[Jacob-list] portable electric fences, and dogs

[Thomas Simmons]

Sharon -

I use 3' high white woven web-fencing exclusively.  I have hundreds if feet
of the stuff, and it has worked great for my Jacobs.  Of course, there's
good and bad news:

First, the Good:  I have used it for two years, and  a Jacob has never
escaped.  It has allowed me to change the pasture configurations weekly, so
i get to rotate pastures with a minimum of investment (plus, we are also on
a granite ledge with only 6" of soil, so sinking permanent posts is out of
the question!)  The key is to train your sheep to the fence.  Get them
eating grass or grain with the tip of their noses through the fence. Once
they get shocked once or twice, they're scared of that fence for life.  The
lambs born here seem to find out early on their own.  "imports" - sheep
raised or born on other farms that are not used to the stuff - may take a
little longer, but they do become accustomed to staying free and clear.  It
has not only kept out dogs, I have SEEN a coyote racing away from the fence
yelping after a shocking sniff.

Now, the bad:  It will take you time to learn how to handle the stuff.  Do
NOT let someone just "tell" you how to handle it - - -have them show you,
and actually take up and put down some before you buy.  It is VERY easy for
the "untrained" hand to tangle this beyond repair.  No one showed me how to
handle my first string, and I completely ruined it in a manner of minutes.
It IS easy and convenient (I LOVE it!), BUT you really need to train
yourself as well as your sheep for maximum effectiveness!

Also, when training a new sheep to the fence, you may have some
entanglements.  i had one new ewe who was not trained to electric fencing
try to put her head through for a tasty morsel of blackberry leaves. She got
shocked and shrunk back, entwining all four horns in the fence.  She twisted
it so tightly around her horns we had to cut it off of her (the fence WAS
"fixable," and the ewe was NOT harmed).  She never touched it again.
 So - - -with a new introduction, train them quickly or at least "be on
hand" until they've learned their lesson.

thom
-----Original Message-----
From: SharHill at aol.com <SharHill at aol.com>
To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
Date: Monday, September 25, 2000 8:45 AM
Subject: [Jacob-list] portable electric fences, and dogs


>I was wondering if anyone has used portable electric fences to confine
>Jacobs.  We have a big garden area that is overgrown with high grass (our
>lawn mower was broken down a good part of the summer).  I would like to put
>the sheep in there to eat it up without putting up a permanent fence around
>the whole thing.  There is good chain link on 2 sides.  The kind of fence I
>saw in the catalogues is woven wire with built in poles.  I would also like
>to know if these fences are effective in keeping out dogs.
>I'd appreciate it if anyone with any experience with these fences could
>advise me.
>
>After reading all the bad stuff about dogs, I felt I should say something
>good.  I was out walking my son's show lamb in our back fields a few days
ago
>and my border collie came with us.  I saw him alert to something on the
side
>of the path and make a wide, careful, cirle around it. I stopped short and
>listened, and soon I heard an ominous rattling sound.  I took a couple of
>steps closer and saw a big rattlesnake curled up ready to strike in the
high
>grass right by the path about 10 feet away.  I had been hurrying along with
>the lamb without paying attention to stuff like that, and it is highly
likely
>that if the dog hadn't been with us, either me or the lamb would have been
>bitten.  There was no one else at home to help me either, so my dog may
well
>have saved my life.
>
>Sharon
>
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