Common Cattle Fencing Mistakes to Watch Out For

Many farmers tend to do their own livestock fencing rather than hiring a professional to take on the job. While this is certainly doable, it becomes crucial for you to be aware of certain common cattle fencing mistakes that could result in your having unsecured or otherwise faulty fencing.

With this in mind, here are some things to watch for with your wooden fence poles in Utah when setting up fencing for livestock containment. Contact Huberwoods to learn more!

Undersized corner posts

This is perhaps the most frequently made mistake in the world of fencing. The problem tends to be undersized posts and corner posts that are not set deep enough in the ground, especially if the soils are soft or sandy. As a general rule, the depth the post goes down into the ground should be the same or greater than the height of the top wire to ensure stability.

In addition, you have to consider the proper diameter of the posts. The diameter should depend primarily on the strength of the fence. Light-duty fences might only require a four- or five-inch diameter post, but for wire fences, you might be best off with an eight-inch diameter post.

Not enough spacing

Fencers frequently use too many posts, which results in the spacing of the fencing being too close. This usually comes from thinking the fence needs to have the same spacing standards as barbed wire. When using barbed wire, the general rule of thumb is one post for every rod length (16.5 feet), but this is more posts than in other types of fences. For electric fences, you can get away with posts spaced 80 to 100 feet apart.

Using steel posts for electric fences

If you put steel posts anywhere into your electric fence, there’s a chance the fence could short out. You’re basically hoping your insulator will hold up and prevent a short from occurring. Instead, consider using a wood-plastic composite or a flexible plastic for your posts. Even if you have a great insulator, you don’t want to run the risk of a short.

Ground rods being too close together

In an electric fence, grounding makes up about 99 percent of the fence itself. A good general rule is having three feet of ground rods for every joule of output from the energizer. If you have a six-joule energizer, then you’ll need 18 feet of ground rods. This generally would involve three six-foot ground rods spaced 10 feet or more apart from each other.

Using the wrong energizer size

It’s recommended to have a joule of output from your energizer per mile of fencing, no matter how many strands of wire the fence has. If there are six total miles of fence, that means you’ll want at least a six-joule energizer.

For more information about some of the mistakes most commonly made with cattle fencing, contact the team of experts at Huberwoods and we’ll be happy to provide further assistance with your wooden fence stays in Utah.

Categorised in: Wooden Fence Posts, Wooden Fence Stays

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