Cattle farm husbandry – preparing for calving

Cattle, farming, husbandry, calving, preparation checklist, cow’s view, offering assistance, calf’s view

By Dr Clive Dalton

Calving well on the way (photo Karen Managh)

Your first experience of calving
The first calving you experience can be both exciting and scary, as the wonder of birth never ceases to be amazing.

The best way to avoid problems is to be well prepared so study the list below of things you may need, and then discuss their use with your veterinarian in plenty of time before calving.

• A yard with good solid fences, a race and a headbail.
• Rubber gloves and lubricant.
• Disinfectant.
• Good strong plastic buckets – plenty of them.
• Ropes or chains with handles for pulling a calf.
• Plastic stomach calf feeder for a calf that won’t drink. Learn to use it correctly to avoid putting milk into the lungs.
• Iodine for navels.
• A calf resuscitation device.
• A heat retention cover for a cow that goes down.
• Treatment for metabolic diseases - milk fever (calcium), staggers (magnesium) or ketosis (glucose). These are either in bottles or sachets. The sachets are a lot more comfortable to carry inside your jacket where you can warm them up.
• Electrolyte for calf diarrhoea.
• A good updated first aid cabinet at the yards with some high-energy chocolate bars in it for you and the vet who has probably missed lunch too!
• Get some decent wet weather gear.
• Get fit – you’re going to do a lot of exercise over calving. Time yourself running 50m with your full wet weather gear on!
• Birth – the cow’s view
  

Cow behaviour before calving
Here are some features of a cow’s behaviour coming up to calving. Don’t panic at the length of the list – you should only see a few of these.

• A few weeks before calving the cow will 'bag up”. Her udder will get hard and tight and it will be tender to the touch. In heifers, you may see a swelling (oedema) along the belly in front of the udder. This disappears a week or so after calving when she starts to milk.
• Cows may even start to drip milk and then you should be on the lookout for mastitis.
• Near calving her vulva will swell and you may see some clear mucous discharge.
• The ligaments of the pin bones either side of her tail will relax.
• The cow will separate from the herd if there is space to find a quiet area.
• She will prepare a birth site by smelling and pawing the ground with her front feet, and go round and round.
• She’ll get up and down a lot as birth pains start to build up.
• A small “water bag” will appear protruding from the vulva. This is the membrane the calf is in.
• If you see a prolapse which is the vagina and uterus turned inside out then seek urgent veterinary attention. This can look horrendous. Don’t be tempted to do anything yourself – get the vet quickly.
• Normally the water bag will burst and the cow will smell the ground a lot where the liquid landed.
• Soon after this you should see the calf’s front feet (pads facing downwards) and a nose.
• If you don’t - things are not normal so seek veterinary help as some manipulation may be needed.
• Don’t let the cow go longer than half an hour at this stage before getting help.
• Don’t let a calving cow that has been showing vigorous and regular abdominal straining go longer than one hour, and a heifer for two hours before providing help.
• Normally she’ll then lie down and push the calf out.
• She may get up and down between these pushes and look round smelling the ground - almost looking for a calf.
• With the final push the calf will be delivered and the membranes over the calf should rupture.
• The calf may drop out when the cow stands up which breaks the membranes around the calf and the shock of hitting the ground will cause it to take a breath.
• The cow should stand up and turn round to lick the calf - and hopefully lick the membranes from the calf’s nose so it does not suffocate.
• The cord will break when the cow turns round - stretching it helps to stop any bleeding.
• Don’t hurry to break the cord until the calf starts to breathe.
• The afterbirth will be pushed out soon after the calf. If it does not, don’t worry about it unless it hasn’t appeared in about 3 days or starts to smell foul, then seek veterinary advice.
• It’s quite normal for the cow to start chewing the afterbirth.
• Don’t leave the afterbirths on the paddock for dogs or cats to eat – bury them.
• Check the cow after the calf has had it’s first feed to make sure there is no mastitis and keep checking for signs such as swollen quarters, redness and the cow kicking in pain when the calf sucks. If the cow is quite you can take some milk off her but with beef cows this will not be possible without a race and headbail – and the risk of being kicked.
  

