A major fixed cost for sheepmen is the expense of fencing sheep. The rising cost of conventional fencing materials and limited availability of farm labor have cause sheepmen to evaluate alternative fencing methods

Parker, C. F.

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South Dakota State UniversityOpen PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information ExchangeSouth Dakota Sheep Field Day Research Reports,1967 Animal Science Reports1967Electric Fencing for SheepC. F. ParkerOhio Agricultural Research and Development CenterFollow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_sheepday_1967This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science Reports at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in South Dakota Sheep Field Day Research Reports, 1967 by an authorizedadministrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, pleasecontact michael.biondo@sdstate.edu.Recommended CitationParker, C. F., "Electric Fencing for Sheep" (1967). South Dakota Sheep Field Day Research Reports, 1967 . Paper 26.http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_sheepday_1967/26t lectric  Fencing for Sheep c.  F.  Parker Ohio  Agri cultural  Re search and Development Center , Wooster , Ohio A ma jor fixed co st for sheepmen is the expen se o f  fencing sheep .  The rising co st o f  conventional  fencing materia l s  and l imited ava i l ab i l ity of  farm l abor have caused sheepmen to eva luate a lternative fencing methods . ' � ) E l e ctri c  fenc ing i s  not commonly used by sheepmen , a lthough many producers have been fencing sheep  with e lectri city for severa l year s .  The fact that wool  i s  a poor conductor o f  e lectri city , individual con ­servati sm ,  and un succe ssfu l  experience s appear to be the major rea son s why e lectric  fencing i s  not commonly  used by sheepmen . Que stion s frequent ly a sked about the va lue of e le ctri city for fencing sheep receive incons i s ­tent an swers .  Some farmers state they have tri ed e lectri c  fencing for sheep  without succe ss . Be cause o f  the se circumstances ,  re searchers at the Ohio Agricultura l Re search and Deve lopment Center initiated studies  to eva luate the potential  of  e l e ctricity for fencing sheep .  The re sults  have been favorabl e . They indi cate that sheep  producers should now eva luate the ir operation s  to determine i f  e le ctri c fencing could make the ir  un it more e ffic ient . The in itia l exposure o f  sheep  to the � l e ctri c  fence i s  important in properly acc l imating the anima l s .  Thi s  first a s sociation with the fence wi l l l argely determine the succe s s  of e lectri c  fencing for sheep .  For the first exposure , the f lock  should be slowly  moved into the fenced area . I f  sheep are frightened , they may crowd through the fence and perhaps break the e l e ctric  fence wire s .  Spec ia l  attempts to attract the attention of sheep to the e l e ctri c  wire s have proved worthwhi l e . Sma l l  a luminum pans attached t o  the wire s  he l p  attract the sheep to the fence , where they re ce ive the initial  shock . Woo l  i s  a poor conductor q f  ele ctricity , so the areas  without wool on the face and ears o f  unshorn sheep  rece ive the e l e ctri ca l  shock . Condition s  are ideal  i f  the wool i s  wet when the sheep  are first exposed t o  the fence . However , experience s at the Re search Center have been h ighly succe ssful with sheep  which have not had damp fleece s when first exposed to the fence . Sheep  can be succe ssfu l ly  fenced with e l e ctricity by u sing 2 strands of smooth wire attached to metal or wooden stake s l o cated approximate ly  25 feet apart . Heavy gauge w�re i s  recommended be cause of the additiona l strength and ea� o f  handl ing . The bottom wire should be from 12 to 15 inches above the ground ,  w ith the top wire approx imate ly  12  inche s higher . Proper grounding o f  the fenc ing unit i s  very important , particu l arly during dry sea son s .  1 19 - 2 -A commerci a l ly ava i l able  high inten sity pul se output fencer wa s u sed in thi s  study . Di fferen ce s among various type s o f  fencers were not studied . S ome sheepmen report u sing l ight-we ight barbed wire along with a smooth wire , with both e l e ctri ca l ly charged . Other s have used 3 wire s to provide additional  in surance again st the sheep jumping or putting their heads between the wire s .  The mo st a pparent advantage s o f  e le ctri c  fen cing for sheep are the low cost o f  materia l s  and the e a se o f  con structing the fence . In  thi s study , two 15-gauge wire s  were used with metal stake s spa ced 25 feet apart , p lus  insul ators . The fen cing cost wa s 57 cents per rod . The fen cer cost $39 . 