Does welded wire mesh w/ 4''x4'' squares and at least 5ft high exist???

[tlatham72]

Check farm stores for what are called "Hog Panels". I use them stapled on 4x4 posts in the ground for my dogs and chickens. Not a 4x4 square in the fence though but VERY sturdy stuff. 4 foot high and 12 foot lengths.

Terrific! I have seen those panels adn would definitely like to use them if possible, but I'm in need of 5 foot high. Although last night I did look at some 4ft high fencing at Lowes just to get a better sense of how tall that is. I'm starting to think that might be tall enough to keep my dogs from jumping, but I sure would hate to build 900 ft of fence and find out that I was wrong. LOL

 

[tlatham72]

I am a HUGE fan of the cost, ease-of-use and effectiveness of electric mesh.

I have used Premier 1( https://www.premier1supplies.com/c/fencing/electric-netting ) and Power Fields electric netting for 6+ years on my little 5-acre "farm" to contain (or fence OUT) goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, coyotes, horses and cattle. I have zero complaints about the products. I do live in a tiny little subdivision with 4 other acreage neighbors, we all have NICE properties, so my fencing also had to look "classy" in addition to being safe and effective. I actually took the step-in posts out of the electric mesh, and wove smooth wire thru the top and bottom strands, and "suspended" it on insulators mounted on wood posts. Above the mesh, for visual affect, I ran 2 strands of white tape. It is powered by a Parmak 30-mile AC charger on 2 ground rods. The charger is pegged out at 19.9v, and let me tell you, the fence WILL get your attention. I have never had an animal get tangled in it, as none of them want to be near it!

Premier 1 is a fantastic company with amazing customer support and all of their products are used/tested on their test farm, and must be PROVEN to work before being marketed.

This is a pic of a corner of one of my goat pastures (there are actually 7 breeding does somewhere out in that grass!)... the pipe panels are the drylot-feed area-catch pen.
View attachment 1780329

Terrific information! I LOVE the way your goats in their field with the fence in the background looks. My husband has definitely been pushing for this as our internal fences but I'm starting to wonder if I can use it for 2 sides of the perimeter of my back yard. The sides that border the trees. I think on the 3rd side, I'd still like to put in a 4 rail fence because it is visible from our driveway and separates us from our neighbor's 4 acre field. I definitely think yours looks totally perfect and respectable, but I have kind of had my heart set on the wooden farm fence. LOL. Thank you so much for all of the detail and photos. This will help me immensely. I have looked at many of the premier one products over the past week. Glad to know that have stellar products and customer service. I will try to order my stuff from them.

 

[tlatham72]

I am a HUGE fan of the cost, ease-of-use and effectiveness of electric mesh.

I have used Premier 1( https://www.premier1supplies.com/c/fencing/electric-netting ) and Power Fields electric netting for 6+ years on my little 5-acre "farm" to contain (or fence OUT) goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, coyotes, horses and cattle. I have zero complaints about the products. I do live in a tiny little subdivision with 4 other acreage neighbors, we all have NICE properties, so my fencing also had to look "classy" in addition to being safe and effective. I actually took the step-in posts out of the electric mesh, and wove smooth wire thru the top and bottom strands, and "suspended" it on insulators mounted on wood posts. Above the mesh, for visual affect, I ran 2 strands of white tape. It is powered by a Parmak 30-mile AC charger on 2 ground rods. The charger is pegged out at 19.9v, and let me tell you, the fence WILL get your attention. I have never had an animal get tangled in it, as none of them want to be near it!

Premier 1 is a fantastic company with amazing customer support and all of their products are used/tested on their test farm, and must be PROVEN to work before being marketed.

This is a pic of a corner of one of my goat pastures (there are actually 7 breeding does somewhere out in that grass!)... the pipe panels are the drylot-feed area-catch pen.
View attachment 1780329

PS ...the white bands of tape at the top give it a perfect finishing touch. Great idea!