Calving assistance

• There is always a tendency at calving to seek veterinary help when all else has failed, so vets are regularly faced with difficult situations that end up with a dead calf and an injured cow, or both. The other option is an expensive caesarian section.
• Calving aids should only be used if the calf is correctly positioned in the birth canal – head and both front feet pointing outwards.
• Then if no progress can be made after 5 minutes of controlled mechanical traction, then veterinary help should be sought.
• The maximum traction on the calf should be no more than that of two average adults pulling at the same time. Vehicles should NOT be used to pull calves.
  

Birth – the calf’s view

• The physical effort of birth and the calf hitting the ground should have burst its covering membranes and got its lungs working. If you are present, then make sure it’s nostrils are clear.
• If the calf is not breathing then you’ll have need some urgent action. First make sure it’s airways are clear and to do this you should lift the calf up by the hind legs, give it a few good shakes and let it drain.
• You’ll have problems doing this if the calf is big. Get a strong helper to swing the calf round once or twice or hang it over a gate with the back legs on your side and its body hanging down on the other till its airways drain.
• Use a proprietary resuscitator or blow down its throat. Rub it furiously with a sack and pound its chest as in human CPR.
• A normal healthy calf should be on its feet in 15-30 minutes after birth and start “teat seeking”.
• The calf nuzzles the side of cow feeling for warm bare skin with teats. It can be very frustrating for the calf, especially if the mother is an anxious heifer and keeps turning to face and lick the calf every time it gets near the udder.
• An experienced cow stands very still as the calf moves towards the udder. She nuzzles its tail head and almost seems to give it a gently nudge towards the udder.
• The calf needs a minimum of 2 litres of colostrum within 6 hours of life. Give it to the calf in a stomach tube if it’s not suckling well.
• If you are going to separate the calf from its dam - do it straight away soon after birth as this is the least stressful option.
• Bonding is very quick in cattle and takes only a few minutes. It is based on smell and vision.
• The calf will follow the cow or any moving object a few hours after birth and can fall into drains during this early mothering period as they stagger about.
• New-born calves can fall on to the electric fence and the constant shock on their wet body can kill them.
• Don’t panic if the calf is not always with the cow, but when you go into the paddock, the cow should make a very positive attempt to look for her calf to defend it if they are well bonded.
• f you take a dog into the paddock with you, this will certainly check the cow’s mothering instinct as a good cow will chase the dog out of the paddock. You’ll have fun if the dog panics and hides behind you for protection when the cow charges it! You don’t want a wimp of a dog with hill country beef cows.
  

Disclaimer This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) provided in these pages.

Cattle farm husbandry - planning for calving

Cattle, farming, husbandry, making plans for calving, avoiding stress on family, staff & stock, checklist, feeding, health, farm dairy

By Dr Clive Dalton



The main aim
To get through calving with minimal stock losses and minimal stress on family, staff and stock.

Good signs in the staff & herd

• Happy herd manager, happy boss and happy staff.
• No accidents to people or serious damage to plant and machinery.
• All records present (none lost) and up to date.
• No milk quality down-grades.
• Minimal mastitis and a high cure rate of clinical cases.
• Cows all calved with few calving problems.
• Few calf losses.
• No cow deaths.
• Minimal vet visits.
• Cows milking well.
• Feed budget balanced with plenty of reserves ahead.
• Adequate feed ahead of the cows for the second grazing round.
• Cows in good condition and looking good for mating.
  

Bad signs in the staff & herd

• Exhausted staff with no energy and rapidly losing interest in their job.
• Staff taking great interest in Situations Vacant in local paper.
• Staff with regular bouts of flu and coughs.
• Rubbish bin full of used antibiotic tubes and beer cans.
• Milk quality breakdowns on Sunday nights and Monday mornings.
• High calf losses as well as too many dead cows.
• The vet always on the farm.
• Herd records a shambles and are lost.
• Feed budget not balancing and no feed ahead of the cows.
  

