High Tensile Fencing Project

This Land Doctors update shows Kelly building his first high-tensile fence for his free range chicken and pig operation.

[@kevinmcmaster9872]

Awesome video! Showed the important details without 20 minutes of talking

[@juliefreeman4793]

Great video! My husband and I are looking to put up a fence and while looking at our options came across this video. I have to say, best. video. ever!

[@TheLandDoctors]

I'll take that kind of feedback any day!!! Thanks so much. Let me know if you need any insight, I've made lots of mistakes and don't mind sharing so that you can avoid some of them. landdoctors.com

[@juliefreeman4793]

Great, thanks! I may take you up on that. We just bought our tensile wire yesterday... so it's just about time to get started!

[@Earlthepear69]

He did a good job.......

[@Bisonribs]

Thanks for the great info and video.

[@Suburbanstoneage]

Thank you, this is very helpful! It was interesting to see how that tensioner worked. It is different than other ones I've seen. It was also good to know that you could do it by yourself, as I will be putting fencing in by myself as well. Thanks again!

[@lonnielane8055]

Where did you get your tighteners

[@mikeluxton9969]

Absolutely one of the best fencing videos I've watched! I'd give you an A+ for humor on the"modest" comment as well.

[@virgilfisher1869]

An old carpenter taught me about a story stick, I love using mine for fencing. And the best thing about them is I make mine out of just a stick and a marker, so I do not mind loosing mine too to often.

[@maggieromage9113]

Wow, thank you..feel like learning curve decreased greatly by just watching!! You made a project I was dreading, very do-able My husband and I have to work together in next few days to set up our first high tensile...you really helped a lot, Thanks!

[@jordonbaker1100]

Great video. You have a natural personality for the camera. Thanks for the informative video!!!!

[@TheLandDoctors]

Thanks! i really appreciate your comment.

[@ArkansasPrepper]

Excellent video!

[@patholmgren91]

Great video...we will be using high tensile fencing for our horse pasture next spring...glad to see how easy it will be to set up!

[@cloudhidden1196]

Thumbs up for "May for the force be with you." LOL.

[@TheLandDoctors]

+cloudhidden Being able to be as goofy as we want is one of the perks of not having sponsors.

[@cloudhidden1196]

+The Land Doctors Ha, well thanks for posting. And stay modest ;).

[@arnoldromppai5395]

keep in mind this only works on flood plans flat as the moon, but here were the land is rolling hills and nobs it take a whole different game

[@TheLandDoctors]

That is absolutely correct. You have to tighten up the spacing when you have undulating ground.

[@tameraabate6158]

Great video! Thanks!

[@jbhoopes]

Great video....and nice throw

[@TheLandDoctors]

Nailed the throw!!!

[@BB-kp9xh]

Excellent video

[@jbaker4900]

If there is a next time. Try tying the loose wire to the end post and keep the Jenny in the UTV. You might find it easier.

[@TheLandDoctors]

I tried that and didn't have a good way of securing the jenny in the bed of the ATV. It would work great until it snagged and then it would jerk the jenny out of the bed. If I had a framework to hold it securely, then it would work great.

[@Gchupp]

really enjoyed the video. informative and laid back. will use your tips as im ready to tackle my first hi tensile system

[@Accumulator1]

Unless the end bracing posts are cemented in rock deep, the tension of that heavy guage wire and that many will cause the wire to loosen up repeatedly. Might as well use rolls of fence netting and add an electric wire or two. Coyotes on the run at night will get thru that also. The electric wire gets inefficient with tall grass contact, especially when wet.

[@TheLandDoctors]

I had to tighten my top strand one time and since then it hasn't moved. No coyote problems at all and we have a ton of them around here. I keep the grass off the wire by weedeating and spraying.

[@Accumulator1]

I have too much failure with the lighter gauge wire on my inner fences. Stretches and gets broken easy. Only thing it does not require heavy posts. Use rebar and a few T- posts at corners and ends. The Red Brand wire I got from TSC rusts very fast. I like that heavy gauge wire you use especially if it is Class 3 galv. In my soil, I would have to use double H bracing for support posts. Too many coyotes here too. Don't think I could free range chickens. Too many owls and hawks around.

[@123STEP23]

Be nice if you could show the grounding and how you jump you hot wires snd ground the non hot wires .

[@TheLandDoctors]

I just used a small piece of insulated wire to jump from one hot to the next. The grounding was done by attaching the same type of insulated wire to a clamp on a 8 ft ground rod.

[@jamesanthonyclemons8031]

Great job !loved the throw. ..

[@TimeCapsule05]

Great video. Thank you! We will be raising goats. 2 questions: What size of wire would you recommend? #9 or smaller? Also, how many inches in between each wire strand on the post? BTW: Nice job on tossing the pliers, at 17:05. You may want to think about the Olympics.

[@TheLandDoctors]

I actually don't remember what size wire I used. I just know its heavy and very stiff. As far as spacing, at the bottom, I started at about 5 or 6 inches apart and increased the spacing as I got higher. My reasoning was that they'd try to slip through at a lower height and wouldn't likely try to jump through. It has worked great. Zero problems. I even had a huge tree fall across it and it didn't even break the fence. I pulled the tree off and the fence sprang back up just like nothing ever happened.

[@get8bit]

Why did you use so many strands as ground only? I thought they should all be hot and only the charger connects to the ground rods.

[@TheLandDoctors]

On dry soil, the animals feet sometimes don't ground them very well and so they don't get a shock. However, if you ground every other strand, they will get a pop when then try to stick their head through....

