Types of Fences for the Homestead

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Your choice for fencing should be based on the livestock you want, the terrain of your land, the life span of various fencing options and the amount of effort and tools it will take to build and maintain each type.
Your choice for fencing should be based on the livestock you want, the terrain of your land, the life span of various fencing options and the amount of effort and tools it will take to build and maintain each type.
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Sometimes called “page wire” fencing, the woven wire system uses the same kind of wood and metal posts common to other fencing types.
Sometimes called “page wire” fencing, the woven wire system uses the same kind of wood and metal posts common to other fencing types.
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Barbed wire fencing begins with the same post arrangement as woven wire fencing, but it’s easier to install because it does not require you to handle large rolls of woven wire.
Barbed wire fencing begins with the same post arrangement as woven wire fencing, but it’s easier to install because it does not require you to handle large rolls of woven wire.
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In the high-tensile nonelectric fence, smooth 12.5-gauge wire (sometimes barbed wire, too) is loosely fastened to posts that offer vertical support, but still permit the wires to slide back and forth. This allows for easy retensioning of the fence wires and helps to better contain animals — when they hit the fence, a whipping action occurs that discourages future encounters.
In the high-tensile nonelectric fence, smooth 12.5-gauge wire (sometimes barbed wire, too) is loosely fastened to posts that offer vertical support, but still permit the wires to slide back and forth. This allows for easy retensioning of the fence wires and helps to better contain animals — when they hit the fence, a whipping action occurs that discourages future encounters.
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For many homesteaders, high-tensile electric fencing is an ideal choice. It’s the least expensive perimeter fencing to install, with the lowest level of ongoing maintenance required over its expected 25-year life span.
For many homesteaders, high-tensile electric fencing is an ideal choice. It’s the least expensive perimeter fencing to install, with the lowest level of ongoing maintenance required over its expected 25-year life span.
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This fence charger is solar-powered and works well for locations without an electrical power source.
This fence charger is solar-powered and works well for locations without an electrical power source.

You’ve got a piece of land and a dream to keep some livestock, but your place doesn’t have good fences — not yet, anyway. Many types of fences are available, and installing a fence is a job you can do yourself.

Fencing can range from about $200 to $1,500 per quarter mile (1,320 feet), but your selection criteria will involve more than just the cost. Your choice should be based on the livestock you want, the terrain of your land, the life span of various fencing options and the amount of effort and tools it will take to build and maintain each type.

Fencing options include woven, barbed and high-tensile (both electrified and nonelectric) wire. Electrified poly wire/poly tape is another possibility, but for large livestock it’s only effective for temporary applications within permanently fenced fields. Typical fences are about 5 feet high, though any height is possible — I have a 7-foot-tall electric fence to keep out deer. The approximate material costs that follow are based on information taken from a July 2005 Iowa State University Extension report about livestock fencing (go to the Iowa State University Extension website and search for “fencing costs”).

Woven Wire Fence

Installation: about $1,500/quarter mile with a single strand of barbed wire on top; alternating between wooden posts and metal T-posts spaced 12 to 16 feet apart. (In most locations, you won’t need nearly so many wooden posts — maybe two for every quarter mile.) About 40 hours of labor

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