Really bad signs

• A strong smell of dope around and people suffering from hang-overs.
• Staff falling asleep on the job.
• Staff wives and kids getting shouted and smacked all the time.
• Continual accidents officially described as “minor but bad enough to affect work.
• Staff always getting flu-like symptoms and cuts and sores all over their hands.
• Staff not turning up for milking with no believable explanation. Not arriving for work at all on Sunday nights and Monday mornings.
  

Plan well ahead
This is such an obvious point, but it’s amazing how often it’s neglected because folk are so busy doing what they’re doing, that they don’t have time to sit down and make future plans. It’s “crisis management” all the time.

In an ideal world, planning for calving should be done at drying off. Wouldn’t that surprise all the staff if you did that as, the last thing anyone wants to think about is calving when the season has just ended.

Pre-calving checklist

• Do this as a team exercise – a sort of competition to see who can remember the most things that have to be done.
• Write it up on a board as a “mind map” or a series of checklists. Doing it communally gets everyone to “buy-in” so they take ownership. Make it become their list and not just the boss’s or the company’s.
• Put it on the wall in some communal spot like the tea room. Use colour a lot as the brain likes colour, and mark off things when they have been done to provide a sense of achievement.
• Put names and dates beside each bits of the chart, as there’s a lot of job satisfaction in marking them off when finished. There’s nothing more depressing than working in a job where you never seem to achieve anything after working hard. Here are some headings for the plan:
  

Drying off

• Condition score. What is your target for all cows now and then by calving? How is this going to be achieved? How many cows need special treatment NOW?
• Make sure everyone can condition score cows correctly and to the correct standard. Have a checking exercise to test them.
• Blood profiles: Get blood samples from 20% of the cows in the herd or preferably liver samples from any cows sent for slaughter.
• Decide what to do about cows that will calve very late. They will have to be induced (aborted) so make sure you know the new guidelines on this practice. It has big negative animal welfare implications with the public.
  

Feeding

• Feed budgeting: Make sure the person doing this is competent. You don’t want to be in cloud-cuckoo land for most of the winter, and then find out in spring that you are in deep crisis.
  
• When sure the person using a calculator can also do mental arithmetic to make sure get the decimal points are in the right place! Also that they can calculate volumes and areas and understand square roots.
• What’s the plan for feeding cows as they approach calving (the transition period)? Are they going to be boosted, when and by how much?
• Have you got a plan to deal with feed deficits? Is there the finances to buy in supplements if things go wrong? Does the bank manager know about this possibility?
  

Farm grazing plan

• Are all the paddocks clearly numbered for any new staff?
• Are there plenty of laminated pocket-sized farm maps available.
• Is the grazing plan integrated with the feed budget?
• Are the calving paddocks sorted out? Are they safe, near the house with good feed and water and not all pugged after winter?
• Grazing records. Who is going to be responsible for these and what backup is organised in case of lost data.
  

Animal health

• Have you had a chat with your vet to discuss the most likely problems for the spring? Check what products will you need.
• What do the blood profiles indicate about spring mineral and trace element problems eg leading to metabolic diseases?
• Mastitis will be the major problem so how are you going to deal with diagnosis, treatment and prevention? In other words how to implement the SAMM plan. Do the staff know what the SAMM plan is? It’s been around for 30 years.
• Errors with antibiotics can be very costly. Make sure all “Dry Cow” products are removed and locked away in case they are used to treat lactation cases.
• What system are you going to use to Identify (ID) cows with mastitis at various stages of their treatment so there is no chance of them being milked and causing inhibitory substance grades (the most expensive)? Check everyone’s colour vision as disasters have happened in the past.
• Lameness is a likely spring problem. Make sure you have the products to deal with lame cows and experienced staff to handle them and teach others safe practices. It can be a dangerous exercise.
• Bloat. It would be a rare spring if you didn’t have bloated cows to deal with. Make sure everyone knows the drill and especially where to stab a cow safely in an emergency.
  

