pasture inside the fence here; subdivided into seventeen 5-acre paddocks and two ~10-acre sacrifice/winter-feeding lots. Almost every bit of it is 2 strands of electrified HT fence - and has been for 22 years. Only the 10-acre lot that the bull stays in when he's not out with the cows has 4 strands of electrified HT.

Usually doesn't require much in the way of maintenance, other than jacking gate posts back into position and cramming more rocks in behind them so the gates will latch to suit the boss. I'm lucky that most of it is flat enough that I only have wood posts at ends/corners, gateways, or spots where direction changes abruptly as it follows the creek - most of it's only got t-posts at ~100ft spacings.
I did have to clean off and re-set the fences around/across the creekbottom field twice this year, due to flooding in Feb/Mar... then again in early July - that July flood took out a bunch of the end/corner posts.

 

[1wlimo]

I use a lot of 2 wire high tensile here, both hot. We space the t - post at 20 steps, and alternate which side the insulators are on. The bottom wire is 14" to 16" off the ground and the top is 34" to 36". It's very rare that a calf will go through the fence. The deer go over and the fawns go under.

Built fence like this in bush pasture and it works good, have used it to keep yearling out of crop as well. My cows and my crop.

Now most of my internal fence is a single strand high tensile, post at 60 feet, or poly on tread in post at 60 feet. Calves will walk under till they grow, but they do go far.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Now most of my internal fence is a single strand high tensile, post at 60 feet, or poly on tread in post at 60 feet. Calves will walk under till they grow, but they do go far.

Lower wire?

 

[ClinchValley]

I have places with one 14g hot wire (Interior). Roads are barbed wire with a single hot wire 14g stepped in on rod posts. Keeps everything in. Our hay fields are fenced with 2 14g hot wires. Haven't had a problem yet.

Guy i know has single strand hot barbed wire keeping 50-75 head off of main highways. Works most of the time.

Guy across the way has single strand 17g and it's constantly having problems. I had to run his whole herd (15 hd) out of the road and ditch last night around 10 pm. Almost high a 750 lb heifer walking into the road out of a ditch.

Just goes to how well you maintain it i guess. Our box puts out 13,5 most of the time. If it isn't i find the problem. I think the guy across the way waits until neighbors tell him his fence isn't working.

I think an animal getting into a HOT fence will learn quick to stay back.

 

[pdfangus]

My two wire fences will even turn the goats....

 

[BK9954]

Does this look good enough for the spacing?

 

[Bigfoot]

Does this look good enough for the spacing?

How tall is that post?

 

[BK9954]

Does this look good enough for the spacing?

How tall is that post?

About 5 foot tall, it is a 6 foot T post.

 

[Bigfoot]

That bottom wire would probably be enough to hold them, so it probably doesn't matter where the top wire is. That top wire looks a little taller than I put mine. Again probably makes no difference.

 

[jedstivers]

I put my top white and the top of my pants pocket. I'm 6'.

 

[talltimber]

I have one strand, some places, of high tensile backing old woven around the perimeter and single strand on all interior grazing fences. They don't mess with any of the single strand fence, except for calves. I put the wire crotch high at posts and sometimes with the weather change it gets to around 2' high. They won't cross it laying on the ground when moving fence even.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I have ht hot wire inside a dilapidated perimeter fence at my home place .. the fence separates 2 pastures.. I raise heifers at home and this keeps them from getting in with the neighbors herd.. if the calves are broke to the wire you shouldn't have a problem . Mine are around hot wire from the time they are born ..

only reason I haven't fixed the original fence is because the tree hugging neighbor won't let me clear the fence row..

 

[BK9954]

Will putting a hot wire and feeding cubes under it help teach the cows? My cattle have no experience with electric fences. Probably run straight through them. I would like them to respect them before I let them loose in that unknown pasture. In the back it hills, ravines, creeks and brush. Not clean even ground. They would take a while exploring it.

 

[TiftonBeefmaster]

I've got 4 and half miles of 4 and 5 strand barbed wire fence on my place. I mend on it all the time, and could probably work on it everyday if time permitted. I've got 6 or 700 yards of one strand electric. Ever once in a while, a deer will run through it. Other than that it's almost maintenance free. Most days it's not even turned on. Cattle just respect it.

Deer are my main problem. Have a single strand of electric up high to keep bulls separated. When the deer jump the fence they hit that hot wire and roll it over onto the top of the high strand of barbed wire where it gets caught up. Always have to carry a couple of sticks in the Mule to untwist the mess.

 

[dun]

When the deer jump the fence they hit that hot wire and roll it over onto the top of the high strand of barbed wire where it gets caught up. Always have to carry a couple of sticks in the Mule to untwist the mess.

I carry a couple of those plastic insulated handle deals with a hook on one end to mess with the hot wire. Without the hook the hot has slipped enough times to teach me that lesson.

 

[BK9954]

2 wires keeping them in pretty darn good. 8000 volts with a 50 mile parmak charger on about a mile of wire is keeping it pretty hot. I tied neon green tape to the whole fence so they will see the wire. After the first cow got zapped they all steered clear. The only problem is she knocked an insulater off the T post when she jumped. Had I not been there this could short the fence. I fixed it while it was hot. Jumped a pack of 20 wild hogs while walking the fence. Shot 2. I think the wire is tall enough so they shouldnt knock it down. Just waiting to see how it does in the rain.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Rain will only make it hotter.