The Best Goat Fencing

The best goat fencing solution based on our various attempts at creating a goat-proof fence.

Goats are Notorious Escapees

It’s pretty common knowledge that goats have a reputation for fleeing their pens. I once heard a YouTuber, who was allegedly a professional fence builder, say that there wasn’t such thing as a fence that can keep a goat in. However, I have to disagree based on my personal experience and observations. I absolutely believe adequate fencing keeps goats in.

My husband grew up around swine and cattle. I grew up with pet gerbils, rabbits, and chickens so his ideas of what type of fence should keep an animal in are different than mine. Certainly we have had plenty of instances where our goats have escaped, but I also firmly believe that there were design flaws that we, as amateur goats owners, did not address in our pen construction.

Fence Design Flaws We Learned the Hard Way

Let me save you the hassle of trial and error that we went through by exposing the design flaws I have witnessed through the years.

#1 Large Panel Openings

The day we brought home our first goats from auction on a whim, we were not prepared, AT ALL.

Small Goats

My husband put 4 steel t-posts into the ground and used wire to attach some 8 foot cattle panels to make an 8 x 8 holding pen to get us through the first days until we could make a better fence. One goat, who we named “Escape”, was getting out, as we soon discovered, by squeezing through the grid of the panels. Young goats can fit through quite small spaces!

Horns

The other issue we’ve had with large grid spacing on cattle panels is adequate space for heads and horns to get stuck. Our herd now is almost entirely polled, but in that first batch of goats we purchased they had horns. One particular nanny, named Cookie, earned a reputation for getting her head through the panel, but not being able to get it back out because of the curvature of her horns. It was especially common when the opening was made slightly smaller due to a fence post or overlapping of panels.

I know there are a lot of people who see horns as a safety concern. Honestly, we haven’t had any other issues with goats having horns resulting in any injuries to themselves or others in the pen. I don’t have any personal preference toward goats with or without horns, but depending on your fencing you should take that into consideration. However, as I’ll continue to say, with properly designed fencing I would not foresee horns getting stuck as a concern at all. Cookie never got her head stuck in any gates or sheep & goat fencing, just cattle panels. Use a fencing with appropriate sized gaps prevents heads, horns, or limbs from getting stuck.

#2 Choosing a Material That is Not Durable

Cattle Panels & T-posts

After creating our temporary holding pens out of cattle panels and T-posts, we set out to make permanent enclosures. We used 4 inch wooden fence posts set at 4 feet high at a spacing of 8 feet and stapled fencing at each post. After learning that young goats and kids can make it through quite small openings we chose to make one of our pens using sheep and goat fencing with larger 4 x 4 inch openings (4×4 sheep and goat fence) , and the other using a 2 x 4 inch grid welded wire fencing.

Welded Wire & Wood Rail Fencing

We had solved the escaping through small openings problem, but soon discovered that goat will push and rub against their fencing, and after a short while the mesh was all bent out of shape. Our fence line looked more like a scalloped edge than a straight one. We talked about adding wooden rails to give the pens the appearance and strength of a rail fence with the impermeability of the mesh. Unfortunately, that never happened due to rising lumber prices. I do still consider that as a good option to potentially pursue for both style and function, but it’s not a cost effective option for us at this time.

The best material we have used, in terms of durability and keeping its shape, has by far been cattle panels, so at our previous acreage we ripped off the welded wire fencing and used them instead for the pen that houses our billies. Cattle panels (also called utility panels or livestock panels) are typically 4 feet tall and usually come in 8 or 16 foot lengths. On a standard cattle panel the grid contains smaller openings toward the bottom and larger panel openings toward the top.

My top recommendation for metal sheep and goat fencing is 4 foot tall 4×4 inch grid utility panels.

#3 Fence is Too Short

The breed of goats you are planning to house will determine the height of fencing you will need. When we had only Nigerian Dwarf goats we had no issues with a 4 foot tall fence. However, we have had our miniature Nubians make it over the fence at that height.

