Barbed Wire. Why?

[blazer]

We put barb as the top strand to stop cattle from rubbing on it, any unprotected post particularly strainers is rapidly adopted as a scratching post and will not last long under such treatment.

 

I claim no vast experience but wire injuries around here result from slack wire or occasionally some half daft beast jumping (normally within 10 yards of an open gate!). It does wind me up when people leave old fences in and discard rolls and lengths of wire in hedge bottoms etc.

 

Hedges - sorry but useless in terms of stockproofing and nowadays of decorative / wildlife value only. There is no hedge in the shire that does not have a fence or drystone dyke to back it up that I am aware of. I am not disputing that they can be made stockproof but they cannot be maintained stockproof on a sensible timescale without regular hand maintenance, sheep in particular will happily eat the bottom out of them. We have rejuvenated old hedges as part of RSS in the past and it a condition that they are fitted with a stockproof fence on both sides.

 

Our standard fence consists of 800mm mesh with the large mesh at the bottom so the pheasants etc can get through but charlie cannot and two strands of barb, one stapled at the top of the mesh and one 6 inches higher. We dont put any gap between the mesh and the first barb so that any animal jumping and putting a foot through does not twist the hoof between the two strands and hang the beast by the back leg - normally a roe.

 

It costs £6.60 per metre to supply and erect a good tight fence in these parts, and we have not had a wire injury caused by a tight wire in the last 10 years so it would take a bit of persuasion to convince me that we are doing much wrong!

 

Cheers

mac

 

good post Mac:thumbup1:

 

I try and train my working cockers not to jump fences - doesn't always work. Glad to hear you put the wire large mesh down, my dogs love to 'peg' birds in small mesh down. I have seen both shoot dogs and deer trapped in top barbed wire, will pass on your idea to the estate manager

 

One question for you Mac, from a local stockman whole runs longhorns but has found they have learnt their horns make a good insulator for his electric fences - so they lift and break the electric wire and wonder off to pastures greener.

 

Also I found his longhorns soon learnt to walk on one side of the cattle grid and open a spring loaded bridle gate.

 

General note to all - end of shoot season soon, so keepers will be putting out fox snares, so keep dogs up close.

[Treewolf]

For some reason I always thought that barbed wire was invented during WW1 as an anti-personnel thing, but having just looked on wikipedia I see it was well before that - 1860 - and was intended to stop animals crossing by hurting them. Lovely.

 

I do remember being told that the leather firm Connelly (who used to supply all the leather for seats in top class cars) wouldn't buy hides deom animals which had been in barbed-wire-fenced fields due to the amount of scarring on the hide.

 

To my mind the main application for barbed wire now is to keep people out, rather than animals in.

[Stereo]

It's a good point about gun dogs. I used to beat and pick up on the Waddeton estate for the Goodsons and the amount of injuries to spaniels in particular was distressing. Especially injuries where you really, really don't want them. If you know what I mean.

[Matthew Storrs]

We put barb as the top strand to stop cattle from rubbing on it, any unprotected post particularly strainers is rapidly adopted as a scratching post and will not last long under such treatment.

 

I claim no vast experience but wire injuries around here result from slack wire or occasionally some half daft beast jumping (normally within 10 yards of an open gate!). It does wind me up when people leave old fences in and discard rolls and lengths of wire in hedge bottoms etc.

 

Hedges - sorry but useless in terms of stockproofing and nowadays of decorative / wildlife value only. There is no hedge in the shire that does not have a fence or drystone dyke to back it up that I am aware of. I am not disputing that they can be made stockproof but they cannot be maintained stockproof on a sensible timescale without regular hand maintenance, sheep in particular will happily eat the bottom out of them. We have rejuvenated old hedges as part of RSS in the past and it a condition that they are fitted with a stockproof fence on both sides.

 

Our standard fence consists of 800mm mesh with the large mesh at the bottom so the pheasants etc can get through but charlie cannot and two strands of barb, one stapled at the top of the mesh and one 6 inches higher. We dont put any gap between the mesh and the first barb so that any animal jumping and putting a foot through does not twist the hoof between the two strands and hang the beast by the back leg - normally a roe.

 

It costs £6.60 per metre to supply and erect a good tight fence in these parts, and we have not had a wire injury caused by a tight wire in the last 10 years so it would take a bit of persuasion to convince me that we are doing much wrong!

 

Cheers

mac

 

Im moving to your parts, Im lucky If I get £5.00 per meter usually £4.50 and I don't compromise on materials or the quality of erection!

[Matthew Storrs]

Most cases hi tensile plain will be fine. But barb wire is best for cattle IMO and as long as its piano string tight It shouldn't be too dangerous.

[tree monkey]

where we used to climb fences regularly for feeding, shooting etc we put a few rails on the fence and cut a piece of plastic water pipe down its length and then put it over the barbed wire so we were not using the netting for foot holes and making it slack,the plastic pipe protected jumping dogs and your nads from injury.

[skyhuck]

These cows are not rocket surgeons.

 

:confused1:Whats a "rocket surgeon"??????

[skyhuck]

Well I would ask how often you inspected the herd. I have seen barb numerous injuries to cows.

 

 

I am told high end leather comes from cows on farms without barb so they can get large pieces without scars.

 

For 13 years they passed my sitting room window on a regular basis, I also used to assist with calving including caesarian's.

 

As my signature states, I can only speak form my own experience, sorry if that does not fit with your.

 

Around here we have far more walls than fences and the land is not over grazed, so maybe thats why my experience differs for that of others

[Buzzsurgeon]

:confused1:Whats a "rocket surgeon"??????

 

A brain surgeon who practices' rocket science on livestock

[Daniël Bos]

In the Netherlands, barbed wire for stockfencing is not allowed. As a consequence leather from Dutch cows is exported at a premium price to mainly Italy for pretty bags and such. It commands a (much) higher price due to the lack of scarring from barbed wire or "them flies what lay eggs in boils in cows skin".

 

In Australia the fence what most of us would consider quite large areas with just plain wire, but then I suppose over there "the grass is just as brown....":biggrin:

 

 

I had to shoot a horse once after it had caught it's mane in a barbed wire, got distressed, got more stuck, more distressed, panicked and freaked out and broke 2 legs in addition to the horrible (but superficial) skin and flesh-wounds. Now it probably was not the best fence, or the smartest horse but without that barbed wire there it would not have happened.

 

 

There is just no need for it, it can cause animals harm and distress and there are perfectly fine alternatives:confused1: