In one of my previous posts
I mentioned taking down a section of our fencing so the neighbors could get a semi in to deliver a storage container .
Well, I had to go put it back up and my girl Punkin came to help! With a heat index of 104 I had to find a shady spot to park her.
I mowed the fence line, rounded up the bits and pieces, loaded up the posts and off we went.
It's not hard to do with the step in posts just time consuming.
We had to get our connections on to make it live when we hooked it to our solar powered fence charger and before the horses come into this field.
A lot of folks prefer the 1 inch electric tape fencing but I have found the 2 inch to work better in our situation. Besides the fact that I think it looks better it gives a better visual for the horses and a clear marking of the boundary. Another reason it works better for us is because the deer can see it better to!
The deer are always running into and knocking out sections of fence on all our neighbors fence lines. We have only had a deer knock out the fence once.
A hunter had shot her and when she went to jump the fence she fell on it.
The electric tape is super easy to repair when trees or limbs fall on it or like in the case of the deer you remove whatever is on the fence and tighten it. In seconds your done!
Our system is pretty simple. We have our DC fence charger and it's hooked to a marine grade battery. I keep it along with the connecting clamps under that blue tote out of the weather. Our 5 watt Solar panel is south facing and in sun until early evening when the sun goes over the hill.
The panel is hooked to the battery and keeps it charged.
Simple, affordable and effective. We've used this system almost 4 years!
It's great to have our pasture back. It's been pretty dry and we REALLY need to rotate the fields.
I moved some compost in prep for planting tomorrow. Over all a super busy day!
Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead
Original photos taken by me on my cheap cell phone
Wow! I have had a lot of problem with fencing, we fell bamboos and dig in the posts, use barbed wire.
I want to save up a bit to get metal fence posts and either thin panelling or other mesh for our sheep. That way they can help keep our coffee fields clean.
Happy to learn from your experiences :)
howdy this evening ecoinstant, isn't it a little late for you? that bird is going to wake you up early remember?
what do you mean "we fell bamboos?" does that mean you cleared the forest of bamboos so the fence could go through?
Hahaha! Steemit seems slow tonight, is it for you too?
We have big guadua angustifolia construction bamboos that we use for fence posts, but they are heavy and take a lot of work to get into place.
sir@ecoinstant! oh ok, that makes sense, so they are great to use as posts but are tough to work with, pay out in the long run perhaps.
yes, it's almost stopped, it HAS stopped many times, it's taking 2 hours to do 30 minutes of work, taking 10 minutes to submit a comment! lol.
Yeah, I keep reloading over and over again and every 10 times it asks me for my password lol!
Could be a good night to use busy.org
But I think I'm off to sleep.
God Bless you Jonboy! (for putting up with me ;)
haha! no sir I think you're the one who's putting up with me!
I have been researching the electric for my goats, sheep fur maybe to think.
You have coffee fields!!??😳
Oh yeah! Technically they are coffee slopes, but our homestead is 1.1 miles above sea level in the Andes mountains.
Whats your latitude Sugarcreek? We are 4°N
35
Is that north? Most people are north but I do ask because there are some australians. Though since you are in summer right now, I guess I can assume you are north :)
Fencing requires a lot of experimentation and (for us) infrastructure investment, so I am happy to see you have had success with solar before we try it.
Yes north!
Always get a charger rated for more than you need
I needed a charger powerful enough for horses but got one rated for bulls and coyote.
I needed one mile so this one is 25 miles.
I have one of the all in one charger with solar panel for 100 miles of fence. I had to take it down to replace the battery after a couple years. It's in storage. I like this setup better because it's easier to replace parts and parts are less expensive.
That is fantastic advice! So how many years have you been fencing the homestead? It sound like you have a whole lot of experience!
howdy again @sugarcreek! things have changed and advanced alot since we put up electric fences the old fashioned way on our farm in Kansas! I'll tell you what though, the ground here is hard as a rock so I don't think those step down plastic posts would do much good here. I suppose the plastic is strong enough to use a sledge on them?
I have to move them around a little here sometimes if I hit a rocky spot. They do not hold up well to the hammer, don't ask how I know. Lol
They make connectors that fit right on the metal posts to.
When we get to our property I will use metal. The folks that own this property did not want permanent fencing so this was my solution.
It's handy, I've moved it A LOT.
howdy this fine Wednesday @sugarcreek! thanks for all the explanation, yes a permanent fence will be great when you get to the new place. This temporary one is an excellent design though and perfect for your situation.
Electric fence is nice, especially when you can get around it with a mower or weedwhacker pretty easy. We’ve used it a time or two for our replacement heifers, and it worked well. Just harder to do on longer stretches of fence.
Sorry to hear you are having super hot and icky weather, too. Ours is supposed to hit in a couple days, but already it’s been yucky. Time to spend an afternoon with toes in the creek! Lol.
Yes, I had to put metal posts in corners and here and there on long runs.
They are promising rain again, last time I got a sprinkle. Supposed to be 80s for a few days behind this front and that would be nice!
I like this setup, I will keep it in mind.
Thank you for the post!
:)Could I generate enough power to keep pigs at bay?
By the way I am brand new to Steemit. Came over from facebook after the censorship battles. Preparedness and politics are my thing!!!
Yes it is commonly used for pasture pigs.
I am still learning Steemit myself. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!