safe to put T-posts ONE FOOT deep?

[jmc]

May be adding pasture area for ducks.

Want to use T posts and 1" x 2" mesh welded wire attached.

T posts 5 or more feet apart per 50 ft. side.

Is sinking the posts just one foot deep into ground deep enough. I'd prefer to go 2 ft. but that would QUADRUPLE the work in rocky soil of MA.

Thoughts appreciated as always.

BTW: we're out in country with plenty of predators.

all pens covered with flight pen netting................

 

[okiehen]

What we do is make sure that the plate is in the ground.
Its better if you can get it down 14 in or so. The only time we have had them come out of the ground is if the tractor hit them.

 

[G Wiz Ranch]

i would say it depends on your soil. Put one in 12" and push it arround and if its solid, your good to go. Picture a large dog pushing on it, will it stop him?

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

We drive ours down till the guide is just underground. Like G Wiz Ranch said, just drive one down about 12" and if its solid enough then you should be fine.

 

[CTChickenMom]

Think of a coyote or bobcat standing on their back legs pushing on it. I live in SE CT and we have at least 2 coyote families in the area. My medium sized dog weighs in at 70 pounds. They are taller than he is and definitely out-weight him by at least 30 pounds. They don't hunt alone but in packs so you may have 2 or 3 pushing on the fence.

Whenever we've sunk posts in the ground we go to the frost line which is down 3-4 feet. Frost can wreck your nice straight posts (and make it easier for critters to push them over). Are you going to sink the wire in the ground? They will push or dig under it. Fisher cats are ruthless when it comes to food. It will mean more work but its protecting your investment and you only have to do it once.

(My sister is south east of Albany, NY abt 20 minutes and had a bear make a few trips to her yard. Bent her wrought iron feeders like they were noodles but left her chickens alone.)

 

[G Wiz Ranch]

A bear? Maybe you should build a brick wall around them.

 

[patandchickens]

Unless you are running a lot of electric strands on the outside of the fence, all it really needs to resist is wind (from a protecting the ducks standpoint anyhow). Any predator is going to be able to just climb over or walk it down, anyhow, so resisting the strength of predators is not an issue.

For resisting the wind, 12" deep is marginal for that, but it won't fall over right away anyhow in most soils. You're going to use a post setter, yes, not just a sledge? One thing you can do, for a wire fence like this, is be flexible about where your post goes, so that when you hit a rock you just say 'oh poo' and move over six inches or a foot and try again. This does involve more work but is worth doing at least for the worst posts.

Then if you want this fence to last for a few years, keep weeds off it, especially going into winter, as they contribute substantially to its tendency to lie down in sustained hard winds.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[jmc]

You are very kind folks, thank you for your replies!

 

[speckledhen]

We put ours a foot into the ground. That's really what they are designed to do and if the ground is solid enough, you shouldnt have any trouble. I use the U-posts (the ones with the hooks). The best thing is to get a heavy duty one, not the lighter duty ones they sell. In the higher heights, they have the heavy duties.

 

[rdranch]

We one of those root feeders that you connect to a hose to "pre drill" holes for t posts. Here the soil is very hard clay and this helps ALOT!!!

Hope this helps.