Fencing
for Soay Sheep
Containment and Predator Control
Fencing
is more to keep the predators out rather than the sheep in. As long as you are
feeding and watering your Soay they are content and don't test the fences. If
your Soay really wanted out of your fenced area there is nothing you could do
to stop them.
The
location of your farm and it's proximity to casual passers by should guide you
in your fencing selections. If your farm is surrounded by a thousand acres of
land management forests or a national park (sounds like heaven) - then you are
going to have a lot more and different predators than someone living in a semi-rural
subdivision of 5 to 10 acre tracts. In the rural sub-divisions domestic dogs are
a problem. You don't want to think Muffy the neighbors black lab would jump the
fence and snatch a lamb - but it happens. In more rustic and remote areas coyote,
cougar, bear, bob cats, and raccoons are predators to watch for. Also keep in
mind that many predators go under the fence - digging under it, rather than going
over the top.
On
any fence line that is more vulnerable to predators we use 6 foot fencing with
the 2" x 4" openings in it. We use a lot more t-posts and fasten it
to trees where practical. After that is in I take a roll of 3' chicken wire with
1 or 2 inch holes, attach it to the bottom of the fence about a foot up from the
ground with "wire ties" and then fold it so it makes a "skirt"
at the bottom of the fence line. Imagine an L - with 1 foot of the chicken wire
vertical and attached to the 6 foot fencing, and 2 feet of chicken wire horizontal
on the ground. Then I throw rocks, branches or whatever is handy from clearing
for the fence line on top of the chicken wire. In one season the natural vegetation
grows through the chicken wire and it is covered with leaves and other forest
debris. This method makes it much more difficult for predators to dig under, and
it keeps lambs from walking under the fence line when your fence runs along very
uneven terrain.
We
intentionally do not stretch our fencing tight at the top between the fence posts.
We allow it to sag a bit. Predators will go under a fence or over it. The chicken
wire system described above keeps predators from digging under. If a dog, coyote
or cat attempts to go over the fence and it is stretched tight - the fence will
support the climbing animal. If the fence has some give in it and the top is a
bit saggy a climbing animal will have a tougher time getting over it. This summer
we may run a strand of barbed wire at the top of our fencing in the more secluded
areas running through the woods - for added incentive to the predators to leave
our sheep alone.
Fencing
for Soay ewes could probably be done with mosquito netting attached to wires with
clothes pins - ewes are easy.
Fencing
for rams and lambs is a bit trickier.
For rams you need to make sure you have gates that securely lock - meaning that
they can't be "popped" open when one of your rams tests it by bashing
the gate with his rock hard head. It happens.
If
your rams are going to be housed where you have people passing by I would use
the 6 foot fencing there as well. It will discourage anyone from climbing over
or even hanging over the fence to feed treats or in an attempt to "pet"
the rams. It's unlikely that a ram would go to the fence to see a stranger - but
you don't want to take that chance. Rams heads are hard and they can do a lot
of damage given the right set of circumstances.
If
the area isn't vulnerable to predators and passers by then a standard 4 or 5 foot
fence with with a reasonable number of fence posts to keep the fencing upright
will be fine.
For
lambs you need 2" x 4" openings or they will climb out of the fenced
area. This isn't a bad thing unless there is a bobcat waiting on the other side
of the fence, or they can't find their way back in, or their moms panic and bash
their way out trying to get to their lambs. Yes, this is the voice of first hand
experience. Believe me. Fence with small hole fencing. Save yourself hours of
stress. |