[@joshblack1406]

Great video. You answered alot of my questions as my wife and I are newbies to horse fencing and we have a couple pastures to fence in soon. Can you really space the t posts that much? Everyone keeps telling me no less than 12 feet

[@TheLandDoctors]

Yes, with high tensile wire you can really cut back on the t-posts needed if you are on level ground. I space mine 25 to 30 feet apart and tighten the wire down to about a D-sharp banjo note when I pluck them. But you better have your corner posts in good and deep if you do that. Otherwise, it will pull them right out of the ground. Premiere fence supply is the place to go to find the insulator tubing for the end posts.

[@joshblack1406]

Ok thanks. good to know. that'll really cut down our t post cost

[@joshblack1406]

also what's the name of that style fence stretcher? that looks way more slick than the donald style ratcheting strainers

[@TheLandDoctors]

Its the basic in-line tensioner or strainer that Premiere sells. When you get on their website and start selecting electric fence components, it will usually pop up as a suggested item.

[@geobert7637]

@@TheLandDoctors do you need the streatcher with the gripels?

[@TheKajunkat]

Did you use a double ended spring on one end? If not, why? I thought you needed that to set the tension, keep it tight and give it a little "give" when something tries to power through. Great video by the way, even better than the fence manufacture's stuff. Oh, and as to being modest I would be in the "measure twice cut once" category :)

[@TheLandDoctors]

I didn't use a spring because I had 1/2 mile long runs. With that length, it can naturally stretch and rebound if something tries to ram through it. I've seen 350 pound pigs hit it, stretch it like a rubber band and then get thrown back as it rebounds.

[@jpearson5]

Any issues with chickens escaping the fence? How far off the ground is the bottom wire and what's the space between all the wires? I'm hoping to contain goats and chickens with this type of high tensile electric fence. Thanks!

[@TheLandDoctors]

chickens will walk right through it. You would need to go with the netting to keep them in.

[@skd5432]

Are these insulator tubes the same one for drip irrigation!? The extension tubes of 3mm/4mm !?!

[@TheLandDoctors]

I don't think so. The ones I buy are advertised as electric fence insulators. Drip irrigation products could work, just never thought about it.

[@nhcrazyacres]

Could you tell me exactly what you used to stretch the wire? Thanks so much!! Found it!! Such a great video, thanks for posting.

[@TheLandDoctors]

Thanks! Here is a link to what I used to stretch it with. Its just a simple in-line strainer....www.premier1supplies.com/p/round-in-line-strainer-handle?cat_id=51

[@PerimeterPermaculture]

ONe of the best instructional videos I ever watched! Just sub'd!

[@TheLandDoctors]

Thanks so much for saying so!

[@kevincampbell375]

Great video, very informative. My question is, did you tighten the wire at the beginning/end or in the middle of your run?

[@TheLandDoctors]

I tightened at the middle of the run. You probably could tighten anywhere since it was all one continuous run.

[@lonnielane8055]

Where did u get your tightners

[@vaggeto]

Great video, thanks! Would this work well to keep chickens and goats?

[@TheLandDoctors]

Yes, I now have 32 goats and 5 sheep in this pasture. Works great.

[@vaggeto]

The Land Doctors thanks! Any idea about chickens? Obviously they could squeeze through but not sure if the zap is too much to hurt them while strong enough for goats.

[@TheLandDoctors]

In my experience with chickens, once you have them trained to a roost, they won't stray too awfully far from it. So the fence is mainly a means to keep predators away. If you have a mobile roost (wagon), you can move it around your pasture and let them free range on new areas.

[@OfficialMixture]

2:15 really good defence against predators. Have you got ant livestock guardian dogs?

[@TheLandDoctors]

Just one lab puppy and a lap dog...

[@michaelflores9796]

Does a high tensile fence need to be in a straight line? My property lines look like a snake.

[@TheLandDoctors]

No, you can make all kinds of angles but you just have to build some strong corner braces at every turn.

[@yorkb7441]

Great Video!! Did you use any wood posts in with your t-posts? Some things I read say to use a wood post every 150 feet. Thanks

[@TheLandDoctors]

I just used them in the braces at the corners. So each corner had three 8 ft long, 8 inch diameter treated posts sunk in an L shape with a brace running between them to tie it all together. The most time consuming part of the project, especially digging 4 ft deep holes with post hole diggers!

[@joshblack1406]

Where do you get that rubber hose stuff that your using on corner posts? Or what's the technical term for it? Ive looked all over and can't find that stuff

[@TheLandDoctors]

premiere fence supply has a great website where you can buy electric fence tubing.

[@markblas7595]

Thanks for vid!

[@stonebakedaquagardens6498]

How do you keep electrified wire from contacting the brace wire?

[@TheLandDoctors]

It's close but there is a little separation. The brace wire wraps around each post and basically extends from one post to the other more or less along the center line of the post. The hot wires wrap around the outside of the post and run along a plane that extends along the outside of the post. There is about a one inch separation. I've had a couple of brace wires that wouldn't cooperate and they keep rolling out to touch the hot wires. In those cases, I cut an old piece of garden hose and put over the brace wire to insulate it from the hot wire.

[@stonebakedaquagardens6498]

@@TheLandDoctors I still don't understand. when I come off of the H brace with one of those round insulators, what keeps the insulator pulling tward the outside of the post, instead of pulling up close to the brace wire, especially at the top and bottom hot wire? I wish there was a video anywhere that shows this step by step from start to finish.

[@TheLandDoctors]

@@stonebakedaquagardens6498 call me at 580 421 7515 and we can try to talk through it.