Fence modification

[cibula11]

Hey all, we’ve got about an acre of pasture and right now our 20 hens have been sectioned off and are only using a couple hundred sq ft of it. Since they’ve beaten that area down they’re getting bored and jumping over quite a bit.

On that acre of pasture it’s set up with 4 rail vinyl fence. We’d love to add goats and allow both them and our chickens to ideally have the entire pasture
Any good ideas on how to modify our current fence to make it chicken/goat friendly? Welded wire on bottom 2 ft and hot wire at the top?

 

[mominoz]

Maybe. What kind of goats? Goats are escape artists, and also will eat anything. If you have trees in the area... they will strip the bark often of trees, thereby killing them slowly. Had a bunch of cypress, all saplings and ornamentla bushes killed by a relatives goats that were staying on the property as they often ignored the grass to eat the trees... If you want to save the trees, you will have to fence the goats out of them. hot wire if spaced close enough may keep them in, if they aren't big on jumping out or can use something as a launch pad...like some I know... or a corner... Electric netting for goats and poultry could be an answer, then you could fence them off of areas you are letting recover... so you don't kill all your grass and end up with mud when it rains and then erosion... then more mud....

 

[cibula11]

Nigerian dwarf goats are what we’d get. Our pasture is pretty much open, all grasses and weeds, no trees.
I’d probably just use a hot wire on the lower opening and then one at top but while that might work for goats I’m not positive it’ll work for chickens.