50 and ha s a capacity o f  e l ectri ca l l y  charging 8 mi l e s  of fence . A pri ce range o f  40 to 60 cent s per rod can be used for e stimat ing the co st of e l e ctri c  fenc ing material s .  Two men can easi ly  bu ild  1 mile  of  fence in 6 hour s .  Other advantage s o f  e l e ctri c fen c ing may b e  more important i n  spe c i fi c  situation s .  One o f  the se i s  where sheepmen have en countered prob lems with stray dog s  entering the flock . A number o f  producers have stated that e l e ctri c  fenc ing ha s e l iminated the ir dog prob l em s .  Corn fie lds , mea ­dows , and other un fenced area s can be temporari l y  fenced with e l e ctri city and uti l i zed for grazing sheep . E lectri c fencing give s more flexib i l i ty in  pa sture use . The gra zing habits  of the sheep can be a l tered and pa sture ut i l i zation improved .  Sheep can be . heavi ly  concentrated more econom i ca l ly by interfenc ing l arge pa sture s into sma l ler pa sture s with e l e ctri city . An experimenta l group of  274 dry ewe s at the Re search Center wa s grazed on 15 . 4  a cre s o f  bunch-type gra ss-l egume pa sture from early May unt i l  l ate June by subdividing the pa sture into sma l l er pa sture s .  Thi s  type of management forced the sheep to graze coar se gra s se s  not common ly_ pre ferred and e l iminated the nece ssity of mowing the pa sture s during the summer .  · . Where numbers are l e ss concentrated , sheep  tend to be sel e ct ive in the ir  graz ing and bedding area s .  Frequently the se habits  lead to ine fficient use o f  pasture and increa se the probl em o { interna l para site s .  The ewe s i n  thi s  study were rotated eveTy 1 0  to 1 4  days , a l low ing rapid pl ant regrowth and prevent ing comple�ion of the l i fe cyc l e  of the common internal  para site s .  The ewe s ma inta ined a hea l thy and uni form con­dition throughout the study . Indi cation s are ihat �� e l e ctri cal l y  f�nced grazing program can be managed to prevent ewe s  from becoming exce ssive ly  fat during the summer months .  Thi s has  been a common probl em to sheep producers in improved pa sture area s .  120 • • - 3 -The in formation to date indi cate s that e l e ctri c  fenc ing can be ex­treme ly use ful in improving the e f fi c ien cy of  a sheep operation . The low fenc ing costs , ease o f  con struction , prevent ion o f  dog problems , reduction o f  internal  para site in fe station , and more compl ete ut i l i za ­t ion o f  temporary and permanent pa sture s indi cate that el e ctr i c  fenc ing can be u sed to increa se the net return from sheep farm s . ( Ohio Report ) S ILAGE PROTE IN WARN ING Corn s i l age has been growing in popu l arity for feeding pregnant ewe s .  Iowa State ' s  Tom Wi ckersham i s sue s thi s  warn ing : Thi s h igh­roughage corn product i s  notably de fi c ient in  prote in . A shortage of prote in in the pregnant ewe ' s  ration re sul t s  in the ine f f i cient use o f  other raion ingredient s ,  l ighter , l e ss vigorous l ambs at b irth , and poor mi l king abi l i ty . The ea sie st and cheape st way to ra i se the proge in l eve l o f  corn s i l age  to meet the ewe ' s  requ irement s i s  to add urea . Ure a , a readi ly ava i l ab l e  chem i ca l  compound , is not a prote in , and conta i n s  no prote in , but the bacteria in  the stoma chs o f  ruminant anima l s  have the abi l ity to convert it  into prote in . Throughout pregnancy the ewe shoul d  con sume . 36 l b . o f  prote in daily . The amount var i e s  from . 30 early in  pregnan cy to . 40 lb . toward the end of ge station . Without urea , corn s i lage conta i n s  on ly about 2 . 3% prote in . Thu s , there i s  about 46 lb s .  o f  prote in in  a ton o f  si lage . Adding 10  l b s . o f  ure a  per ton o f  si lage adds  the equ iva lent o f  26 lbs . o f  prote in to the mixture , making a total o f  72 lb s .  or 3 . 6% prote in . It sti l l  i s  ne cessary to provide the ewe with a sma l l  amount o f  vegetabl e  prote in supplement , be cause o f  other needed nutritional  fa ctor s in the natura l product . Thi s  i s  e spe c ia l ly true during late pregnan cy and l a ctation when the ewe ' s  prote in requirement s are greate st . The added suppl ement may be soybean mea l or l in seed mea l  fed a l ong with the urea- suppl emented corn s i l age • 1 2 1  

Electric Fencing for Sheep

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Electric Fencing for Sheep

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