Training heifers

• Decide how you are going to get the heifers used to the milking routine.
  
• You can either give them some training or face a wild-west exercise with each one.
• More and more of today’s heifers are calving with mastitis so getting them used to having their udders handled before calving would be a great help for when you have to treat a painful udder.
  

The farm dairy

• This is the most important part of the farm – the “food-harvesting” plant and it should not be called “the shed”.
• Call it the “Farm Dairy” to lift the attitude of staff and make them realise that they are in “The Human Health Food Business”!
• Check all building alterations have been completed and approved by the appropriate authorities well before milking has to start.
• Have a major cleanup. Previous staff may have left in a hurry! Working in a dump saps motivation and so does cleaning up other people’s mess.
• A qualified milking machine tester must have checked the machines and all their recommendations carried out and not just filed away till the next test! The machine should also have a mini check after peak lactation. The milking machine is the most important one on the farm – just ask the cows!
• Check the plant cleaning routine is up to scratch, and make sure all staff understand how it should work properly, and not just know how to “cut corners” at weekends or when busy.
• The cleaning routine should be written up clearly on the hot water cylinder for all new staff or relief workers to follow.
• Organise the responsibilities for daily and weekly plant checking. It’s a good opportunity to get staff to take ownership of the job and feel proud of success.
• Pay them a good bonus for a Grade Free Certificate.
  

Records

• Sort out who is responsible for the calving records, and especially what backup system there is in case of disaster. Paddock books and palmtops get lost and fall into water troughs, and computers have crashes.
• How are staff with separate field books going to synchronise the information so they everyone knows which cows have calved etc, and not just the ones they have dealt with individually on their rounds?
• Tags and tagging pliers. Always get enough tags and make sure the pliers work? Don’t try to save money on old pliers.
• Temporary ID of calves. What system is to be used and is it foolproof? Does everybody know how it works?
• Stress the importance of being honest with the records. It’s far better to record “not sure” than guess.
  

General equipment

• Effluent system. The industry’s image is at stake and effluent systems could blow it!
• Whatever system the farm has, make sure it’s working to specification as fines for contravening regulations are now very high.
• Bikes and ATVs. Remember these kill one person a month on NZ farms so make sure yours are in good working order and staff take pride in their machines. Give them time to check essentials for their own safety.
• Provide safety helmets, even if they won’t wear them: at least you will be in the clear if they have an accident.
• Tractors. They are also killers so make sure they are checked and staff who use them are competent drivers that are not asked to put themselves at risk.
• Fences. Get everything checked.
• Raceways. This is where most lameness starts do make sure they are correctly graded and the surface is good. Remember the rule that if you can’t walk on them in your bare feet, you’ll eventually end up with lame cows. Remind staff that the two main causes of lame cows are motorbikes and biting dogs! Both these come back to impatient staff.
• Water supply. Check for any leaks and that all pumps have been serviced.
• Drenching system. Get it checked and serviced if necessary, and have plenty of spare parts.
• Fire extinguishers. Have enough in the right places where risks are greatest. Make sure old ones have been checked. Many farm dairies burn down with shorts from unprotected plug boards and birds nesting in power boxes.
• First Aid. Check that there are first aid boxes in appropriate places and that they are checked and serviced before calving. Buy extra small plasters as there are never enough in the standard box as these will be used most. Boxes also don’t have enough sterile pad to stoush bleeding from large wounds so the best thing to buy is some sanitary pads and leave them near the box. They are handy for both human and animal cuts and gashes.
  

Disclaimer This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) provided in these pages.

Sheep Farm Husbandry - Fencing for sheep

Fencing basics, fence types, fencing laws, problems, trouble shooting, check lists, power fencing, safety, wire spacings, netting, scrim.

