Can I Use Landscape Timbers for Fence Posts?

[Raven1]

That is my point to my husband also I myself have prey driven dogs that will charge the fence if the chicken get flighty or loud so I am wanting to build something that is safe and I can "free range" inside. Thanks Davaroo

 

[Davaroo]

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I saw someone recommend oil as a preservative, but there is something better - roofing tar (creosote).
Wrap the buried section of post with a double layer of roofing paper and soak it with roofing tar by dipping it. Then allow it to cure for a day or two and harden up. Set that in cement with a drip collar at grade and the posts should last for many, many years.

 

[cmjust0]

I'm new to chickens, but not to fencing.

6-1/2' heavy T-posts are about $6 here, and while a landscaping timber may only be $3, you're still going to want to cement it in the ground. I mean, I would, if only because pouring a hole full of dry mix is easier than backfilling and tamping with the half-dollar sized flat tamping end of a spudbar.. What a pain that is.....

You may be able to get by with $1.50 worth of concrete and a bit of tamping, but then you're still up to $4.50/ea -- and you had to dig a bunch of holes, deal with a lot of heavy, dusty concrete, backfill, and tamp! I dunno about you, but if someone offered me $1.50 a pop to do that much work, I'd kindly tell them to take a long walk off a short pier. It's just not worth it.

If it were me -- and it has been, several times -- I'd spend a few extra bucks on real wooden fence posts for your corners, set in cement, and braced (either H-braces or 'knee' braces). Then, stretch your fence from corner to corner. After the fence is up and stretched, drive t-posts about every 8'-10' along the line and 'clip' (wire) them to the fence. I might set a 4" wooden post in cement every 50' or something like that, just for a little added stability.

Stretching the fence is very, very important.. If you use t-posts without stretching the fence properly...yeah...the t-posts will get wobbly because they're trying to hold up the heavy fence. I've seen that a lot. Now, I know it seems like holding up a fence is what t-posts are supposed to be doing anyway, but not really... If your fence is stretched properly, it will pretty much hold itself up and the t-posts are there to help keep it from twisting in or out, and to keep things from being able to walk under it. For that purpose, they work amazingly well -- and they're FAST!

Oh...one other thing that will help you in the long run is to fence when it's HOT outside. It's a pain, but I've seen fence stretched in the early spring, when the fence wire's cold and contracted, and it's loose and wobbly by midsummer. If you stretch it in the heat, however, it only gets tighter from there.

Good luck!

 

[beak]

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You would be best to preserve the buried section in cement or something else, withou direct ground contact. Also use a rain divert collar to keep water from running into the post set. If you do that, they will last a long time. No fence is permanent, without some maintenance, however.
The post has the advantage of being far more rugged against attack than the T-bars. Remember, its not the chickens you must keep in as much as keeping out those things that want to eat them.

Are you guys talking about those real flimsy t-posts? The t-posts I'm used to will hold up to any predator short of a Grizzly. My only worry with landscape timbers is the way they warp. If you set them i concrete, just slope the concrete so the water will run off. We live in Co so there is no humidity. When we lived in Tx., our wood privacy fence had to be replaced every 6 to 8 years cause it would rot out.

 

[Davaroo]

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So half T-posts and half fence posts, bracing at corners and where direction changes occur and stretch the fence when it is sweaty-a** hot outside. Got it. Thanks!

 

[chickens3]

10 years is how long they last i just look it up on a web page and that is what it said so you will be fine making it with them.

 

[beak]

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That's how you do it alright. The only thing that has bent our t-posts is our Percheron. Like you said the real fence post are much better since they are made from the center of the trunk. I've seen people use 4x4's and they are warped all over the place. I'm a firm believer in doing it right the first time.

 

[Raven1]

Ok I get the picture I have fenced for Cows and Horses many times before and the "fence when its hot" is absolutely right I still have questions about connecting the netting if I use t-posts (and no not the flimsy ones I made that mistake only once) I will be using 2x4 welded wire 6ft tall (Redbrand) and wrap the lowest part for chick protection but need suggestions on the netting. I am a firm believer in doing it once and doing it right.

 

[nightshade]

landscape timbers work fine they are pressure treated just like most wooden fence posts you buy. I would just suggest that either you set them on stone or put them on concrete to help the last longer.

 

[Stamper]

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Wow! That is super helpful!