When considering fencing for your goats, you’ll want something that’s both cost effective and will last the abuse of goats. Here, I’ll go over most of the types of fencing that are available, my thoughts/experience, and what it roughly costs in my area.
Chain Link
Chain link fencing can be an okay option as long as it’s properly supported and as long as it’s the stronger industrial gage wire. Not that cheap thin stuff that is used on a lot of dog runs. My neighbors kept their miniature goats in a chain link dog run made of the thinner stuff. It fared pretty well, but over time those little demons were able to cause minor damage here and there.
Price: 6 ft tall, 50 ft long $90.00
4 ft tall, 50 ft long $73.00
Field Fence
Field fence is made up of pretty strong gauge wire, but the holes are a little too big for some goats heads to fit though. If you have a goat with horns they may get stuck in it. What I also don’t like about this fencing is that if you have it supported with just t-posts, then this fencing will easily crumple down if it’s climbed on. I haven’t tried it with goats, but the bear and deer did a number on it on other parts of the property.
Price: $50.00 per 50 foot long by 5 foot tall
Horse Fence
Similar to the field fencing, horse fence has a much smoother look to it and has much smaller openings, roughly 2X3 inches big. It’s also a heavier gauge wire with supportive joints. This fencing is going to stay rigid much better and, properly re-enforced, this is one of your best options for a cost effective, long lasting, durable fencing.
Price: $50.00 per 50 foot long by 5 foot tall
Welded Wire
I believe there are some different gauges of welded wire fencing, but none of it is a very good option for goats. It’s a pretty cost effective option but not too far off from just going with the horse fencing (depending on your supplier). The welded joints can pop apart quite easily, and therefore will not last for very long. This fencing is meant for lighter applications like chickens are gardens.
Price: $50.00 per 50 foot long by 5 foot tall
Hog Panels
Hog paneling is another strong durable option to keep goats in. Panels are generally held up with either t-post or wood posts. They don’t require stretching and are sag resistant. Depending on the size of your area you have to cover, this may be on the more costly side if you have a large pasture to fence in vs a smaller holding area. Be aware, again, of the size of the squares vs your goats head, especially if your goats have horns. Hog panels come with a variety of different sized holes and heights.
Price: $25-30.00 per 16 foot long by 3-4 foot high panel
Electric Strand Fence/ Netting
There’s a couple different options for electric fencing. There’s the typical single wire running that you run around the area, or electric netting. This can help protect whatever fencing you decide to get, or in the case of the electric netting, it can solely be your fencing. I haven’t personally gone the electric route, but the netting is a good idea for those rotating their goats from pasture to pasture. Just remember that goats are stubborn, and may occasionally test the fence out, so make sure it’s working.
Price: $150.00 Solar Electric Fence Unit (covers 5 miles) I believe we got it on sale for $120 at tractor supply.
$28.00 17 Gauge, 1/4 mile wire
$4.00 25 pk t-post insulators
$145.00 Electric Netting/Posts 35″ High by 164″ Long
Re-Enforcement
When I talk about re-enforcing your fencing, I’m referring so something like the picture below. You can either do t-posts spaced no further than 6 ft apart. Or a little more expensive but stronger option would be using wood to strengthen your fencing. Heavy duty t-posts in our area run about $6-7.00 each. Wood can be hard to price out as it changes from month to month.
Iron
I’m mentioning this one last as I’m certain that almost nobody will provide iron fencing for their goats, it’s far too expensive. But if you’re lucky like us, we ended up with several panels of iron fencing for free that were otherwise going to be tossed out. It’s been the perfect fencing as far as keeping the goats in, and keeping everything else out (dogs, bears . . . ). The only exception are baby goats, they can squeeze through but that was easily fixed by putting up 2-3 feet of wire fencing around the perimeter. Again, way too expensive but an excellent long term option if you are able to acquire iron panels at a killer bargain.
Price: $160-185 per 6 foot tall, 8 foot long panel
Ultimately, the best fencing comes down to what you can afford, how big and brutish your goats are, how big your area is that you need to cover, and how long you want the fencing to last.
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That’s a good idea to get some thicker chain-link fencing if you plan on keeping goats in there. I feel like they could easily get through the thinner fencing if it’s not properly supported. I’ll have to remember that if I decide to get some goats and a fence to keep them in.
I thought it was interesting when you mentioned that a chain link fence is a good option as long as it is properly maintained. If I remember correctly, there are also a lot of commercial businesses where I live that use chain link fencing. It seems like chain link fences are a very reliable material that lasts a long time.