As you might already know, a livestock guardian is only as good as the area they can access. Many a farmer has lost animals to predators who were savvy enough to work out where the dogs could and couldn’t access. Jump gates give your dogs the freedom to do their job while keeping your other animals in their designated pastures. They also allow you to set up dog feeding areas where you don’t have to worry about conflict arising around your stock stealing food from the dogs. Jump gates are also good in the sense that they don’t teach or encourage your dogs to breach your normal gates.

So what exactly is a jump gate?

Jump gates are simply gates designed with a dog sized hole in the middle. The hole is typically sized and shaped in a way that discourages livestock from thinking they can fit through it. There are as many different jump gate versions as there are farmers. However, many of the same principals apply to make them work regardless of the exact details of the gates.

Firstly, you want to size your hole as small as possible.

What’s appropriate will vary depending on the size of your dog. If your dogs are 80lbs, don’t size the hole for a 200lb dog. This is particularly important if you have goats as they are more apt than sheep to try things. Measure your dog, and try to size your hole to be just large enough for them to comfortably squeeze through.

Secondly, you want your hole to be up a couple/few feet off the ground.

The idea here is to place it too high for your sheep or goats to be able to just step through the hole without jumping. Dogs are athletic and capable. They are easily able and willing to jump through a small hole a couple feet off the ground. Sheep, not so much.

Thirdly, the shape of your hole matters.

A triangular shaped hole is more deterring to livestock than a square one. Orient your triangle so the wide part is at the top and the bottom is the point. Triangular shaped holes look tiny at the bottom (and thus looks to your goat or sheep like they absolutely wouldn’t fit). However, there is actually plenty of shape for your dogs shoulders to go through the top of the triangle.

There are many different materials that you can use for jump gates.

Some people use wood, some people cut holes in cattle panels and reinforce the opening with boards. Some people make portable ones, others are fixed in permanent fence lines. Our personal preference is to use bright white PVC pipes to make jump gates like those pictured in this article.

We think that this is one of the best options if you are rotationally grazing using electric fence and moving your fence lines frequently. PVC jump gates are lightweight which makes them extremely portable. They are non-conductive so we do not have to worry about them accidentally grounding out our fence. Simply pound a couple fiberglass stakes into the ground between 2 sections of fence and slip the jump gate over the top of them.

Additionally, our PVC gates are highly visible to the dogs, and they do not look anything like any fence or gate we want our dogs to stay behind. This way our dogs are not confused, nor are they encouraged to climb through our other gates or fences. This is an important consideration as you design your jump gates. You cannot undo teaching a dog something. You do not want to accidentally teach your dog how to breach your perimeter fences.

Training your dog to jump gates is easy.

Put the dog on one side of the gate (with no other escape route) and put something they want on the other side. Encourage them to climb through the hole and reward them for doing so. It will likely only take them a few tries to start using it. If your dog is new to the concept of jump gates, you may want to start with a bigger, square hole positioned lower initially. Once they are comfortable with the concept you can move to your final jump gate style.

Because there are so many variables in fences, and the size of animals, we cannot really say what style or dimensions are best for jump gates. What exact jump gate works for your farm may take some trial and error. It will depend on how ambitious your animals are about getting to the other side of the fence. Try to take into consideration how difficult your livestock is to contain as you are designing your gate. Goats are going to be harder to keep from using the gate as are animals confined to smaller areas. Regardless, hopefully this gives you a good starting place!

Next time, we are going to discuss how we made inexpensive automatic waterers. If you don’t want to miss out on that article, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Please remember

The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post Using Jump Gates To Help Your Livestock Guardian Dog first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.

During grazing season sheep absolutely need to have access to shade at all times. This is the only shelter they truly require in the summer months. Sheep can withstand a lot of cold, wind and even rain, however, they are extremely sensitive to overheating. They can become heat stressed at relatively low temperatures without access to shade.

This means that every pasture you rotate your flock to requires ample shade. Trees make the ideal summer shade, but if you have open, treeless fields like our farm, some form of alternative shade is required. However, if you are trying to rotate your animals to a new section of pasture every few days and not return there for 60+ days, building a shelter for each pasture is obviously very impractical (not to mention prohibitively expensive).

So what is a frugal farmer to do?

Create a portable shade structure, of course. We have tried various renditions of sheep shade. Some of them more successful than others. Today we are going to show you what works for us to save you some trial and error.

Now, the biggest hurdle to portable structures we face here on the coast is wind. Unfortunately, portable and wind are not particularly compatible. It is very difficult to make something easy to take down and move that withstands our day-to-day winds. However, when properly anchored, the portable shelters we will be creating today have held up well to an impressive amount of wind. They are light enough to easily drag making them easy to move from pasture to pasture. Plus, they are inexpensive and easy to make.

Let’s gather our supplies and get started!

Each structure will require the following supplies and should only take an afternoon to put together.

• 2 Cattle Panels (16’ long)
• 8 pieces of 10 foot long metal electrical conduit 1” in diameter. You will need to cut two of them into various pieces for braces
• 4 angle brackets (we used pieces of Simpson strong tie because we had it laying around) to hold the corners together
• 12 ¼” bolts long enough to go through 2 stacked pieces of conduit
• 8 metal screws that fit through the holes in the angle brackets
• Galvanized wire. We used left over fence wire we had.
• 10 x 10 (or larger) piece of 90% shade cloth or a tarp

We would like to note here that we opted to make these shade structures out of metal rather than wood because you get a lot more strength with less weight using the conduit instead of wood. You also do not have to worry about the corners pulling apart as can be a problem with using a wooden base. Dragging is very hard on your base so it must be sturdy.

