Sheep and goats tend to have an inherent desire to get through fences. To them the grass is always greener on the other side and the fence is simply a challenge to while away the hours. The fact that it drives the animals owner round the bend only provides further motivation. This can be stopped by two methods.
Polypost & Twine / WireThis is probably the best method. Posts spaced out about 5m apart with a few lines of
wire or
polytwine will suffice. The bottom line need not be as near to the ground as it would be for rabbits or poultry although we don't advise it is any higher than 15cm especially if there are lambs present.
In our diagram we've shown 6 lines of
wire but this can vary and depending upon factors such as deterring foxes, strip grazing etc and as few as 3 lines may be all that's necessary.
Electric Sheep NettingElectric sheep net is fine for both sheep and goats and probably best as a temporary fencing measure. Great if you need to make up a quick pen to hold the animals. Easily moved about, electric netting can be prone to earth leakages. This is due to grass growing up and touching the first horizontal conductor. This causes the pulse from the energiser leaking to the ground making the fence less effective.
Energiser RecommendationsA fair sized energiser is needed as sheep (not so much goats) have considerable insulation so we recommend a minimum energy level of 1.3 Stored Joules. The
Copel M2 would make an ideal mains unit and the
Copel A2 would be fine for powering your fence from a 12v battery.