Fencing in Pasture -- A Journey | Animals | Forums

So in anticipation of wanting to get some miniature cattle like KVR I have been contemplating on how to fence in some of our 'pasture' areas. Our house was built in the middle of a field 10 years ago and the previous owners never fenced in for animals. Instead they planted pine trees, some fruit trees, and dug a pond... which does not hold water. But that is for another time. 

My goal is to start small and fence a portion of our land that would be good for grazing. I have larger plans (that have been posted on this site before) to create a large rotational grazing area... but it is a big project and we are not ready for it. Instead, I came up with the crazy idea that I want to fence in an area that is hard to bail hay on but still has wonderful pasture grass. It is just sitting dormant right now and I don't think it would cost a ton of money to fence.

Here is my plan... fence it in, borrow some goats from a neighbor, and see how it works with bringing water and feed to them every day. I know goats don't love grass but at least they will help clear out and prep the ground for future use.

Where the spot is in relation to the house:

Close up that shows distances:

So ~450 feet of fence. So I would need a wooden post at every corner and to help brace a gate and t-posts every 50 feet. I saw 50 feet because this will be done with high tensile wire that is electrified and I have read you can go between 30 to 60 feet on straight runs without fence as long as they are straight and flat -- which mine are.

Supplies:

• 6 wood posts
• 6 t-posts
• 1 spool of 2600ft aluminum wire (for 4 to 5 strands of wire)
• Misc insulators and other things I need to figure out
• Gate
• Solar charger

I am hoping I can do this on the cheap. I need to clear it with my wife since this is a random project that I have come up with at the last minute. I ran a test the other night and it turns out my tractor can push t-posts into the ground using the bucket very easily in my soil. This is great news and means I can just drive around and push in the few needed for this project. This is all a test -- if I do the larger field I would need 100+ t-posts so I want to be able to do that with my tractor.

We'll see if this gets legs and gets off of the ground but I figure it will be a fun experiment and will be building something we can use in the future.