For a cattle pasture, the choice usually comes down to woven field fence or strands of barbed wire. Both work. They fit different jobs, and plenty of operations use both on the same property.
Barbed wire
Several strands of barbed wire, commonly four or five, stretched between posts. It’s the long-standing choice for cattle on big acreage.
- Where it fits: large pastures and long straight runs where only cattle need holding.
- Strengths: less material per foot and fast to run over long distances.
- Limits: won’t hold goats, sheep or small calves well, and it’s a poor choice anywhere near horses.
Woven field fence
A woven wire mesh, usually on steel T-posts with wood posts at the corners. Spacing is tighter at the bottom and wider at the top.
- Where it fits: mixed livestock, calves, smaller pastures, along roads, and anywhere you also want to keep dogs or hogs out.
- Strengths: holds almost anything and gives a visible barrier animals respect.
- Limits: more material per foot, and it takes more work to stretch tight on uneven ground.
Many operations use both
A common setup is field fence along the road and around working pens, with barbed wire on the back pasture. A strand of barbed wire along the top of field fence keeps cattle from leaning over and mashing it down.
Corners and braces carry the fence
Whatever wire you choose, the fence is only as good as its corners. Stretched wire puts constant tension on every end, corner and gate post. H-braces at those points keep the line tight. When a pasture fence sags, the cause is usually a corner brace that moved, not the wire.
- Use treated wood posts rated for ground contact at corners and braces.
- Set corner posts deeper than line posts.
- Walk the line after heavy rain. Wet ground lets posts lean.
Low, wet ground
Much of Acadiana pasture holds water. Plan for posts in soft ground, crossings at ditches and coulees, and water gaps where the fence crosses a drain, so debris doesn’t take the fence out in the next big rain.
Have this ready for an estimate
- What the fence has to hold: cattle only, or calves, goats or horses too
- Total footage, or acreage and a rough shape
- Number of gates and how wide
- Whether the line needs clearing first
- Installed, or materials only for your own crew
Fencing a pasture?
Send the footage and a local pro or supplier will follow up with current pricing. See our farm & ranch fence page for types and what goes into a materials order.