Key Things to Know About Electric Fencing

Key Things to Know About Electric Fencing
Here at Mytee Products, we have been working to expand our inventory of items for agricultural customers. This
includes our electric fencing inventory. Over the last few months, we have added a number of energizers and fencing
material products to the agricultural category. We hope you find them useful.
Having said all that, we know that some of the customers who purchase electric fencing materials from us are getting
into electric fencing for the first time. They are either transitioning from barbed wire to electric fencing, or they run
fairly small operations and are setting up their fences for the first time.
We want to help you make the best of your electric fencing choices. We are certainly not experts in cattle, but we do
know a bit about electric fencing. We know there are two important things you should be aware of before you begin
installing your fences:
1. Design and Layout Are Important
People unfamiliar with electric fencing do not realize that it differs considerably from barbed wire. A barbed wire fence
acts as a physical barrier to keep cattle in. As such, barbed wire fences have to be designed and laid out in such a way as
to prevent cattle from using brute strength to knock them over. Property owners have to use lots of posts and multiple
lines of wire to counteract the physical strength of cattle.
An electric fence is not a physical barrier. It is a psychological barrier. As such, it does not have to be as strong or robust
as barbed wire. But electric fencing does have to be designed in such a way as to take advantage of the psychology of
cattle, especially if you want the cattle to behave in certain ways.

For example, alleys have to be designed with a little more width when electric fencing is being used. You want alleys to
be wide enough to accommodate congestion without forcing cattle to get too close to the wires. Otherwise, traffic may
come to a standstill because cattle believe they do not have enough room to get where they are going without touching
the fence.
2. Cattle Have to Be Trained to Electric Fencing
The second thing to note is that cattle that have never been exposed to electric fencing have to be trained to it. Don’t
worry, training is neither harmful nor difficult. Most cattle can be trained in a day or so using a very simple method that
involves setting up a small training fence inside a barn or physically contained exterior yard.
The idea is to set up the temporary training fence so that there is an open way around it on one end. Then place hay on
one side and water on the other. Cattle looking to get to one or the other by going through the fence will receive an
uncomfortable reminder that touching the fence is not a good idea. They will eventually figure out that it is better to
walk around the open end to get to the hay or water.
Once an animal makes that connection, the psychological training is complete. The animal will now avoid the fence
altogether. It can be introduced to the pasture with the knowledge that the animal will not go near the permanent
fence.
Whether you own a large ranch or a small hobby farm, we have the electric fencing materials you need to keep your
cattle in. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions. We are more than happy to help you make the right
purchase decision for your needs.