Should I fence off 5 acres?

[Tightanium]

Hello!

As some of you might have seen from my previous posts, I am in the process of buying 5 acres of very flat agricultural land. It doesn't have any trees, just a bunch of weeds and an old cottage.
I'm a very conscious guy, and like to be safe in most cases. (This means teenagers wandering around the area and decide my land is a place to just walk straight in and do whatever they want, perhaps burglars, or everyone) The land isn't fenced in any way, and I'd like to fence it all off with chain-link fence panels (being the cheap option, and it doesn't look too bad either, in my opinion!).

After calculating a bit, I worked out I'd need about 70 panels, roughly 2800 euros in the panels alone, which for some reason, I find it to be very cheap!

Basically, I'd like to know if it's even something to worry about, or worth doing, so I quickly created a drawing of how I want the place to look like in who knows when! (Quick reminder, the land right now is surprisingly flat and it's the rectangular shape like in the image. Also, right now, it literally only has that old cottage, so the rest is will be made all by me) I know it looks terrible, but I'm not on my PC right now so I can't use the software that I normally use.

Yeah, the proportions might be a bit off, but this would be how I'd like to make use of 5 acres. Just to explain it now:

• The sort of box that the Chicken pen, Turkey pen, pigs and the goats are in is the fence design that I came up with, which is found in my previous post. The Chicken pen and Turkey pen would always be open and the chickens and turkeys have the option to sort of 'free-range' that big area, however I don't consider it free-ranging, I'd still feed regularly. The quail pen, however, will be completely enclosed with heavy duty wire mesh, so they have a little run/pen for their selves, which is why it's pretty large.
• The pigs and goats are of course separated from each other AND the poultry.
• I know things are labelled very badly, sorry xD
• The chain-link fence which I labelled is what I'm talking about in this topic. Would it be worth it or even something to worry about to fence this large of an area?

By the way, I know I tend to write a-lot and go out of topic, so here's the summary!
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IN SHORT:
Judging by the drawing I showed you, is it worth it to install chain-link fencing, even if it is very cheap? Or is it just unnecessary?

Thank you everyone!

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Fences make better neighbors

Gary

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I think you should fence off your property to keep your animals safe.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

If you have the funds, time, and energy to put in a fence... I absolutely WOULD.

Chain link actually seems very effective and long lasting at keeping a lot of animals in and out.

My goats roamed free with my chickens... or more likely my chickens roamed free with the goats because I had to keep the goats out of the chicken feed. Awesome that you realize even free ranged bird will do better with access to a formulated ration.

Of course a fence won't ACTUALLY keep anybody out who is determined. But I think it's a GREAT layer of security measures.

Do you already have all those animals? Are you familiar with what your predator load will be?

Your chickens and turkey may be OK together. I've heard a lot of stories about turkeys beating up and dragging chickens around by their throat, but no personal experience. if that does become an issue you might consider alternating range time.

Congrats on your new place, sounds like a wonderful adventure!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Fences make better neighbors

Gary

You got that right... better, not particularly good.

 

[Tightanium]

I think you should fence off your property to keep your animals safe.

Sorry I didn't explain myself properly... The animals will have their own fence. Sort of like this: The whole property's perimeter would have a chain-link fence, then the animals will have ANOTHER fence, so they wouldn't roam around the whole property.

Do you already have all those animals? Are you familiar with what your predator load will be?

I'm still new here so I'm not very well-known, but I mentioned in my introduction topic that I am currently living in the city in Malta, and if everything goes to plan I will own this land next July. So I don't have any of the animals yet. The main predators will be dogs and cats. I plan on taking my current Labrador with me, and adopting two more while I'm there for guarding the animals and because I am a dog lover

EDIT: Just to be more clear, this is the chain-link fence I was talking about...(For the perimeter fence)

https://www.amazon.it/PANNELLO-RECI...id=1512312389&sr=8-29&keywords=rete+metallica

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I think having a perimeter fence around your property is always a good idea.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

So I don't have any of the animals yet. The main predators will be dogs and cats

You are definitely in for an adventure!

It's a huge learning curve if you have no prior experience. I suggest you take it slow, maybe 1 new animal TYPE at a time. Hey, try the quail now since I read they are easy keepers even in apartments and don't make too much noise, they mature young and their egg are non alergenic! That way you can be ready to start another animal sooner than later. Especially, I would not get both dogs at the same time as each other. It's much easier in MY experience to train 1 dog at a time, and it very nice to have an older dog who can teach the younger one how to behave. I love labs, but prefer them to be mix instead of pure. There may be other appropriate breeds, I try to keep an open mind and totally support the idea of adopting instead of shopping. Have 3 rescue dogs of my own right now with more than that in my past. Also an animal lover.