In addition to your materials, you will also need a few basic tools. You will need a drill, ¼” metal drill bit, a metal drill bit slightly larger than the galvanized wire, sockets/wrenches for tightening bolts, grinder with a cut off wheel, pliers and wire cutters. Now let’s get started building!

Step 1: Cut your pieces

First, you will need to cut braces. You will need 4 pieces about 18” long, and 4 pieces about 3’ long. The short pieces will be used to brace the bottom corners. The longer pieces will be used to brace the side walls.

Once you have cut your pieces to length, take the grinder and carefully cut a slot in one end of each of the 3’ pieces large enough for the cattle panel to sit in.

Step 2: Assemble the base

Once you have pieces cut, lay out 4 of the 10’ conduit sections in a square. Place an angle bracket on each corner and secure it with the metal screws. Once your corners are secured, place the 18” pieces you cut diagonally across the corners. Drill holes through both the frame and the braces and secure with two bolts.

Step 3: Put on the cattle panels

Place an end of one of the cattle panels inside and against the end of the frame you just built. Thoroughly secure it to the frame using short pieces of galvanized wire. You could also use something like U-bolts to secure the cattle panels if you would prefer. Once one end of the cattle panel is secured, arch the panel up so that the other end fits into the frame. Repeat the process to secure the other end.

Take the second panel and repeat the same process at the other end of the base frame. At this point you will have two arched cattle panels with a gap between them. The gap has not been a problem for us, but if you do not want the gap, you can trim two of your bottom frame pieces to 8’ long before you put the base together.

Step 4: Brace the sides

Take the 3’ long brace pieces and place them at an angle to your cattle panel walls. Secure them to the base frame with a bolt approximately 32” from the corner. Once they are secured wedge them under a cross piece and into the grove you cut on the brace at approximately 32” high. Drill a small hole through the end of the brace perpendicular to the groove and outside the cattle panel. Secure a short piece of wire through the holes to prevent the cattle panel from coming out of the groove. Repeat this on all four corners.

Now that you have your four corners braced you need to brace the middle of the cattle panels by the gap. Take the last two remaining 10’ sections of conduit and run them between the braces to support the middle of the cattle panels. Secure them to the braces on either end with bolts. Then secure the cattle panel to the brace. This will keep the cattle panels from flattening sideways if the sheep rub on them or they are pushed against by the wind.

Note: If you are trying to use this structure for goats, you may need additional bracing. Sheep do not try to climb on roofs. If you expect your animals to try to climb on the roof we would recommend adding additional bracing to support the middle of the roof.

Step 5: Anchor the shelter and put on your shade cloth

The last step is to anchor and cover the shelter with shade cloth. We use shade cloth in the summer, but also cover them with a regular tarp during lambing season to provide some temporary extra shelter. We just use baling twine to secure our tarps onto the structure. Tie it on every eyelet to prevent undue stress on just a few eyes which could cause them to rip out.

It is VERY important to anchor your structure proportionally to your wind. Because these structures are light enough to be easily portable, without some sort of anchor they will blow away. Also keep in mind that a solid tarp cover will require you to anchor the portable shade structure even more securely than a shade cloth cover.

To anchor our structure with a solid tarp in it, we use 4 t-posts pounded into the ground at an angle. During the summer months, when it has shade cloth on it and we are moving it regularly, we use cement blocks to anchor our structure. We have two ropes, one on each side. They are permanently attached on one end and have a clip on the other end. We run this rope through several cement blocks and clip it back to the bottom frame. This keep the structure from blowing away, and makes it quick and easy to detach and drag to a new location.

That’s it! If you have made it this far with us, you should now have new, easy to move shade structure to assist with your rotational grazing.

If you would like to read more how to articles like this, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter!

Please remember

The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post How To Build A Portable Shade Structure For Your Sheep first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.

We built a high tensile fence on our farm and chose to electrify it. We have found it very effective and are sharing what we’ve learned about how to properly electrify a fence. We are also going to consider why we should electrify the fence and discuss different challenges and options for electric fence.

Why electric fence works

How an electric fence works

How to properly electrify a fence

Training animals to electric fence

A properly installed and maintained electric fence can be extremely effective at containing and protecting your animals safely. A poorly maintained one could be dangerous or ineffective. They are absolutely NOT suitable for every animal or every situation. For large pastures they are one of the best fencing options available. Other types of fences are a much better choice for small areas like dry lots, catch pens or weaning pens.

First lets address a concern that some people have about the fences being cruel or hurting animals. All of our modern day fence chargers are designed to be safe. There will be no long lasting damage done by touching a fence. However, anyone who has accidentally touched an electric fence can tell you that it’s an unpleasant experience. Depending on how strong the fence was it can range from an unpleasant tingle to a painful shock that you feel all the way down to your toes.

That is the point

Touching an electric fence is supposed to be a painful/unpleasant experience. If the experience of touching an electric fence was not unpleasant, it would not do its job of containing your animals and deterring predators. A properly working electric fence is an effective way to train your livestock to remain in the appropriate spaces and to deter predators who could devastate your herd.

Electric fence is a psychological barrier not a physical one

This is very important to remember. Other types of fence like board fence, field fence, or even non-electrified high tensile fence are designed to be physical barriers. Electric fence is a psychological barrier designed to keep animals in because the think they cannot cross it. So the experience of interacting with it has to be so unpleasant as to deter future interactions.

