Farm Fence Types

Solid Fences

• When humans first started grazing livestock inside set ranges according to newly established property laws, it was a departure from the previous practice of actively herding livestock across open public range. To mark where one property ended and another began, people used whatever materials were most readily available. In Europe, this meant building stone fences or establishing thick rows of hedges, through which livestock could not pass. Solid fences made of stone or hedge are still excellent ways to restrain livestock, but they require more maintenance, and their boundaries are harder to change than other, more modern types of farm fence.

Rail Fences

• Because a rail fence does not have sharp barbs or wires that can scratch sensitive skin, it is a popular and safe choice to mark the boundaries of a field used by horses. People historically put up split-rail fences in regions where lumber was easily available; these fences are still popular choices to achieve a certain aesthetic goal. Today, rail fences can be made from painted, machine-cut lumber, as well as from materials such as vinyl or steel pipe.

Wire Fences

• In the American West, there are more miles of barbed-wire fence than any other type of fence. Barbed wire has gone through an evolution of different types of barbs, but typical barbs today are sharp-ended, short pieces of wire wrapped at 4- or 5-inch intervals down a long strand of wire. The fences are erected by tightly stringing the barbed wire along a series of vertical fence posts, usually no more than 4 feet high, driven into the ground. The fence posts may be made of steel or wood. The barbs are used to deter thick-skinned livestock, such as cattle, from pushing through the fence. Other types of livestock require different considerations when building a wire fence; for example, sheep or goats may fit between the strands of a barbed-wire fence and may respond better to a wire mesh fence. Enclosures for bison require a taller barbed-wire fence, with especially strong fence posts.

Electric Fences

• Electric fences for livestock are constructed in a similar fashion to barbed -wire fences, with parallel wires stretched tightly between vertical fence posts. The electric cord or wire used is lighter and easier to handle than barbed wire, so these fences are easier to erect and are sometimes used as a temporary fencing. These fences are usually battery- or solar-powered; the required electricity cannot power long stretches of fence, so electric fences are generally used across smaller distances than barbed-wire fences. These fences deliver an unpleasant but not injurious electric shock to any animal that contacts them, so they can be effective to restrain animals that have learned to go through traditional barbed-wire fences.