BEGINNER LEVEL: Electric Fencing System for Rotational Grazing Sheep

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ValleyFarmSupply.com has a great selection of Gallagher solar chargers and electric tape!

Shopping List of the supplies needed to rotational graze sheep:

For Perimeter Fencing (you can bypass the perimeter fence if you buy the portable IntelliShock charger I mention below) :

• 12 gauge Aluminum High Tensile Wire (Gallagher)
• T-Post Insulator (Dare Products)

For Paddocks:

• 1/2″Gallagher Polytape.
• Simple plastic cord reel.
• Plastic Step-in posts.
• 2 Joule Solar Charger.
• Power Links (to carry the charge from one line to another).

I found most of these items at my local farm store, and you should be able to do the same! The only exception is the Solar Charger and the Power Links. In my first video I referenced a .25 joule Gallagher charger, but have since stopped using it. It did not have a big enough shock to keep my sheep contained long term.

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I have had several people ask me about my Electric fencing system for rotational grazing sheep. What kind of charger do you use to power your electric fencing for sheep? What is the best portable electric fence for rotational grazing sheep? Should I use electric poly netting, poly-tape, or poly-braid for my sheep?

This post is dedicated to showing you both the electric fencing and portable charger system that I use to facilitate my rotational grazing program for for flock of Dorper Sheep. I move my sheep to fresh pasture quite frequently. My paddocks last 1 day or 1 week depending on the season. An easy to use fencing and charger system is key to this rotational grazing system.

3 primary considerations factor into the materials I chose for my sheep rotational grazing system: cost, ease of use, and containment rate. It is my goal to run this rotational grazing system for my sheep at as low a cost as possible. My fencing, charger, and grounding system for rotational grazing on 30 acres cost about $1500. This $1500 system could easily facilitate a grazing rotation for 80-100 sheep.

Because I am creating 150-200 temporary paddocks for my sheep every year ease of use is a big part of what fencing and charger system I chose. It is my goal to perform all of the tasks associated with rotational grazing my sheep within 45 minutes-1hour.

Finally, because sheep are notorious escape artists, containment rate is a huge consideration for my rotational grazing system. To avoid wasted time (which is really an economic liability in any farming operation) I try to keep my containment rate at 90% or better for my flock. I give some allowance due to the nature of sheep, but I try to amend any gaps in my system that might make way for more escapes than necessary.

I do not cull escape artists. While some farmers may disagree, my philosophy is that if a sheep is highly productive and genetically fit, it is not a wise decision to cull it for escaping the paddock. Sheep are sheep, and escaping is part of their nature. I believe our fencing systems can do up to 90% of the job for us, but the end of the day we are shepherds.

Here are the rotational grazing supplies that work best for me on my sheep farm.

Perimeter Fencing:

When we bought this farm the 30 acres was already cross-fenced into 3 different pastures. Once we bought our sheep we added a welded wire to the existing 5 strand barbed wire fence. This perimeter fencing is a great asset and really simplifies my rotational grazing for sheep. If I did not have this perimeter fencing I would likely use a lot more poly netting to keep my sheep contained.

On each of the cross fenced pastures I have put one hot line of Gallagher 12 gauge Aluminum High Tensile Wire. I plug my charger straight into this main wire, then link the charge to my polytape paddocks using Power Links from Premier 1 Supplies.

Portable Electric Fencing for Creating Grazing Paddocks:

My portable electric fencing of choice is 5/8″ poly tape. The electric poly tape I use for my paddocks is about 5/8″ wide and provides 5x more visibility than poly braid. What’s more is that poly tape is much easier to use than poly netting. I will use 2 strands of this poly tape to create my paddocks. One row is strung about 6″ off the ground (too low to sneak under) and the second row is 24-28″ off the ground (too high to easily jump over).

All that said, I do occasionally use the electric poly netting to create paddocks for my sheep rotational grazing system. I will use this netting during lambing season when the lambs are small enough to sneak under the tape. The poly netting also serves as an extra layer of predator protection when the tiny lambs are on pasture. A final reason I use electric netting is to keep our field dogs with the flock when paddocking them in remote pastures (our guardian dogs are not bonded to the flock and will stray from them if not contained).

Electric Fence Charger:

I currently use a 2 Joule Charger with leads for a 12V Battery. This charger powers my 30 acre system quite well. It provides a consistent 8KV+ charge on my fencing. I initially started my rotational grazing system with a .22 joule solar charger, but this charger is really not powerful enough to contain sheep for the long term.

I power my fencing with a 12V Marine Deep Cycle battery. This allows me to carry my power with me not matter how remote the pasture. This will also allow me to quickly and easily setup my rotational grazing system on lease land, should my farm ever grow to that point. I have two 12V batteries. This allows me to switch out when my battery needs to be recharged. I recharge my batteries with an autom

Grounding System:

I created a grounding system using 6 ft copper ground rods. I have around 15 ground rods on my 30 acres. To provide optimal shock, I make sure to sink three of these ground rods 10ft apart.

Accessories:

There are a few simple accessories in my rotational grazing system that I have yet to mention. I use insulated handles to latch the electric fencing onto my perimeter fencing. I use simple plastic reels to hold my poly tape (a geared reel may work better, but geared reels cost $70-100 each vs. $10 for a plastic reel). I also use the inexpensive white step in posts from my local hardware store ($1.50 each). I have tried the expensive ($5 each) O’Brien posts and did not like them as well as the $1.50 posts.

I think that is about it! I hope this detailed post on my electric fencing system for sheep has helped you! 95% of what I use can be sourced at your local hardware store. While you want to fix your system for a containment rate of 90% or more, don’t be discouraged if a sheep occasionally makes an escape. It is called shepherding for a reason!

-the Shepherdess

“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6