Stock fencing

[timberbear]

 

I've already ( well the misses has ) started putting a few pedestrian gates in. Eventually the dykes will be rebuilt but that's a long term plan and will involve applying for grants. I'm going to be fencing all the rush and burns off to prevent the sheep damaging the areas. The land is to be managed for wildlife in particular birdlife.

[gdh]

Nice area but I hope you've got a rock spike on your knocker.

[drinksloe]

Looking at the ground and ur stocking rates d u really need to fence it all?

 

Can u crop any fields for hay/silage?

 

How stock proof do u need it to be sheep or just cattle?

 

If just cattle u could switch to single strand elec, save u a lot of timber costs and handy for temp fencing if needed

If not fully sheep proof u could just use some short 5 line net and leave it high of ground so hares can get easy access along whole fence.

Prob won't need barb to keep galloways in usually quite settled beasts.

 

If u do need it stock proof, i'd ignore ur 50m and just put turners where needed (will prob be between 30-80m on that sort of ground) drive a longer 31/2" or 4" post in ur 1m away from ur strainer and tie/rail/anchor it back to strainer. As long as u don't cut bottom or top wires on net u won't really need a stay as more a turner than a strainer. Keeps a lot of pressure of post if u dont stop and start net

 

To be honest the best thing for birds is putting cattle in to rashy patches like that, they open them up and create micro habitats and most birds love the extra insects there for there sh*ite. Sort of place snipe and woodcock would love. With u being in wales u could have large numbers of snipe and woodcock after the november moon.

Topping small areas or random rides also helps big blocks

[timberbear]

Looking at the ground and ur stocking rates d u really need to fence it all?

 

 

 

Can u crop any fields for hay/silage?

 

 

 

How stock proof do u need it to be sheep or just cattle?

 

 

 

If just cattle u could switch to single strand elec, save u a lot of timber costs and handy for temp fencing if needed

 

If not fully sheep proof u could just use some short 5 line net and leave it high of ground so hares can get easy access along whole fence.

 

Prob won't need barb to keep galloways in usually quite settled beasts.

 

 

 

If u do need it stock proof, i'd ignore ur 50m and just put turners where needed (will prob be between 30-80m on that sort of ground) drive a longer 31/2" or 4" post in ur 1m away from ur strainer and tie/rail/anchor it back to strainer. As long as u don't cut bottom or top wires on net u won't really need a stay as more a turner than a strainer. Keeps a lot of pressure of post if u dont stop and start net

 

 

 

To be honest the best thing for birds is putting cattle in to rashy patches like that, they open them up and create micro habitats and most birds love the extra insects there for there sh*ite. Sort of place snipe and woodcock would love. With u being in wales u could have large numbers of snipe and woodcock after the november moon.

 

Topping small areas or random rides also helps big blocks

 

 

To be honest I originally didn't want any stock on site but like you say there needed to manage the ground. Two of the fields we will take a hay crop off. As I'm not there all the time it's easier to manage the areas if there fenced off. I want to keep the cattle out of the rush during nesting season as we have one pair of curlew and we are hoping by careful management we will attract more especially on the higher land. We will graze the rush in August and September but I need to keep the sheep out of the wetter areas during spring and summer although this does mean putting troughs in for them. This is on our Scottish small holding our one in Monmouthshire is all down to wildflower meadow. I'm also going to be planting large areas of shrub and trees to provide good wildlife cover which will need fencing off.

[caledonian bob]

Hi Gn, if I remember your in Galloway area? I've just emailed some local suppliers for prices etc. I too picked up 12ft gates for about £70 so with posts and hooks etc came in about £120. Already put five gates up. My preference would have been to get it done in one hit by someone else but doing myself means big savings.

 

You are not far off for price, I could do posts and crooks for £65 but make sure you are asking for Class 4 strainers which will last longer, you should be able to pick them up for about £18 each

[drinksloe]

Brilliant wot ur trying to do for nature. Hat off too u.

 

I would not be bothered about fencing stock off at nesting time with so little stock pressure they'll probably do more good than harm.

Generally snipe and waders like rashes as champed/poached as possible as creates more of the habitat they really like and plenty of sh*te so plenty of grubs/insects.