Electricity teaches respect for fence

This leads us to one of the reasons why we love electric fence. It teaches our animals to respect fence whether it is electrified or not.

One of the problems with physical barrier type fences is that your animals have no fear of touching the fence. This puts a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on the fence. It can also result in other problems. They are itching themselves on it, and leaning on it. They might be crawling under the fence, climbing over or sticking their heads through to eat on the other side. This can result in them getting their heads stuck or escaping their boundaries. The predators tend to do the same from the outside and eventually could get into your pasture and harm your livestock.

Another pro in its favor is that electric fence is extremely economical compared to other fencing options. 330’ of field fence cost as much as the high tensile wire to fence a whole 5 acres. So if you are on a budget, and can commit to properly maintaining it, electric fence is probably for you.

It also is highly effective predator protection

The last reason we are going to mention that we love electric fence is for predator protection. It has been proven that electric fence is one of the most effective predator barriers. This might not be surprising. After all we use invisible fences and electric training collars on dogs.

Most predators are cautious about new things in their environment. They often sniff them with their wet noses before they attempt to cross them. This typically results in them getting a very good zap. They remember this next time they come around, and are hesitant to touch the fence for a second time. Their hesitance makes them even more likely to get zapped the second time. Getting zapped teaches the predators to respect your fence and the boundary so they stay outside and away from your animals.

So how do we properly electrify a fence?

We first need to understand the basics of how an electric fence works.

To start with we need to understand a basic concept about electricity. Put simply, we like to think of electricity as a circle. For electricity to work, it always needs to make a complete circle. This is true whether its a fence or a light bulb. If you break or fail to complete the circle you get nothing. Keep this in mind as you are building your fence and you will set yourself up for success.

So how do we make this circle with a fence?

Your fence charger sends a pulse of electricity out into your fence every few seconds. When the fence is on, you can hear the fence charger clicking when it pulses the electricity. So the fence charger is the beginning of the circle. When you touch the fence this electricity enters your body and goes through your body into the ground. It gets returned to the fence charger through the ground rods resulting in completion of the circle. Congratulations, you just got zapped!

As you might be able to deduce from this information, your ground system is equally as important as your fence wires to the function of your fence. Do not skimp on it or you will be disappointed in your fence’s performance.

Now, before we start electrifying our fence, we would like to note that there are two ways to ground a fence (complete the electricity circle). The first is the way I just described uses the soil and ground rods. The second way is to run positive or hot wires and negative or ground wires. In this scenario you must touch both the positive and negative wire at the same time to complete the circle to get zapped.

Now you’re probably wondering, why would you want that?

It might seem counterproductive to need to touch both wires to get zapped, because there is a much greater chance of not getting zapped than if you use the soil as your ground. And it is true. Because you need to touch both wires simultaneously, using the soil as your ground is more common, and usually better. Even if you choose to use positive and negative wires it is still a good idea to install a ground rod system.

However, there are some circumstances where it is advantageous to use the positive and negative wires. For example, areas that are extremely dry with sandy soil, and places that freeze solid with a lot of snow cover. Dry sandy soil is a very poor conductor of electricity. Plus, if there is 3’ of snow between your animals and the ground, they aren’t even touching the soil where your ground rods are. In both scenarios relying solely on on the soil as your ground results in a poorly performing fence.

Our fence design

At Snowdrop Farm, we have opted to use a combination of the ground wires and ground rods. Our soil here is extremely sandy and we are prone to droughts. As a result, if we rely on the soil as our ground mid summer, our fences are often producing a minimal zap that our sheep likely cannot even feel through their wool. For that reason our 6 wires from bottom to top are hot, hot, ground, hot, ground, hot.

This way there are both hot and ground wires at the height sheep are likely touch the fence. If one of our animals tries to push on the fence in a droughty July, they are likely to contact the ground wire. They will still get a good zap despite dry soil conditions. The bottom wires are both hot so that any predator that decides to sniff the wires will get zapped. We are less concerned about predators touching both wires. They will likely sniff the fence with their very sensitive nose and get a good enough zap regardless of the dry conditions.

This leads us to another important point

Your fence needs to be on and hot AT ALL TIMES. Remember electric fence is a psychological barrier. If the animals don’t get zapped, your fence will cease working. Likewise if your fence is poorly maintained and not providing a good strong zap, they can learn to ignore the zap and start to breach the fence. If your animals become tolerant of the zap they are getting from a weak fence, they may learn to escape electric fences. Then even after repairing your fence it might no longer contain them.

Even if your animals are trained to electric fence and well behaved about it, it is important to keep the fence on. Livestock are remarkably adept at knowing as soon as the fence isn’t working. Animals, particularly horses and goats, will constantly test the fence to see if its on. While it might take a bunch of cows a week or more to realize that their fence isn’t working, your goat will have tested the fence and know within an hour or two of it being off.

Additionally, animals that have learned to escape an electric fence should not be kept in electric fence with other animals. They can and will teach others how to get out of the fence. If you have a problem animal that does not respect fence. Remove them from the group of animals and either get rid of them or keep them in a physical barrier type fence.

Lets talk about actual construction now

First, you need to decide if you are going to use only hot wires or if you are going to use some ground wires. Then you will need to connect all the wires together with short pieces of wire. We use short pieces of insulated fence wire and crimps on our high tensile fence. You will have to trim off enough insulation to be able to push the end of the wire into the crimps.