Domestic dogs are definitely known as a main threat. Domestic cats have never been an issue for any animals here except chicks, though that would likely include quail. And we've got predators galore here. Hawk, raccoon, skunk, owl, mountain lion, possum, weasel, even rats will eat chickens alive. I keep a stag pen for my roosters separate from my hens in order to control my genetics. I use a solar electric fence to keep them in. Was affordable, easy to install, and effective when installed at the correct height for the target animal. The portable solar electric netting type is also a good way to contain any of those species for ranging in a specific area other than their own pen.

Between now and then learn about the breeds you wanna keep. They have different levels of need and personality. And will take different amount of toll on your land.

My goats quickly ate their pen down and quickly went through my whole property. Only 1 acre was not enough to sustain 2 Nubian wethers (fixed/castrated boys) without a fair amount of supplemental feed. They did too good of a job. But they got to go a new 10 acre home and be companions to a milking doe. Maybe 2 nigerian dwarf would have been a more appropriate choice for me, but that wasn't what I wanted. And oh boy, if one of them gets scours... what a mess. Learning how to diagnose and treat things yourself is often more feasible than taking each animal to the vet. Do you currently have shelter plans for everybody? None that I know of will do real well if exposed to the elements 100% of the time. And depending on the type of orchard might rotate some of the animals through there. The fence you linked looks 6.5 feet tall, but I couldn't tell the diameter of the wire or actual. Link to what I have that is called stock yard fencing..
https://www.homedepot.com/p/FARMGAR...nized-Steel-Class-1-Coating-348308B/202025614

With these posts every 6 ft...
https://www.homedepot.com/p/FARMGAR...nized-Steel-Class-1-Coating-348308B/202025614

They do come in taller lengths, but that served my purpose very well. That one is my perimeter fencing. For my interior ones I use this product because it's even more cost effective. Neither are perfect but ease of pounding the post in the ground, along with cost, labor to install, and longevity of it all was a happy medium for my rural home.

One neighbor has real chain link bordering one of my fences and it is taller and very solid as well. It more like this...
https://www.homedepot.com/p/YARDGAR...zed-Steel-Chain-Link-Fabric-308706A/202024335

I know... way to many things in my head and opinions you didn't ask for... But all in the hopes of helping you to become as successful as possible at achieving your goal/dream without having to bare the same mistakes I have made. An awesome and really rewarding hobby can easily become overwhelming work when you just wanna sleep in ONE day.

But having BYC for consulting puts you so much farther ahead of the game.

 

[Tightanium]

Thanks so much for the detailed reply, and no, I don't mind AT ALL for giving me a heads up on other things, I tend to talk a lot to in some cases!

I actually used to help my uncle around with his small farm when I was a teenager, so I guess you could say I have some experience, however only took care of chickens and pigs, so the rest would have to come gradually. And for the fencing part, etc, one of my main hobbies is woodworking and pretty much everything that has to do with DIY, so I think I'm covered on that part.

I was actually thinking about letting the goats in the orchard till their 'plot' would have grown, but I would have to wait a few years to do that as I wouldn't trust the goats in the orchard, as the trees wouldn't have been matured yet.

Thanks very much for providing me with similar fence options. The 'proper' chain-link fencing also sounds like a good idea, however what I think I'll do is: I'm gonna travel to Italy in January to have a lengthy chat with the owner of the land, and while I'm down there I'll try to get a quote on various fencing options and compare prices, however I'll still make it myself, I personally don't trust in hiring someone to do something I can do.

Over all, after reading my post again, I noticed I made it seem like I'm gonna go down there, and do all these things at once, setting up the paths, garden, orchard, animals, pets, etc... but no, it's actually going to be a feeling. BUT! That is what makes it fun! I like the thought of starting a 'new generation' in my family or so, building everything from scratch. To be straight, my initial plan for the first year is to live in an RV and renovate the cottage, set up the fencing and the paths. Animals were not in my 1st year to-do list. My 2nd year to-do list however, is animals and garden galore. You might be asking yourself, why is this meatball asking all of these questions, etc? A little skill(if you can call it a skill) that I caught up in woodworking and programming, is planning ahead, sometimes FAR ahead.

Once again, thanks so much for replying, I'm taking note of all these opinions!

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Welcome to BYC . My sons father was Maltese and we /I am hoping you share lots of pictures !