By Dr Clive Dalton

Making sure you can find sheep where you left them has been a challenge for shepherds since domestication. Sheep are the classical “follower” species and if one finds an escape route – the whole flock will follow it in no time. Some sheep are born to be escapologists and they can lead to terrible disasters on steep hill country when one finds a hole in the fence in a hollow, and the rest of the mob push up behind it waiting their turn to follow ending up in a massive smother. Hundreds of sheep can easily die in these events in minutes. The solution for the persistent escaper is the butchers! So having good fences in the correct locations is the first priority of sheep farming.


Fencing law - Fencing Act 1978
Rural fence specifications

Seven or 8 wire Fence
A substantial wire fence, having 7 or 8 wires properly strained, with up to 2 of these wires as galvanised barbed wire, or with 1 galvanised barbed wire and a top rail; barbed wires to be placed in a position agreed upon by the persons interested, or to be omitted if those persons agree; the posts to be of durable timber, metal, or reinforced concrete, and not more than 5m apart, and securely rammed and, in hollows or where subject to lifting through the strain of the wire, to be securely footed, or stayed with wire; the battens (droppers) to be affixed to the wires and of durable timber, metal or plastic, evenly spaced, and not fewer than 3 between posts; the wires to be galvanised and of 2.5mm high tensile steel or 4mm steel or its equivalent; the bottom wire to be not more than 125mm from the ground, the next 3 wires to be not more than 125mm apart; and the top wire or rail to be not less than 1m from the ground.

Nine or 10 wire Fence
A substantial wire fence having 9 or 10 wires properly strained, with or without battens (droppers) or lacing affixed to the wires between the posts or standards; the posts or standards to be durable timber, metal, or reinforced concrete, well and substantially erected, and not more than 5m apart, the top wire not to be less than 1m from the ground surface, the wires to be galvanised, and of 2.5mm high tensile steel or 4mm steel, or its equivalent, the space between the ground and the bottom wire not to exceed 100mm, the bottom 4 wires to be not more than 130mm apart.

Prefabricated (Netting) Fence
A substantial wire netting fence properly strained of a minimum height of 1m; the netting to have at east 7 horizontal wires, and, if necessary, extra wires above or below the netting, one of which may be a galvanised barb wire, all other wires to be galvanised in either 2.5mm high tensile steel or 4mm steel, or its equivalent; the vertical stays of the netting to be galvanised wire, and not more than 305mm apart. Posts or standards to be not more than 5m apart and of durable timber, metal or reinforced concrete, additional battens (droppers) may be installed between the posts if both parties agree; the overall fence to be well and substantially erected.


Fence types

NZ Standard boundary fence

• This is the basic legal boundary fence required under the law (The Fencing Act 1978) in New Zealand.
  
• It is the best stock-proof fence there is but it’s the most expensive.
• It has got to be a seven-wire, fully-battened fence, and is the perfect sheep fence if well erected.
• It usually has posts 5 m apart with 5 battens equally spaced between them.
• The gaps between the seven wires from ground level to top are at intervals of 120mm, 120mm, 130mm, 150mm, 170mm, 200mm and 250mm.
• So the “escape holes” at sheep height along the bottom are about 400mm long between the battens and either 130mm or 150mm high and these are great sheep stoppers.
• Goats dig holes at the base of fences that sheep will go through so if you have goats (feral or farmed) on sheep farms, then a hot wire on an outrigger along the bottom is a good investment (see later).
  

Netting fencing

• Using wire netting fencing is an easy solution to keep sheep of all sizes at home and it’s quick to erect.
• It works best on flat country and is not suitable for the ups and downs of hill country.
• It’s notorious for ripping tags out of sheeps’ ears – but maybe the sheep are to blame and not the fence!
• The rectangular gaps in the netting are either 150mm or 300mm long and going up from ground level they are 100mm, 100mm, 100mm, 120mm, 140mm, 150mm, and 200mm. So it’s very stock proof for ewes and small lambs.
• You will need a wire along the top of the netting too and if you run cattle, put a hot wire along the top and never a barbed one.
• Barbed wire should be banned for the benefit of humans, farm dogs and stock of all species.
  

