How to Install Electric Fence for Goats – A Complete DIY Guide

If you’re thinking about making your own electric fence for goats, but have no idea where to start, you’ve come to the right place!

Now, you are here because you need a guideline to build it. So, in this article, I have included all the basic and advanced things you need to know.

This article will cover-

  • When you should build fences and when to buy commercial fencing?
  • The materials you need with our suggestions.
  • The measurements
  • And the steps to build and install.

Setting up an electric fence can seem intimidating if you’ve never done it before, but this guide will show you everything you need to know in order to get started quickly and confidently. It takes about two hours to set up an electric fence for 10 goats.

And there are just three things you’ll need – wire, insulators, and the energizer itself.

So, you want to set up an electric fence? Keep reading, I going to provide the exeat steps we follow to build fences for goats. Follow these step-by-step instructions from start to finish, and you’ll have your fencing up in no time!

Tools and Equipment That You Will Need

You will need-

  1. Electric fence wire,
  2. Posts,
  3. Posthole digger,
  4. A solar or battery-powered energizer,
  5. Insulators,
  6. End terminals,
  7. Staples, and
  8. Wire cutters.

The type of fence you use will depend on how many goats you want to contain and how long a run you have. Your local farm supply store will have all of these supplies, as well as experts who can advise you on your needs and installation techniques.

For setting up an electric fence for goats you will also need safety glasses and gloves. Once you have collected all of these materials read on to learn how to install an electric fence system that is safe and effective.

Step By Step Procedure to Install Electric Fence

Don’t try it without taking proper safety measures. Although, setting up an electric fence is a relatively simple project and doesn’t require much in terms of tools or space. However, it can be dangerous.

However, it’s important to set up your fence correctly and follow some basic guidelines in order to get maximum effectiveness.

Here are some tips on how to install electric fences for goats, properly.

Preparing The Stands

The first step when installing an electric fence is to determine how many strands you will need. This depends largely on how large your area is and how many animals you want to contain within that area.

For smaller areas, you can use 5- 20 strands; however, if you have a larger area that will be fenced off (such as a pasture), you will require more stands.

Here is the chart that you can use for

Wire TypeStands Spacing (feet)
Woven Wire14-16
Common Electric12-20
High-tensile, level terrain30-90
High-tensile, difficult animals, rolling terrain15-20
Poly tape and poly wire12

** Read our review on the best electric fence for goats to learn more about wire types and their benefits and drawbacks.

Next, decide how high you would like your fence to be. Generally speaking, fences should be around 4 feet tall so that they are effective at keeping out predators while not being too difficult for livestock to jump over.

Once you have determined how many strands and how high you would like your fence to be, it’s time to begin setting up your wire.

Setting up the wire

If you are using wooden posts, drive them into the ground about two feet apart from each other. If you don’t have access to wooden posts, metal T-posts work well as well.

To attach your wire to these posts, use insulators on either end of each post with a staple gun. Then take your wires and wrap them around all sides of each post before attaching them with insulators as well.

As mentioned above, make sure that you place your insulators about every two feet along each strand of wire. When all of your wires are attached to their respective posts, connect them together by twisting them together and clipping them with another insulator.

Finally, check that everything is working by connecting a battery pack to one side of your fence and touching the other side with a small piece of aluminum foil or steel wool.

Testing

Once you have your electric fence up, it’s time to test it out!

Once you have your electric fence up, it’s time to test it out! You should test it using a digital voltmeter.

To test it properly, touch one probe of your meter to an unpainted piece of metal on one end of your fence and touch the other probe to an unpainted piece of metal on another end of your fence.

If there is power running through that section of wire then you will see voltage on your meter. If there is no voltage then check all connections and make sure everything is grounded properly before trying again.

Troubleshooting Problems with an Electric Fence

Troubleshooting a problem with an electric fence can be one of the most difficult tasks because there are many different reasons that it might not be working correctly.

Here are some tips that I use to troubleshoot electric fences.

The first thing you should do is check your batteries and make sure they’re charged up.

If you have solar panels, you want to make sure they’re clean and getting good sunlight; if you don’t have solar panels, make sure your batteries are fresh or fully charged.

Then, make sure all your wires are connected properly—the fence should be grounded at both ends. If you still aren’t having any luck, try moving your ground rods closer together.

If that doesn’t work, try increasing their height above ground by adding more dirt around them.

Safety Tips – Do and don’ts to secure you And your goats

  1. Do not use hardware cloth that is galvanized or any other metal fencing wire that contains zinc. An electric fence should never be touched by metal objects in order to avoid a short circuit that could harm animals, and humans or even kill them. Never allow your pet to touch an electric fence. In addition, do not attempt to make repairs on an electric fence with a metal object such as pliers or a hammer. If you accidentally cause a short circuit, immediately turn off all power sources and wait until all sparks have ceased before attempting repairs.
  2. Always test your system before using it on livestock and make sure there are no shorts anywhere along its length by touching one end of a long wooden pole to each post in turn while watching for sparks at each connection point.
  3. Keep children away from electric fences as they may not understand how dangerous they can be.
  4. Make sure your fence charger is protected from rain and snow by placing it under a porch, overhang, or some similar structure.
  5. Make sure that your fence charger’s output voltage matches what is recommended for your particular type of fence wire.
  6. Avoid making physical contact with your electric fence when working around it.
  7. To ensure that your electric fence remains effective, always keep its conductors properly grounded.
  8. Be sure to check local zoning laws before installing an electric fence; some municipalities prohibit their use entirely, while others require permits and inspections prior to installation.
  9. If you are planning to build an electric fence but will not be able to construct a suitable ground rod, consider using a lightning arrestor instead. Lightning arrestors convert high-voltage charges into low-voltage DC current and help protect both people and animals from accidental shocks.
  1. Do not use hardware cloth that is galvanized or any other metal fencing wire that contains zinc. An electric fence should never be touched by metal objects in order to avoid a short circuit that could harm animals, and humans or even kill them. Never allow your pet to touch an electric fence. In addition, do not attempt to make repairs on an electric fence with a metal object such as pliers or a hammer. If you accidentally cause a short circuit, immediately turn off all power sources and wait until all sparks have ceased before attempting repairs.
  2. Always test your system before using it on livestock and make sure there are no shorts anywhere along its length by touching one end of a long wooden pole to each post in turn while watching for sparks at each connection point.
  3. Keep children away from electric fences as they may not understand how dangerous they can be.
  4. Make sure your fence charger is protected from rain and snow by placing it under a porch, overhang, or some similar structure.
  5. Make sure that your fence charger’s output voltage matches what is recommended for your particular type of fence wire.
  6. Avoid making physical contact with your electric fence when working around it.
  7. To ensure that your electric fence remains effective, always keep its conductors properly grounded.
  8. Be sure to check local zoning laws before installing an electric fence; some municipalities prohibit their use entirely, while others require permits and inspections prior to installation.
  9. If you are planning to build an electric fence but will not be able to construct a suitable ground rod, consider using a lightning arrestor instead. Lightning arrestors convert high-voltage charges into low-voltage DC current and help protect both people and animals from accidental shocks.
  10. When possible, try to bury your electric fence’s conductors just below grade level so that they cannot be easily stepped on or otherwise come into contact with people or animals.
  11. When attaching insulators to posts, make sure that you use insulators designed specifically for electric fences rather than those intended for regular garden use.

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