Regardless of how you decide to connect your fence charger to your fence wires, it is important to make good solid connections. Do not just wrap one wire around the other. To complete the electricity ‘circle’ regardless of where the animal touches the fence every single strand of wire in your fence needs to be connected to the fence charger in some way.

If you are using ground wires, do not connect them with the hot wires. Do connect the ground wires to each other though. If you are using both hot and ground wires you will need to use insulated wire when connecting your fence wires together. This will ensure that your fence doesn’t accidentally fail by having your hot and ground wires touch.

Connecting fence on the other side of gates

If you have a gate and a section of wire on the other side that is not connected to the wires you already connected together, you can bury a piece of insulated wire under the gate to connect the fence on either sides of the gate. If you have stony soil or it is a high traffic area, it is a good idea to run your hot wire through a pipe or piece of conduit to protect it. If the insulation on your underground hot wire is broken or cut by a rock your fence will fail to work.

Once you have your wires connected it is time to connect the fence to your fence charger.

Your fence charger will typically need to be located indoors where it won’t get rained on. Find a convenient place such as inside your barn. It should be safe from animals, reasonably close to the fence you are attaching it to, and somewhere that you will be able to install ground rods nearby.

Hang your fence charger and use a piece of insulated wire to connect the hot fence wires to the positive or red terminal of your fence charger. If you are using ground wires repeat the process connecting to the negative or black terminal.

The all important grounding system

Next you will need to install ground rods. More ground is better. Most fences require at least 3 ground rods to work properly. They should be placed at least 10’ apart, and ideally located in an area that is always moist.

Ground rods are 8’ long, and may look intimidating to pound in. However, they typically fairly easy to get into the ground. Pound them all the way down until just a couple inches are sticking out. If your soil is too rocky to allow a ground rod to go into it, you will need to consider using a positive/negative fence instead.

Once the ground rods are installed, take a ground rod clamp and a piece of insulated wire (with a small amount of the insulation removed) and clamp them firmly together. Don’t just wrap the wire around the poles, use proper clamps so that there is a firm connection between the two. Failing to make a good connection can result in your fence performing poorly.

You can connect all 3 (or more) ground rods together in series (one to the next to the next). Then connect them to the black ground terminal of the fence charger.

Always test your fence before using it

At this point you should have a functioning fence. You can turn it on and test it. They make special tools for testing electric fence. It is probably worthwhile to purchase one. In a pinch you can use a piece of green grass to test if the fence is on. If you hold onto the grass and stick the other end against the fence you will receive a small zap through the grass. Be sure to walk the fence to test it at various points to ensure that you did not forget to attach anything anywhere.

If upon testing, you find that your fence isn’t hot enough (does not provide much of a zap), you may need to install more ground rods. When more ground rods do not fix the problem, and you have poor soil conditions, you may need to consider using hot and ground wires in your fence. If that still does not fix the problem, you may need to use a more suitable fence charger.

What you should know about fence chargers

It is worthwhile to invest in a good quality fence charger from a reliable manufacturer that plugs into the wall. This is the most important component of your fence, so it don’t cheap out on it.

In our experience solar chargers typically do not produce a hot enough fence for good long term animal containment. Also make sure you don’t under size your fence charger. It is better to have one too big than too small.

To have your electric fence reliably contain animals it needs to be HOT. You don’t want your animals to question if they got zapped when they touch the fence. You want them to know that they just got struck by lightning. Often people who have given up on electric fence or who have trouble with their animals not respecting the fence do not have a powerful enough fence charger, or they do not have it grounded well enough.

So how hot is ‘hot enough’?

That will vary a little bit depending on species and situation. In our experience the minimum voltage guidelines you often see online are lower than ideal. We are keeping sheep and poultry, both of which are well insulated. Goats and horses are less well insulated, but the also typically require a very hot fence.

So, on our farm, we prefer our fence to be 7-8,000+ volts. We consider anything below about 6,500 volts to be borderline too low. Below 5,000 volts and we need to check the fence. In the summer this probably means we need to mow under the fence. Anything in the 3-4,000 volt range or lower calls for an emergency fence check around here.

Our fence charger has a built in volt meter on it which makes it very easy to monitor our fence performance daily.

Electric fence maintenance

We just mentioned needing to mow under our fence causing the voltage to drop. An important aspect of using electric fence is to properly maintain the fence. Failure to properly maintain you fence is probably the #1 reason that electric fences fail to do their job.

It is important to periodically check your fence. This is an essential part of making sure the fence remains hot so that it continues to contain your animals. Make sure you don’t have broken insulators, or fence wires touching the ground, trees or fence posts. It is also important to make sure you keep the weeds and brush off the fence.

Every piece of grass touching the fence is getting zapped and is transferring a little bit of electricity to the ground. Eventually if you have enough grass touching the fence your fence will no longer work. The grass is transferring all the electricity leaving none left to pass through your animal when they touch the fence.

Training animals is important

Lastly we would like to mention an aspect that often gets forgotten. If your animals have never been exposed to electric fence, it is important to train them to it before you expect it to contain them. Do not just turn them out into a field with electric fence and hope for the best.

There are a couple ways that you can train them to the fence. It is best to train in a familiar area where the animals are comfortable. The first technique is to run some electric fence inside the current perimeter fence. This will allow the animals to encounter the electric fence with the barrier fence behind it leaving no space for them to accidentally escape the fence on their first encounter.

Another option is to divide an area in half with just a narrow opening in the center to walk through. Ideally you would feed them on one side and have their water on the other side of the fence.

