Electric Netting for Goats. . . Common Problems
Introduction to Electric Netting for Goats
As much as I love my netting fence, some days I love to hate it. There are definite problems with using electric netting for goats and really any kind of animal. When considering this fencing you need to understand there are risks with it. There are risks with any kind of fencing, but netting fence has some special considerations.
Electric Netting Catches
Animals can get caught in fencing. Imagine netting fence is a spider web and your goat is a fly. Yep. Be ready to sacrifice a few strands if you animal is caught. Normally I only use my mobile netting fence while I’m at home. I put my horse and goats in it as a daytime grazing paddock. One time I left them in when I was gone for a short time. An unexpected storm came through and one goat got her front end all twisted up in the fence. She took down about 1/3 of the fencing. Thank God the horse had enough sense to stay out of the way. I was home quickly enough to free my goat without any physical harm coming.
On the other hand, just moving the fencing can make you want to pull your hair out. The moment you think everything is straight and moving how it should, a length of fence has magically looped over itself. The majority of the time I am the only one moving the fence, so I have no one to blame but myself. It just takes time to move the electric netting for goats and making sure I don’t cross or flip any fencing as I move each length. Even when I completely roll up the fence, taking time to keep the netting off the bottom fencepost stakes makes the next setup much easier.
Electric Fence Charger for Goats
Electric netting requires a charger to electrify its strands. Many people buy a portable charger that travels along with the fence. I however, did not want to buy another charger. My permanent woven/welded wire fence has a strand of hotwire on top and bottom which already has a charger. So, that complicates my mobile fencing. I have to connect to my other fencing, if I want it electrified. Eventually I would love an electric fence charger solar that would move with my fence.
More Problems
Netting fence is overall flimsy. Make sure the fenceposts have a double stake at the end. Even with the double stakes they can be weak if your ground is hard or rocky. I bent one stake on a few of my fenceposts and it allows the fencepost to twist as it pleases making the netting fence sag between posts. After pushing a post in the ground, and moving to set the next post I will twist the post to tighten the netting between. If I cannot twist the post, I will take one or two of the upper strands of netting and hook over the post to tighten.
The height can be a determining factor. Usually, the tallest electric netting is around four feet. Four feet is an easy jump for a lot of dogs. If your dogs are already trained to an electric fence, you may not have any issues. Famous last words…One of my dogs just went Under my netting fence. During a storm one of the fenceposts broke leaving the fence grounded and a portion of netting lifted up. She took full advantage of this break and visited the neighbors. (Also note this portion of netting fence is permanently setup over a bunch of rocks in the way of my permanent woven/welded wire fence line)
Even small sticks can tangle easily in the netting. I usually encounter them during moving time. If you’re having trouble figuring out why your fence is not electrified here is a link for a troubleshooting list.
Fence Post for Electric Fence
The fenceposts that come in the netting fence are not designed to be removed/moved in the netting. I found it helpful to have some extra plastic posts to add in. It is a must for going around trees and other plants I don’t want destroyed by my darling goats, ha!
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet, freezing rain! They all cause problems for electric netting for goats! Snow will ground out your fencing. Sleet and freezing rain can coat the fence, make it heavy, and cause grounding as well.
Conclusion
Using electric netting for goats can be a huge advantage for homesteaders with limited acreage. But do the risks outweigh the benefits? I hope this post outlined some common problems that you can take into consideration when choosing electric livestock fence. For information about using electric netting for goats read my Mobile vs Permanent Post!
What are your thoughts on the dark side of electric netting fences?? Leave a comment below!!