Electric or power fencing
This is a very cost-effective solution to keeping in sheep, and New Zealand has led the world in its development. It can be used as a stand-alone power fence, or be added on to a standard fence. If your standard fence is in bad repair and cash is short, adding a hot wire to it is a great way to get a few more years out of it.

Advantages of power fencing

• Low cost.
• Easy to construct with light materials. It’s much easier to get power fencing materials out to the back of a farm than with standard fencing.
• It lasts a long time as there’s minimal stock pressure on it.
• It’s easy to use for subdivision of paddocks improving grazing control.
• It’s easy to modify to suit the stock and if you find it’s in the wrong place, it’s easy to shift.
• It does not damage stock and if there is a disaster like a smother, stock in panic will easily be forced through it without injury.
• It can be aesthetically more acceptable than a permanent fully battened fence.
  

How does a power fence work?
It’s important, especially with sheep that carry their own wool insulation, that you understand how a power fence works to get the most out of it.

• A power unit or energiser puts out current along the fence. The energizer can be fed from the mains supply, from a battery or a solar unit.
• The critical part of the fence is the earth peg or pegs. They acts like an aerial and collects electrons from the ground.
• If you have a big energiser than you need a big earth.
• The earth rule is to count 1 2 3 3. This says:
• Have ONE continuous wire from power source to earth pegs. The wire needs to be attached with nuts and bolts and not just twisted.
• Use ground pegs TWO metres long and knock them all the way into the ground.
• Have THREE ground pegs.
• Knock the pegs in THREE metres apart, if possible in a wet area.
• The energiser should be earthed at least 10m away form telephone cables and other electrical earths including water pipes.
• When the sheep out in the paddock or away at the back of the farm touches the wire, the current goes through the sheep (delivering the shock) and back to the earth peg. The sheep in effect completes the circuit and if it doesn’t then there is no shock.
• Modern energizers will power up to 360 km of fence and at long distances, it’s important to run an earth wire along the fence to help the current find the earth contact easier.
  

Are power fences safe?

• It’s a relevant question, as modern energisers get bigger to power longer distances of fence to be more cost effective. Some will now power over 300km of fence. New Zealand manufacturers defend the safety of their units.
• The shock is normally around 4000 volts but the pulse only lasts for 0.0003 seconds which is more than enough to get a response from animal or human!
• There have been cases of new-born and very wet lambs and calves being killed from entanglement with a hot wire and receiving constant shocks for a very long period.
• The pulse is very low amps and it’s amps that cause injury.
• But saying that, a long continuous series of pulses will kill wet newborn lambs (and calves) if they stumble their way and get trapped on a hot wire.
• Hot wires are also lethal to hedgehogs. Their spines hit the wire and they curl up and die. They don’t recoil back from the first shock!
• Also be aware about a bit of physics called “impedance”. This is the build up of current at the end of a very long power fence. So if you are at the very back of a hill country farm, you (or the dog) may find the fence to be a bit more than the expected 4000 volts. The dog will certainly remember the experience longer than you will!
• If the power at the end of the fence exceeds 4,000 volts, then something needs fixing

Poor fence performance checklist
Client surveys by manufacturers of power fencing have found that 40% of fences are not working to their full capacity for a number of common faults leading to low voltage. Here they are so you can check your fence:

• Poor earth. This is top of the list and most people don’t know because they are scared to grab the fence, and they don’t invest in a voltmeter to check the power and find out where the problem is. Keep checking the earth pegs and soaking them with water frequently if they are not in a wet area.
• Bad or corroded connections.
• Poor knots in wire. Don’t use reef knots; use a knot with plenty of twists to make good contact, or use the modern connections where the end of the wires lie parallel and are clinched together.
• Long lengths of wire that is too thin – restricting the power flow.
• Long distances of single-wire fence (again with poor earth).
• Rusty wire which can be a problem with salty air.
• Animals standing on dry areas (insulated) and only touching live wires and no earth wire on the fence.
• Leakage through poor insulation. Old plastic insulators that need replacing.
• Leakage through excess vegetation contacting the fence. Spray the area under the fence.
• Avoid running fences within 10m of telephone lines. Many phone lines are buried along the side of the road and may be directly under your power fence.
  