When they try to cross the field taking the short route instead of using the opening you left they will encounter the fence and get zapped. In either scenario, it won’t take them very long to figure out to avoid the fence. Once they are trained you can move on to using the electric fence as a stand alone fence.

Fence baiting can be a useful training tool

Another aspect of fence training to consider is fence baiting. This can be a particularly useful training tool for animals like goats, and also for wildlife you wish to train to avoid your fence.

Goats are born escape artists and trouble makers. They don’t think an electric fence looks like much of an obstacle to navigate, and can be prone to hopping over, crawling under or leaping through fence. Because electric fences pulse there is a chance they may make it across without getting zapped if they are lucky enough to jump through at just the right time. Thus it is extremely important to make sure that each and every animal has had a good zap from your electric fence during training.

How to bait your fence

A simple highly effective way to make sure every animal has touched the fence is through fence baiting. To bait your fence you simply take something yummy (like peanut butter or molasses) and smear it on something metal (like a piece of aluminum foil) and attach it to the fence wire. They will come nosing around to try to find the tasty snack and get a good zap.

Now I know it seems harsh to bait your animals to intentionally zap them, but it is one of the best ways to make sure they understand to respect your fence. Take heart and train the animals to respect the fence and observe the boundaries for their safety and well being.

Its also worth noting that your livestock will frequently test your fence. So yes, you might feel bad about intentionally getting your goat’s nose zapped. But, if you sit back and observe their behavior for a while you are likely to seem them going up to the fence to intentionally stick their nose on it….just to make sure its still working. You might even see a group of them out there daring each other to touch the fence.

Thank you for joining us to take a look at electric fence. We hope this sets you on your way to success with this valuable tool.

If you like what you read here, please subscribe to our newsletter so that you don’t miss out on our other articles!

Please remember

The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post Electric Fence: What You Need To Know first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.

The T-trellis we will be constructing in this tutorial is going to be used for kiwi vines. However, if you wish to grow grapes in the Geneva double curtain style, a slightly modified version of this type of trellis is what you will need. Plus, you don’t need to limit yourself to kiwi or grapes. This trellis will work to support any large vine you wish to grow!

We chose to make the T-trellis mainly out of landscape timbers. Landscape timbers are inexpensive, easily acquired, and we know that they hold up well in our dry sandy soil. You could also use pressure treated 4×4’s, wooden fence posts, or other materials locally available to you. The important thing is to follow the principles for creating a sturdy trellis.

Step 1: planning and acquiring supplies

The first thing you will need to do is figure out where to place the trellis, and how large you need your trellis to be. Once you have determined the size you wish to make your trellis, you can count the required materials.

You will need a line post at least every 30 feet. You will also need a larger sturdy end post, and 2 more posts for each end to make the braces. So for example, if you want to make a 60’ long trellis you will need 2 large end posts and 5 other posts. Placement will be: 1 End post, 2 brace posts, 1 line post, 2 brace posts, 1 end post. Each of these posts needs to be at least 8-9′ long.

You will also need to acquire boards to use to make the top of the T.

For our trellis we are using 8’ long landscape timbers. Since it is so wide, we are also using 2×4 braces. For kiwi, the trellis should be at least 6’ wide. If you are making a trellis for grapevines the trellis does no need to be quite as wide, and you can likely skip the braces. Whatever materials you use to make the top of your trellis needs to be sturdy enough to not sag or break under the weight of the vines.

You will need 1 cross piece and 2 braces for each line post. You will also need one for each of your first brace posts. So for our 60’ trellis example, you will need 3 cross pieces and 6 2×4 braces.

Then you will need 12.5 gauge high tensile wire to run between your posts. For kiwi you should run 5 wires. If you are making a grape trellis 2 wires should be sufficient.

Additional tools and materials you will need include:

• A spinning jenny to hold the wire
• High tensile fence wire cutting and crimp tool
• Crimps for high tensile wire
• Fence staples
• 1 strainer for each brace, and 1 for each trellis wire
• 2 brace pins for each brace (length will depend on the diameter of your poles)
• The tool for tightening strainers
• Large lag bolts for attaching your crosspieces to the posts
• Drill and drill bits for lag bolts
• Auger drill bit long enough to drill through your posts that is the same size as your brace pins
• Hammer
• Shovel

Before we head to the next steps, if you are unfamiliar with any of these tools or how to safely work with high tensile wire, please take a few minutes to refer back to our post on How To Build A High Tensile Fence for more information.

Step 2: placing your posts

The first thing you need to do to start constructing your trellis is to install your posts. To do this you will need to install your end posts first. End posts should be installed so that about 5’ is left sticking out of the ground. They should be buried at least 3’ deep, and should also be angled so that they are leaning slightly away from your trellis so that when you tighten the brace they are not leaning in.

Once your end posts are installed, run a string line between them. Then you can install your brace posts and your line posts. These posts should be buried at least 2′ deep, and should stick out of the ground about 6′. The brace post needs to be installed as close to but not more than 8’ from your end post, so that the 3^rd post held horizontally will fit snugly between them. Line posts should be installed every 30’ or less.

Step 3: creating your braces

Once your posts are set, you can construct your braces. We are making what is called an H brace for this tutorial. It is the same brace you see used in high tensile fences. To help you picture what we are making, true to it’s name, it looks like the letter H.

First, you need to drill a hole in the center of each end of your 3^rd brace posts, and also a hole through your fence post about a foot from the top. The H portion of the brace should be at least ¾ of the way up your end post, but no closer than 6” from the top.

