Design fencing and paddocks
Good fencing keeps animals in, predators out, and lets you rotate grazing. It is usually the biggest single cost of keeping livestock.
How
- Draw a perimeter fence, a few interior paddocks, a holding yard near the barn, and gates where you will move animals.
- Goats: 4 ft (1.2 m) woven wire, topped with a board or barbed wire where dogs or coyotes are a problem, is considered adequate. Brace corners on the outside so goats cannot climb them.
- Kentucky Extension suggests woven wire with about 4 in (10 cm) openings set close to the ground, posts no more than 15 ft (4.6 m) apart, or high-tensile fences with 5 or 6 alternating hot and ground wires.
- Electric fences for sheep and goats: University of Wisconsin suggests at least 4,000 volts for sheep and 7,000 volts for goats, with at least 3 ft (0.9 m) of ground rod per joule of energizer output. Keep grass off the wire.
- Use portable electric netting for interior divisions of sheep and goat paddocks.
- Keep fences back from streams and ponds: one conservation district suggests a 10 ft (3 m) vegetated buffer at the water's edge.
Safety: Electric fences can shock people and children. Fit warning signs where paths cross and never use barbed wire with electric netting.
Do these first
Sources
- Housing and Working Facilities for Dairy Goats (Guide D-703). New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension, accessed 2026-11
- Goat Production Basics in Kentucky (ID-162). University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension, accessed 2026-11
- Managing Sheep and Goats on Pasture. University of Wisconsin Extension, accessed 2026-11
- Rotational Grazing: Small Scale Solution for your Farm. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), accessed 2026-11
- Healthy Farms, Healthy Watershed Fact Sheet 3: Best management practices for small acreage livestock farms. Northern Rhode Island Conservation District, accessed 2026-11