Goats - ‘Don’t Fence Me In’

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Goats are curious animals and their gregarious social skills and healthy appetites know no boundaries or fences.

However, new types of fences make it easier for goat owners to dissuade their “don’t fence me in” bleating, according to Charlotte Clifford-Rathert, small-ruminant specialist at Lincoln University Cooperative Extension and Research in Jefferson City.

Clifford-Rathert will speak at the MU Extension workshop “Pearls of Production: Women in Agriculture” Nov. 8-9 in Columbia and on Nov. 1 at the 2013 National Small Farm Trade Show and Conference, also in Columbia. She will be among the featured presenters at the Missouri Livestock Symposium, Dec. 6-7 in Kirksville. The annual event is organized by MU Extension and numerous sponsors.

Cost and flexibility are key considerations for choosing what type of fence to use, she said. Ease of construction and intensity of rotational grazing also are factors.

There are two types of conventional fencing: woven and barbed wire. Woven wire is effective, but expensive and inflexible, she said. To minimize horned goats from getting tangled in the wire, she recommends using 6 x 12-inch mesh wire spaced 24-36 inches apart.

Electric fencing is the least expensive type of fence and is durable, easy to install and flexible, she said.

Entertainment, Pages 13 on 10/31/2013