Once you have drilled your holes, pound a brace pin through your end post until it is just sticking out the other side. Line up the hole in the horizontal brace post and pound the pin into the horizontal post until it is halfway in the corner post and halfway in the horizontal post.

Repeat the process with the other end with one small change. Do not pound this brace pin all the way in. Rather leave it sticking out approximate 1 inch. Once you have finished this step, you should have two vertical posts with a horizontal post wedged between them.

At this point your brace is almost complete.

Pound a fence staple half way into the back, bottom side of your end post and run a piece of high tensile wire through it. Loop the wire up and over the tip of the brace pin you left sticking out. Cut a loop of wire that fully encircles the 2 posts with about a foot of overlap. Put an inline strainer on the wire loop and use two crimps to hook the wire ends together.

The last step is to tighten the strainer until the brace is pulled tight. Make sure that the wire stays looped over the brace pin as you tighten your brace. You do not need to over tighten the wire. Just make sure everything is pulled tight. At this point you can pound the staple on the bottom of your end post in most of the way, but make sure that the wire can still freely slide underneath it.

*Important note:

The high end of the brace wire MUST be on the side your trellis will be pulling towards. The trellis wires will be pulling on the top of your end post, and the top of your brace post. So the brace wire MUST be pulling on the TOP of your brace post in the OPPOSITE direction as the trellis. It must also be pulling on the BOTTOM of your end post to counter the wires pull on the top of the end post.

The direction that you loop your wire on your brace is very important. Don’t construct your brace backwards! If you loop the wire backwards, the brace will not be nearly as strong because it will be pulling the same direction as your trellis wires.

Step 4: install your cross pieces and braces.

Using large lag bolts, bolt your cross pieces to your vertical posts. It is important to pre-drill holes for the lag bolts using a drill bit slightly smaller than the bolt. Doing so will prevent the boards from splitting as you screw in the lag bolts. Depending on what materials you are using, you can either bolt them to the sides of your vertical posts, or the tops.

Using our landscape timbers in this project, we opted to install them on top of the posts. Once the cross pieces were installed we installed braces. The braces consisted of 2’ sections of 2×4. They are attached diagonally with shorter lag bolts, one on each side of the post. The braces will make the trellis stronger and will help support the weight of the vines, particularly if the weight is not evenly distributed.

Step 5: install your trellis wires

Once you have your braces and cross pieces constructed, you are ready to install your top wires. The first thing you will need to do is pound fence staples partially into your brace post cross pieces in the locations you would like the wires. Next you will run the wire through the staples, across the top of the trellis and to the opposite end post.

Make a loop of high tensile wire around your end posts, secure the wires together with 2 crimps and staple it onto the post. Go back to the other end of the trellis to cut the wire and finish that end. Loop the wire around the end post and cut it with enough overlap to crimp it together. Before you crimp the second end, slip a strainer onto the wire. Crimp your crimps and staple the loop to the end post. Tighten the wire with the strainer just enough to take out the slack.

Now you need to go through and staple the wire to each of your cross pieces. Do not pound the staples all the way in. When you are putting in the staples, keep in mind that the wire needs to be able to slide freely under them.

Repeat this process for all of your other wires.

Once all your wires have been installed, you can tighten them until they have a bit of tension on them. You do not need to over tighten high tensile wire. Over tightening the wire can be dangerous as it can cause the wire to break. In the future, you can go back through and adjust the wire tension as needed using the strainer.

That’s it! Your trellis is complete. At this point you should have a sturdy new trellis that will reliably support your plants and their fruit crop for many years to come. Later this year, we will be writing an article on how to prune and train your kiwi to your new trellis.

If you don’t want to miss out on our article about how to train and prune kiwi vines, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to get it delivered to your inbox!

Please remember

The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post How To Build A T-Trellis first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.

If you wish to skip straight to the how to section click below, otherwise keep reading for more background information regarding fence design and construction.

Tools and Materials

Laying out your fence

Building a brace

Running the wire

Why high tensile fence?

At Snowdrop Farm, we have chosen to use 6 strand high tensile electric fence to contain our poultry and livestock, and also to protect them from predators. High tensile fence is one of the least expensive, highest quality, longest lasting fence types available. It is low maintenance and should last you for the next 50 years. We are huge fans of electrifying high tensile fence, and will talk about why in our next post where we discuss how to properly electrify the fence we built today.

Unfortunately, many people think that building a good fence is out of their skill level to DIY install, and out of their budget to hire out. This however probably isn’t true. Most homesteaders that have basic tools, and the ability to do small construction projects are probably perfectly capable of installing a high tensile fence. It is not actually all that difficult or complicated, and it only requires a few specialized tools, time and determination.

We will note that high tensile fence is probably easier to install with two people. It is much easier to do things like run wires and install braces if you have a partner to help you. That doesn’t mean you should give up on the idea if you do not have someone to help you with the install. I am living proof that one person can do it alone.

Before we jump into the how to section

We need to talk a minute about fence design. High tensile fences are permanent and not so easy to change after the fact. Thus it is important to plan carefully before starting to build the fence.

The design of your fence will vary and might be slightly different than mine depending on the animal species you are keeping, your soil conditions, and whether you will be electrifying the fence or not. Also keep in mind, a fence with a lot of corners and gates will be significantly more expensive per square foot of pasture than a square area with one gate. Fence posts and gates are by far the most expensive components of a high tensile fence.

Our fence design

For our purposes, we opted to fence the perimeter of our 5 acres with high tensile, and to use electric netting inside the outer fence for our pasture rotation. This kept our fencing costs down, left a lot of flexibility for rotational grazing, and ensured that even if the animals got out of the temporary electric netting they would still be safely located on our property. It also allows us to free range our poultry inside a large area that is safe from ground predators like raccoons and foxes.