Wire spacings on power fences for sheep

Three-wire fences

• This is a low fence suitable only for internal fencing on small farms with very quiet sheep that respect a power fence.
• Posts can be up to 10m apart.
• Wire spacings from the ground upwards can be 200mm, 300mm, 350mm.
• The top wire can be set up to take current but is always kept switched off to allow safe climbing by people.
• The power in the lower two wires will keep the sheep in unless they get really short of feed or are panicked. You can always power the top wire if needed.
• This fence could be used if you run cattle as well as sheep, but another wire on the fence would be better for cattle (see below).
• It’s very low cost and low maintenance.
  

Four-wire fences

• This is suitable for internal fencing for sheep and cattle.
• Spacings between wires from the ground upwards can be 180mm, 150mm, 225mm and 350mm.
• Posts can be up to 10m apart.
• The first and third wires can be dead and the second and fourth hot.
• Or use spacings from the ground upwards of 160mm, 190mm, 250mm, 300mm.
• Alternative wires can be hot or you can make it a standard practice that all top wires are prepared to take power but are kept switched off for ease of climbing over.
• Power the top wire if you have cattle.
• Some farmers have the bottom wire dead as it is the one most easily shorted by herbage and it allows safe passage for hedgehogs.
  

Five-wire fences

• This is suitable for internal fencing for sheep and cattle.
• Spacings between wires from the ground upwards can be 150mm, 150mm, 190mm, 200mm, and 210mm.
• Posts can be up to 10m apart.
• Alternative wires can be hot or only the first and third from the ground upward.
• You can make it a standard practice that all top wires are powered but kept dead for ease of climbing over.
• Power the top wire if you have cattle.
• Some farmers have the bottom wire dead as it is the one most easily shorted by herbage and it too allows safe passage for hedgehogs.
  

Electricfied netting

• This is netting made of plastic cord into which hot wires are woven, so all of it is hot.
• It’s only a temporary fence and is very useful when controlling pasture or crops by strip grazing and other odd jobs around the farm to direct sheep for a short term.
• If it’s correctly put up and kept tight, it works well. It’s easy to move and transport, and works if no pressured from large numbers of sheep– and where sheep have been trained to respect a shock.

Extra points on power fencing

• Before you start power fencing the farm draw up a good plan so that different areas of the farm can be isolated by switches conveniently placed around the farm.
• Put gateways on high points rather than in low points where sheep may rush down hill and smother.
• If you buy sheep that are not used to power fences then they will need time to learn. Put them for a spell in a paddock with a good seven-wire fence with a hot wire about 500 mm from the ground. Leave them in there till the feed gets short and they start fancying the feed in the next paddock!
• If you have metal gates, make sure there are no leaks from the fence to the gate. Grabbing a hot gate is not a nice experience, especially if it’s your entrance one! Nicely-brought-up people say some funny things when they are surprised by 4000 volts!
  

Scrim (Hessian)

• A large roll of scrim (Hessian) has been used by shepherds to get ewes and lambs into the pens at docking for generations.
• The ewes and their small lambs cannot see through it, and apart from the ones that jump over, you can drive them into pens or yards. The skill is to keep the pressure on them and never let them have space to get a run at the fence you have created.
• So if you ever need a visual barrier, a bit of scrim is ideal, being light and not bulky when rolled up.
  

Disclaimer
This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) provided in these pages.