 

[Folly's place]

Woven wire is stronger than welded wire, and electric fencing is your friend! Chain link is nice, but much more expensive. You can find fencing (Red Brand here) at the farm store, along with treated wood posts and steel posts with fasteners. Electric tape or rope (Premier1supplies.com) for the top, so five feet tall including the electric. Gail Damerous's book on fencing is very very good!!! It may be available on this site too.
Tiny dogs can get through 4"x4", and it's less expensive than the 2"x4" 'no climb' horse fencing. We have both, and electric, and the dogs also wear Invisible Fence collars, keeping them about three feet away from the physical fencing. Also, we bought chain link 6' tall gates for the dog area.
Mary

 

[tlatham72]

Woven wire is stronger than welded wire, and electric fencing is your friend! Chain link is nice, but much more expensive. You can find fencing (Red Brand here) at the farm store, along with treated wood posts and steel posts with fasteners. Electric tape or rope (Premier1supplies.com) for the top, so five feet tall including the electric. Gail Damerous's book on fencing is very very good!!! It may be available on this site too.
Tiny dogs can get through 4"x4", and it's less expensive than the 2"x4" 'no climb' horse fencing. We have both, and electric, and the dogs also wear Invisible Fence collars, keeping them about three feet away from the physical fencing. Also, we bought chain link 6' tall gates for the dog area.
Mary

Thank you for the info! Now I have lots of ideas to mull over and I will definitely order that book today! I have used invisible fence in the past for the exact same reason with my dogs...to keep them back off the fence. Unfortunately, my current 2 pups are rescues that have some anxiety and trust issues I'm still working through, so I have not put invisible fence collars or bark collars on them so far. I'm afraid it would really do a number on one of the two. My dog girls are 80 pounds so I don't have to worry about them squeezing through, but I do want to keep other predators out and not let my future goats' heads get stuck. So I have decided to go with the 2x4 (or the 2x2 of the chain link). But you have a terrific idea of how to make the 4ft wire 5 ft with the addition of the electric wire at the top, which I just started thinking about doing anyway because my neighbors said we have a black bear that travels through several times a year and cuts right down my property line. I read and researched products until all hours last night. Now, with all of this additional info and ideas, I think I'm getting a clear idea of what I need to do. Thanks!

 

[tlatham72]

One more fence question. I've been working with my handy man to get a materials and labor quote together for building the 4 rail and 2x4 post fence I've been planning thus far (until I halted based on all of y'all's great feedback and ideas). He asked me if I was concerned about the rails warping really bad as the treated lumber dried since the rails would not have any vertical pickets holding them flat and giving them stability. Would this happen? I see so many of the fences, it either isn't an issue, has a solution, or they are all warped and I can't see it from a distance.

My hubby would normally build this for us, but he travels for work a ton and it would take him months to build 900 ft. I ran the question by him and he just brushed it off and said no, not a concern. He's a pretty good carpenter, plumber, all around handy man, so he is telling my (other) handy man specifically how to build the fence to make sure it is done correctly based on the the requirements I'm giving him from my research. But the question made sense to me.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My pressure treated 2x4 fence doesn't warp.

 

[tlatham72]

My pressure treated 2x4 fence doesn't warp.

Are you talking something like this?

View attachment 1780678

Yep. Like that. I did a bit of google searching and found some information that suggested that warping can be an issue if you get the lumber from a big box store, but that it shouldn't be an issue if the lumber comes from a true lumber yard as they go through a much more meticulous process of treating the wood and drying it before selling it. The info suggested that the process can be fairly haphazard with lumber from Lowes, etc. and that you may wind up with many warped boards 2 years down the road.

 

[Willowspirit]

We just got a quote for 180 linear feet of four foot high 2x4 welded mesh fence with a rail across the top for just over $5,000. $6,000 if we want them to take down the old fence. Gak!

This would be for our chicken yard only. My dog could jump over four feet before she was six months old so no real deterrent there. We plan to put netting over and electricity at least on the top rail. We are planning to get more estimates or reduce the size of the yard.

The white fence with white rails is my favorite. You can put that up with mesh behind it (black maybe) and you can even run a hot wire along the back of the top rail.

Not a fan of chainlink. I think there's no way that it doesn't ultimately look ghetto.

 

[Folly's place]

I don't have goats, or (so far!) bears, but without electric fencing there wouldn't be a fence still standing here. Horses eat treated lumber like candy, and both horses and cattle would rub it down in no time!
When we used wood, we found a local sawmill that sold green true 2"x6" oak boards, less expensive than treated, that the horses wouldn't eat. After ten or fifteen years, they ate them too, but electric fencing protects things very well. Only electric fencing works against bears!
Mary