We have sheep, and wanted the fence to be effective for predator protection, so we opted to go with a 6 strand fence. The strands are closer together nearer to the ground. If you are keeping larger animals like cattle or horses, you could probably use 4 or fewer strands to contain them. Do some research on what is ideal for the animals you are keeping and adapt the number of wires and spacing to meet your farm’s needs.

For the fence we built here, the first strand is placed 6” from the ground, and the next 2 strands are also 6” apart. This is to keep the sheep from crawling under, and also to keep out smaller predators like raccoons or foxes. The next two strands are 8” apart. The top two strands are 10” apart since a sheep is unlikely to be trying to crawl tor jump through the fence up that high. The fence still needs to look taller than them so they don’t get ideas about jumping over it.

One more thing to consider

Another option you need to consider is the type of braces and number of wooden line posts you will be using. More posts = a stronger fence, but it means the fence will be more expensive to build, and also more labor to install if you are hand digging holes. If you have large animals like cows and are not planning to electrify the fence we would highly recommend using more posts.

For our purposes, we are only housing sheep, the fence is electrified, and we were hand digging holes. We opted to go with wider post spacing with fiberglass fence post battens in between our line posts. You can space your wooden line posts up to 100’ apart with battens between them. We took the distances between corners and divided them evenly into whatever number of posts would come out to less than 100’ apart.

Now on to the fun part!

Here is a list of the basic tools and materials needed.

We have found that for us it is better to purchase large bulky materials at a local store, but to source the smaller easy to ship materials from an online fencing supplier. We purchased our wire and fence posts at the local Tractor Supply. The other materials came from either Premier1 or Kencove as that was what we found to be the best prices at the time.

How to calculate supplies needed

The quantities of materials needed will vary depending on your fence design. After you read through this article, you can design your layout calculate the quantities of materials needed. We sketch out our layout on paper marking all the fence posts. This makes it easy to count out the required material accurately.

For example, you will need to roughly measure the length of the fence you are building and multiply the number of feet by the number of fence wires you will be using. Count the number of end posts/ corners you will have, so that you know how many brace posts and supplies you will need.

Each end post requires 1 brace, and each corner requires 2 braces. Each brace requires 1 paver, 1 strainer, 1 brace pin, approximately 16′ of wire, and 2 crimps.

You will need a minimum of 4 crimps and 1 strainer per fence wire. It is a good idea to buy some extra in case any split on you. Each line post will require an insulator for each wire. You will also need 1 set of long insulators for each end post. When counting insulators, keep in mind that you will need insulators for the brace post where the wires lay next to it. On our 6 strand fence, we need 4 insulators per brace.

If you are using wider post spacing and battens you will need a batten ever 25′ between line posts. Lastly, do yourself a favor and buy lots of staples, more than you think you need. A high tensile fence requires TONS of staples, and once you start hammering them in they go very quickly.

Getting started

First you will need to lay out your fence. Figure out where you would like your corner posts to be and place those posts.

To install your corner posts, you will need to dig a hole 4’ deep. If you have soft soil or very long fence runs, you may wish to place your corner posts in concrete, or you may wish to put a larger pressure treated board attached to the bottom of the post to help prevent it from sinking or pulling out. Corner posts should be placed leaning outward a small amount, so that when you tighten the fence wires they don’t lean in. Once you have your post placed, back fill the hole thoroughly tamping down the soil around the post as you fill the hole.

Once your corner posts are installed, you need to draw a straight line between them before you install your line posts. You can do this one of 2 ways. You can run a piece of the high tensile wire between them, or you can use a rope or sting line for shorter sections. We chose to use a rope pulled tight between the posts. Once you have your straight line, you can go ahead and install the line posts. They should also be placed 4’ deep. Make sure they are in line with your corners and straight using the level.

The all important braces

After you have all your posts installed, it is time to build the braces. You will need to construct 2 braces for each corner, and 1 for each end post. There are 2 types of braces you can use. H braces and angled braces. If you have soft or muddy soil, H braces are probably a better option. We opted to use angled braces as it saves us both money and labor.

Please note, when it comes to corners, it is best to try to avoid angles that are not 90 degrees if possible. If you have a corner with an angle of more or less than 90 degrees, you will need to use a different method of bracing than the one we are showing here.

We use angled braces on our farm so will demonstrate how to build an angled brace in this article. We will be building an H brace in a future article.

Your braces are one of the most important components of your fence, and need to be constructed properly. This is particularly important with angled braces. The placement of the angled brace post approximately 2/3 of the way up the above ground portion of the supported post is critical to its function. Do not place the brace post near the top of the corner post you are supporting as this will result in a weak brace.

Lets get started building!

The first thing we need to do constructing a brace is to cut out a small section of our end post to give the brace a flat surface to rest against. The bottom of the brace post should be about 20” from the top of the post. Mark a line here and one 4” above it on the side perpendicular to the fence wires (so the brace will lay next to the wires).

Once you have made your marks, take the saw and cut into the post about ½”. Use the chisel and hammer to chip out the wood between the two marks. Once you do you will have a flat edge you can rest your brace against.

Next place a paver on the ground under one end of the brace

This paver is to prevent the brace from sinking into the ground. It is important to prevent the brace from sinking or it will fail to properly support your fence. If you have very soft ground or you find your brace sinking, place a larger paver or rock under it to prevent it from sinking.