Keeping the Herd Together (or Apart)

The first issue was had with goats jumping the fence was when we purchased our first Mini Nubian goat, our stud buck, Lightning. Summer of 2022, we decided to transition our heard away from Nigerian Dwarves to a breed that would be more suitable for milking. Along with that decision, we concluded we should invest in quality registered stock, both for milk genetics and better marketing of future kids.

Buck Jumping the Fence

We decided on Mini Nubians and started our new herd by purchasing a buck that could be bred to all our girls (both current Nigerians and future Nubians). We hoped that if our new buck shared a fence-line with the does, he would feel enough part of the herd to be kept in his own pen. Having just one male we would not need to keep (and feed) another male. He quickly showed us that he wanted to be WITH the heard, not just next to it. I watched him climb and jump those cattle panels twice in the first day. Thankfully, even though we had sold our other bucks, we had kept a buckling whether, to be a companion if needed. We were able to place them together right away, and Lightning hasn’t jumped the fence since. Not even during breeding season when he REALLY wants to be with the ladies.

The other times we had goats jump the fence was when we have tried to contain animals in our kidding pens. See more about that below. Our larger goats have been able to use the smaller panel openings like a ladder, and get a better hoof hold to make the jump. Especially when coupled with the fact that the panels were adjacent to stacked square bales. Pressure against the bales prevented their hooves from slipping through the fencing, and provided a nice landing pad around fence height. We had some issues. Was it poor design? Absolutely! Our shed space is small so we had to squeeze things in tight. Only our larger goats have been able to escape the kidding pens. None of the pregnant or nursing does willingly chose to do so during the kidding season. They have only gotten out when we had them separated from the herd for other reasons. Goats love to be with their herd and are more likely to scale a fence to be together.

Kidding Pens

After looking into several design options for DIY kidding pens, we decided to make the investment into dog kennel panels to use as our kidding pens.

The panels we purchased are made of a durable powder coated metal grid and come in 5 foot widths with height options of 4 or 6 feet. We purchased the 4 foot option before we decided to switch our herd breeds. I were to do it again I would maybe consider investing in the taller 6 foot panels for maximum holding power and ease of getting in and out the door, but the 4 foot have still served us well. When we made the move from Knoll 22 to Valley View Farm, we used several panels to make a pen for holding the does. They were in the temporary pen a couple weeks with no escaping problems. Even more impressive since it was at the beginning of the breeding season.

4×5 gate panel 4×5 panel 6×5 gate panel 6×5 panel

While this may not be the most inexpensive option, using dog kennel panels give us a sturdy fence that is quickly set up. They also are easily moved and can even be disassembled when not in use. Since our shed has very little space, this serves as a convenient option for us.

Kennel panels are available as kits in a variety of sizes and lengths. You should have no problem finding something that works with your space.

Gates

We have chosen to use Hutchinson Western Wire Filled gates for our pens. They come in a variety of lengths. I recommend 4 foot gates for walking entry, and a 6-10 foot gate. Adjust the width of the gate for tractor or skid loader access depending on the size of your machines.

The Best Goat Fencing

As a summary, for our herd of miniature Nubian goats, I believe the best pen and pasture fencing is 4×4 grid 4 foot tall metal utility panels attached to 4 inch wooden fence posts. It provides the necessary strength to resist rubbing and pushing. The openings are small enough to contain even young kids, and prevent horns and heads from becoming stuck.

Budget Friendly Considerations

However, since 4×4 fencing panels are quite expensive, at our new acreage we used a 16 foot combination panel instead. The combination panel is similar to a cattle panel, but has smaller rectangles on the bottom which get larger as you go up. This saved us nearly half the cost, and hopefully will still serve the functional purpose for what we need. We also had a pile of steel T-posts that we had salvaged which we were able to re-use. As much as I would like to do things a specific way, sometimes the budget is ultimately what dictates the final design.

If you want to avoid panels I recommend using a sheep and goat fencing reinforced by a wooden rail fence.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I hope you find this information helpful in making the decision for the best goat fencing for your acreage. Whatever you choose to do, you’ll have the information to consider the pros and cons of each fencing type. Just be sure to take your specific herd and needs into consideration.

Happy fencing, and may your goats stay in!!