[Jacob-list] electric fences

[gordon johnston]

Hi Linda

Our near disaster occurred in our early sheep-keeping days before we
realised how unsuitable electric netting is for sheep, horned or otherwise.
We had put 3 or 4 Shetland ram lambs together behind electric mesh ; one got
his horns stuck and the others then charged him repeatedly from behind until
he was hopelessly tangled and continuously shocked.  Fortunately our fencing
was run on an old tractor battery because if it had been mains he would
certainly have been dead by the time we found him.  As it was, like your
ram, he was seriously injured, just lying there twitching.  I had to cut the
fence away where it was wrapped round and round him, tangled in the wool,
and it was several days before the little lad was walking again.  He was
destined for the pot anyway but he never really thrived after his
experience.
Friends of ours admitted than in their early days they had Texel rams and
ewes separated by  electric netting (mains) and lost a pair when they
attempted to mate across the fence.  This was of course not a case of
getting horns stuck but their whole bodies. We have also had polled sheep
getting stuck as their wool winds itself around the wires as they push their
heads backwards and forwards as they graze.
We have always had to have breeding groups in adjoining paddocks as we have
used several different rams of various rare breeds and have limited acreage,
and they frequently headbut both the fence stobs and eachother through the
fence.  We used a single strand of electrified wire on each side of normal
permanent sheep mesh one year with great success, but then we realised the
potential dangers ; now we just have very rickety fencing and shout alot at
the rams !!
Another point is that fence bashing varies from ram to ram - some do it and
others don't.  We have tended to sell off the bashers to people with
different fencing systems.
How to stop lambs getting stuck in mesh ?  The usual way is to tie a piece
of plastic water pipe across the horns so they can't fit through the mesh.
The trouble with this with Jacobs is that they are usually quite young so
still being suckled when their horns fit through the mesh and the pipe might
impede feeding.  This year we have a Soay ewe lamb who gets her head stuck
several times a day and now she is old enough that difficulty nursing will
not be a problem, she is about to have her water pipe fitted.  She is the
only lamb out of 40 doing it, but both her mother and her grandmother were
culprits at the same age !
We have tried using tensioned stranded wires at about 5" apart, but lambs
and the smaller breeds such as Soay just step through it ; it's usually OK
with Jacobs after the first few weeks.  We did see some mesh with wider
spaced verticals which was specifically designed for horned sheep, so they
could get their heads back out, though it didn't stop them getting them
through in the first place. Unfortunately that was too expensive for us, so
at the moment we rely on frequent visual checks.
Most of our fences are internal subdivisions of our land so it doesn't
really matter if sheep get through.  Round the perimeter, we have double
fenced, with the two fences 2 metres apart and hedging planted in the
middle - this is really for biosecurity, to lessen the risk of disease
spread with our neighbours, but so far not a single sheep has ever got
through the double barrier !
I think I am probably correct when I say that fencing has been the biggest
single cost on our holding.

Juliet in Scotland
ps - someone asked if we have coyotes over here - no, though wolves are
about to be re-introduced into the Highlands.  Our fencing is mainly to keep
our animals in and our neighbours ones out, and to deter deer, feral dogs
and foxes though they could certainly get in if they were determined. Our
outer perimeter fence is a sorry sight where the neighbour's cattle lean on
it to reach in and eat our newly planted hedging !