Farm & Ranch Fence
Field Fence Installation
Woven wire with graduated openings, stretched on braced corners with T-posts or wood line posts. The all-purpose fence for goats, sheep, cattle, dogs and mixed acreage.
Field fence is woven wire with openings that are small at the bottom and larger at the top, so it holds the animals that go under and over a fence as well as the ones that walk through. It is the fence for a small acreage with a mix of stock, for goats and sheep that laugh at barbed wire, for keeping the neighbor's dogs out and yours in, and for the hobby farms and lake-area homesteads that make up so much of Polk and San Jacinto County. We build it on T-posts or wood, on H-braced corners, and stretched tight enough that it does not sag between posts.
Where field fence fits
- Goats and sheep. The small bottom openings are what hold them. Four-inch openings at the bottom for goats; standard graduated mesh for sheep.
- Cattle on smaller pastures, often topped with a strand of barbed wire so they do not lean it over.
- Mixed stock and hobby farms. See setting up paddocks for a small hobby farm.
- Dogs and property lines on acreage where a yard fence would look wrong.
- Behind a split rail or cross buck fence to make a decorative fence hold animals. See cedar split rail.
How we build it
Field fence pulls on its corners even harder than barbed wire, because the whole woven sheet is under tension at once. Everything starts with the braces: heavy wood posts set deep, built into H-brace assemblies at every corner, end, gate and at the bottom of any dip. Line posts are T-posts on eight- to ten-foot centers or wood posts where the owner wants the look, with posts added at every change in grade. The roll is unrolled along the line, stood up, and stretched with a fence stretcher bar that pulls the whole height evenly, so the top does not get tight while the bottom bellies. Then it is clipped to every T-post and stapled to the wood, and the top is finished with a strand of barbed or smooth wire where cattle are involved. Why field fence, and how to build it right covers each step.
Wire choices
Standard field fence is 12½-gauge galvanized with a hinge-joint or fixed-knot weave; fixed knot holds its shape better under cattle pressure and costs a little more. Goat and sheep fence has four-inch openings at the bottom. No-climb horse fence has two-by-four openings all the way up and belongs on any pasture with horses. Taller rolls, six to eight feet, are built as deer fence and game fence. All of it is Class 3 galvanized for the lake humidity.
Gates and repairs
Tube gates hung on heavy posts for drives and pastures, and smaller walk gates at the barn and the house. For repairs we splice new wire into sound fence, re-stretch sagging runs, and rebuild the corners that let them sag in the first place. See gates and fence repair.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between field fence and no-climb?
Field fence has graduated openings, small at the bottom and larger at the top. No-climb has small openings all the way up so a hoof cannot go through it; it is the horse version and costs more.
How tall is field fence?
The common roll is about four feet, often topped with a strand of barbed wire or electric to stop cattle from leaning over it. Taller rolls are used for goats that climb and for deer. See our deer fence page.
Can field fence be stretched over hills and dips?
Yes, but it needs posts at every change in grade and a brace at the bottom of a dip so the fence does not lift. A roll of field fence stretched across a hollow without a tie-down will pull its posts up.
Ready to price field fence?
Tell us about the project and we will set up a free on-site estimate. Or just call: we answer the phone.