Cattle panels and hog panels

I am looking at panels sold by our local supply store and they have narrower spacing on one side...which makes total sense from a livestock perspective, but not so desirable from a SFG perspective.

http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-4057-ok-brand-14ga-16-hog-panel.aspx
http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-4049-ok-brand-max-50-10-cattle-fence-panel-1050-8-4ga-16.aspx

Does anyone know if panels like this are available without this narrowing of the spacing? I don't want to spent a fortune on a big roll of agricultural fencing. Or is the variable spacing just not a big deal? I'd like to hear from people who have used them in their gardens!

If you have Tractor Supply in your area

http://www.tractorsupply.com/fencing/feedlot-panels/feedlot-panel-cattle-16-ft--3502077

Woot, there is one in Warrenton! THANK YOU!!!

Megan wrote:Woot, there is one in Warrenton! THANK YOU!!!

Your welcome... gotta love the farm stores. So waiting for the chickens to come in... will by some special from catalog but I love those cute little fluffy peeps running around the water troughs. Maybe even a couple quackers too.

I had a flock of hens when I was little. Wish I could have them here, but it's a no-go due to town ordinances. I'm so happy for you, though!

I use the fencing you originally posted, Megan, and by the time the plants are tall enough to need to train, the spacing is wide enough. I use them for my peas and I'm going to make an arch for beans like chocolatepop did too

We're going to get a couple of hens this spring, but Eliot Coleman actually prefers ducks because they don't scratch but they eat lots of pests. It's tempting to get both!

Thanks, miinva. I'm really tempted to do an arch, too, but I have to plan everything out first. Good luck with your hens!

miinva wrote:
We're going to get a couple of hens this spring, but Eliot Coleman actually prefers ducks because they don't scratch but they eat lots of pests. It's tempting to get both!

I don't know what it is but there is something about chickens I just love (maybe its the drumstick ) I'm looking forward to lots and lots of eggs. My chickens will have 80acres to run and frolic and be eaten by coyotes. Any chickens disturbing the garden will be eaten by me. Though I know they are good for cleaning up the garden in fall. I do want some ducks too but may have to forgo them in favor of gunieas. They are the ugliest and funniest creatures I have ever seen. My neighbor has a couple dozen and they love going into the horse pasture. I'm hoping they'll help with the fly and tick population this summer.

We tried guineas but they didn't last a month. They were just too stupid to stay home Not to mention they're a walking food group...

miinva wrote:We tried guineas but they didn't last a month. They were just too stupid to stay home Not to mention they're a walking food group...

a good friend of mine has guineas and you can go out to their house in the summer time and sit on the porch in the evening and never have a single mosquito touch you and they live right next to a river with water everywhere. They do however have to replace more than a few of them every year because the coyotes get them. During the winter the stupid things wander down into the timber where they stay most of the winter and in the spring they come back up. Stupid birds.

Yeah, the neighbors guineas aren't too bright either. They are the worst possible parents. I've seen at least eight babies starting out (this is when their old enough to follow mom over hill and dale) and only one or two end up adults. Interestingly the population never seems to increase or decrease, though they do change color

From what I understand they're wonderful for tick control and I read that they do better sticking around one place if there's a flock of chickens to guide them? Who knows We may try them again, but it was pretty heart-breaking having them disappear one at a time. I get too attached to my animals.

Just catching back up after a weekend away.

Megan, are you talking about standard livestock panels?

Different companies may make them differently, but in my area, regarding 16-ft. long livestock panels, - 4 ft high hog panels are the only ones I see that have the narrower weaves at the bottom. Those are designed to keep small pigs from getting out. By the time they are tall enough to get over the narrow weave, they are too large to fit between the spaces.

5-ft. tall cattle panels usually do not have the narrow weaves at the bottom.

There is a type of combination panel that is 5-ft tall with the narrow weaves at the bottom, which serves for either breed of livestock, but they cost more.

There are also 6-ft tall horse panels that do not have the narrow bands.

In my area, hog panels cost around $15, cattle panels are $18, combinations are $23, give or take a dollar or two.