In the old days they would spread blood on ground like that to attract waders, or spread areas of muck/middens

 

I shoot over 2 big areas similar to ur's 1 area since the cows were taken off hardly has any snipe/waders now. The other area is a pig to walk throu as so heavily poached all year round but is full of snipe

 

If u really want to manage it for waders u could possibly put in a few wader scrapes dotted about, just a very shollow digger scoop ideally that will hold a wee touch of water most of year but always nice shallow sides (well atleast on 3 sides)

 

Probably ur biggest problem will be predation, targeted traping of corvids in spring and foxes throu out year and if u have time stoats too.

Have a look at the research off GWCT esp Otterburn study which was on similar ground to urs and focused on waders breeding succes and predators. Think they increased breeding succes by something like 300% once they started trapping

They also do other work on waders too

[timberbear]

Brilliant wot ur trying to do for nature. Hat off too u.

 

I would not be bothered about fencing stock off at nesting time with so little stock pressure they'll probably do more good than harm.

Generally snipe and waders like rashes as champed/poached as possible as creates more of the habitat they really like and plenty of sh*te so plenty of grubs/insects.

In the old days they would spread blood on ground like that to attract waders, or spread areas of muck/middens

 

I shoot over 2 big areas similar to ur's 1 area since the cows were taken off hardly has any snipe/waders now. The other area is a pig to walk throu as so heavily poached all year round but is full of snipe

 

If u really want to manage it for waders u could possibly put in a few wader scrapes dotted about, just a very shollow digger scoop ideally that will hold a wee touch of water most of year but always nice shallow sides (well atleast on 3 sides)

 

Probably ur biggest problem will be predation, targeted traping of corvids in spring and foxes throu out year and if u have time stoats too.

Have a look at the research off GWCT esp Otterburn study which was on similar ground to urs and focused on waders breeding succes and predators. Think they increased breeding succes by something like 300% once they started trapping

They also do other work on waders too

 

 

Thanks drinksloe,

 

As well as waders I'm trying to create habitats for other farmland birds like Grasshopper warbler which is breeding for the first time on our land. Like you suggest I'm already putting wader scrapes in and plan to put in a few big shallow ponds ive already started blocking up the field drains and the old foot drains. My misses is a conservation officer and her speciality are plants hence the need to fence and control the grazing. We plan to bring cattle in from next doors farm to strip graze and create some heavy trampling. Lucky to have large numbers of snip and woodcock already, in fact almost run over a jack snipe every time im out on the machine. Eventually once all the new planted areas have established the dykes rebuilt and the habitat improves then the fencing will be removed. We have only had the land about a year now and are trying to reverse 60 years of over grazing.

I might even do a separate thread about what we are doing, we are fortunate we are in a position to give something back to wildlife which needs all the help it can get.

[Matthew Storrs]

Timber bear, You mentioned getting in a farmer with a post knocker, Seeing as you have a machine on site why not just buy a postknocker to go on the digger, You on the machine and your missis 'feeding the machine' so to speak you will soon rattle through that lot, looks like the kind of terrain a digger will excel in. Me and my colleague knocked in 550 meters worth of stakes (inc gateposts) the other day in 1 day and all the stakes were in nice and straight

 

You could then sell on the knocker once you have finished and i doubt you'd loose much... just a thought.

 

Lovely patch of land.

[Goaty]

The man speaks sense. The hardest part will be parting with the new toy "just in case"

[timberbear]

Timber bear, You mentioned getting in a farmer with a post knocker, Seeing as you have a machine on site why not just buy a postknocker to go on the digger, You on the machine and your missis 'feeding the machine' so to speak you will soon rattle through that lot, looks like the kind of terrain a digger will excel in. Me and my colleague knocked in 550 meters worth of stakes (inc gateposts) the other day in 1 day and all the stakes were in nice and straight

 

 

 

You could then sell on the knocker once you have finished and i doubt you'd loose much... just a thought.

 

 

 

Lovely patch of land.

 

 

 

Had considered that, I hired the 360 in but have the tractor on site. Buying is an option but it's more kit to have doing nothing for a while, I'm one of those people who never get around to selling their surplus equipment. I've got a local farmer who has a big tractor and knocker who will hire himself and machine for £25 a hour, he's literally across the road so I might explore this avenue.