With one end of the brace resting on the paver, hold the other end up against the back of the end post and draw a line to match the angle of the flat area. Cut the end of the brace post along that line, so that when you rest the bottom of the brace on the groove you just made it sits flat against your end post.

Once you have this done drill a hole at an angle through the end of the brace into the end post. Make sure you drill the hole in such a way that your brace pin is about ½ in the brace and ½ in the end post. Pound the brace pin into the hole. You now have your basic brace.

There is one last step to finish the brace.

For this step you will first need to place your roll of high tensile wire onto your spinning jenny. Then cut the clips holding it. This is important. Do not cut open the wire roll until it is on the spinning jenny or you will have a exploded wire mess on your hands.

Once the wire is on the spinning jenny, cut a piece long enough to make a complete circle of wire around the end post to the end of the brace post sitting on the ground. Be sure to leave at least 12” of overlap on the wires so that you have space for your crimps. Pound 2 staples into the middle of the end of the brace post and place 2 more staples over the top of them. This will hold the wire onto the end of the brace and prevent it from spitting the pole.

Place a strainer on the wire and feed it through the two staples. Wrap the other end around the end post near the ground and staple it loosely onto the post. The wire should be able to easily slip through the staple. Next place two crimps onto one of the wires. Feed the other wire into the crimps and crimp the two wires together. Tighten the strainer until you have take up all the slack and put some tension on the wire. Your brace is complete! Repeat these steps to make all the braces needed for your fence.

A note about crimps.

You should always use 2 or more crimps on each wire junction you make. It is also important to crimp carefully. You can easily cause a crimp to split and peel off your wire if you try to crimp it too much or too closely to the ends. Be careful to leave a section uncrimped at each end, and only crimp them 4 or 5 times.

After all that preliminary work its going start looking like a fence fast!

Once all the braces are complete it is time to nail on your insulators and run your wires. We have found it works best to go around and staple all your line post insulators onto the posts before running wire. Use a tape measure to staple them at the appropriate wire spacing. Staple them on until they are firmly held, but not so firmly as to crush the insulator. Place your corner post insulators near your corner post. Do not staple your long corner insulators onto the posts. You will just feed the onto the wire as you run it. If you are not electrifying your fence and not using insulators you can skip this step.

Running wire

Now it is time to start running your wire. Before you do this you will need to decide where you would like your strainers to be located. If it is a long fence run or there are corners, the strainers should be placed near the center of the length of wire so that they will tension the fence evenly. An even number of corners should be on either side of the strainer.

You always start with the bottom wire and work towards the top. This way you are not putting tension on the tops of the posts before there is tension on the bottoms. They are more likely to be pulled over if you tension wires at the top before installing the lower wires.

Check to make sure your roll of wire is still securely on your spinning jenny. Place the spinning jenny near one of your end posts.

Carefully pull the wire and feed it through the insulators and strainer as you work your way down the fence line. Work slowly and carefully making sure not to cause any sharp bends in the wire. If you do crimp the wire, you will need to cut out that spot and splice the wire together again as it will break when you put tension on it. Also make sure you put the wire through the strainer and all of the insulators including the corner ones. It is VERY inconvenient to have to pull a whole run of wire back to add a missing insulator.

When you get to the other end post, it is time to add the required insulators and crimps to the wire so you can finish the end. Make sure you have everything you need to finish that end of the fence on the wire before you start crimping!

Finishing the end

To finish the end of the wire put a short insulator for the brace post on the wire, follow that by two crimps and then the long insulator to wrap around the post. Wrap the wire around the post. It is very helpful to have some one who can help hold the insulator and bent around the post while you feed the end if it back through the two crimps. Once you have the wire back through the crimps and are satisfied with the loop around the post you can crimp the two crimps. The last step is to staple the insulator onto the post in the correct location.

Return to the beginning, cut the wire off the roll and repeat the process on the other end. It is a very good idea to carefully check your fence wire as you walk back to the beginning of the fence to make absolutely certain that you have all the insulators and the strainer on the wire in the correct locations. Once you have finished the other end you cannot go back and correct a mistake without cutting the wire.

Now that your wire is secured on both ends, tighten the strainer until the fence wire is snug. It is not necessary, and can actually be dangerous, to over tighten high tensile fence. Just tighten it enough to take up all the slack and and put a little tension on it. You can and probably will need to come back later to adjust the tension as the fence settles.

And repeat, and repeat…

Repeat this process for all the other wires on your fence. Always work from the bottom to the top. Once you have the wires all strung it is time to add your fiberglass battens. Place the spring clips on the fiberglass posts and attach them to the fence wire at 20’ spacing. You do not need to pound them into the ground. If you find the wires are pulling them down and pushing them into the ground somewhere, you can place a brick under them to prevent this.

Battens are important if you are using wide line post spacing. They keep the wires properly spaced and help to keep them from sagging onto the ground (which is important if you have low electrified wires). This will prevent you from needing to over tighten the wires to keep them from sagging.

The very last thing that you have to do is of course hanging the gate. No pasture is complete without a gate. This step is as simple as drilling two holes and screwing in the gate screws in the proper location.

If you have made it this far with us, congratulations! You now have a fancy new fence that your neighbors will be envious of! Next week we will discuss how and why we electrified our fence, and how to properly design and install an electric fence.

If you don’t want to miss our next post on how to properly electrify your new fence, sign up for our newsletter to have it delivered directly to your inbox!

Please remember

The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post How To Build A High Tensile Fence: Steps and Pictures first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.