I used hog panels and had no problem at all with the narrow weave at the bottom because it did not extend far enough up the panel to interfere with the interweaving of the plants. (Unfortunately it also did not extend far enough up to deter rabbits, cats, and groundhogs, either. It did keep the dogs out, but then again our dogs aren't the brightest canines in the kennel.)

Another question about galvanized wire cattle and hog panels: How are they sold? Are they flat, or rolled up? (I'd imagine if rolled up, they straighten out explosively when you cut the bands?) Is the length typically 16 feet? That's what I've seen so far from Googling.

-M,

They come in sheet or roll, depending on the gauge of the wire used. Typically when you get into 4-gauge (.225") or higher wire diameters of welded wire mesh, or your mesh spacing is under 2" on center, it requires specialized rolling equipment and freight arrangements (dedicated flatbed trailer) and is prohibitive to produce in rolls (product cost is under $.50/sf, but the dedicated flatbed freight is $1,800-$2,100 ..... so your freight cost more than the product, if your purchasing anything under full truckloads).

The 16' panel size is based on;
A) 4' or 8' post centers for fencing
B) LTL (Conway, Roadway, Yellow, etc) freight carriers charge "exclusive use" upcharges, if you take up more than 16' of the truck with the items you shipping. The 16' panel size allows for LTL freight distribution to consumers with less than truckload needs/consumption.

There are also variations based on horizontal (flooring) and vertical (fencing) end-use.

As mentioned above, the different spacing is for younger livestock (the pattern is often called "baby-saver" on verticals and the name for the flooring escapes me at the moment.

The flooring spec was originally designated for hog-flooring, but was adopted by other livestock industries shortly therafter.

If you can tell me what size you are looking for, and what mesh spacing, I can point you to a domestic manufacturer & they usually identify their distributors on their website (I don't deal with the agricultural products by choice, due to the low profit/high volume nature of the product).

Holy cow. Thank you for the expert advice, Acara!

I need just one, and I don't mind whether it's a baby-saver or not (though I'd prefer not, if cost is same.) For mesh spacing, somewhere around 6", so I can reach through it easily. I'd like to make an arbor-trellis with it by bending it into a U-shape.... but if it's sold flat, I will have trouble getting it home. (We do have a pickup truck, so a single, rolled panel would not be a problem.) I think a 20' foot section would be a little nicer for a trellis... I could cut that down to have two uprights I could walk under without ducking (I'm 6') and span a 3-ft crosswise path underneath.

Honestly, concrete reinforcing mesh is probably a more cost effective option ....simply because the box stores carry them. 5' x 150' roll is about $70.00 in plain steel. But the manufacturer who services Home Depot & Lowes is either Insteel out of Mt. Airy, NC or Oklahoma Steel ..... and they also make 5 x 10' panels for their distributors ...and they probably retail for under $30.00/panel.


It's not as pretty as cattle panels, but once it's overgrown, it shouldn't make much difference

You want to ask for 6/6 10/10 CRM (6" mesh, square, 10 gauge wire (.135") in both directions), or 6/6 4/4 (6" mesh, 4 gauge wire (.225"))

If the box stores don't have it, it looks like Winchester Metals might ... http://www.winchestermetals.com/


Sorry if thats nowhere near you..... my VA geography sucks ..... unless it's related to a bar or den of inquity within 5 miles of the naval bases

Thanks very much!

...and if price is no object ..... I can show you where to get a trellis in the shape of your name, in script, in 20' tall letters, with blinking lights, in your choice of colors ...... for the low-low price of around $70.00/square foot ..... installed with 5 year warranty ....

Really

Oh my gosh, my son would LOVE a trellis in his name! *giggle* It's only three letters... *wondering how I could save up enough to buy one*

Megan wrote: I'd like to make an arbor-trellis with it by bending it into a U-shape.... but if it's sold flat, I will have trouble getting it home. (We do have a pickup truck, so a single, rolled panel would not be a problem.)

We buy the flat 16' hog or cattle panels and arch them over the inside of the pickup bed for transporting. It always looks to me like an accident waiting to happen, but Hubby has done it this way for years without problems. He usually shoves bags of feed against them to help stabilize them.