Planning of an Electric Fence on Difficult Terrain

Porcelain reels used to carry wires through a dog leg in the fence

Undulating ground

If possible, construct your fence where you can avoid rough, stony, broken, steep areas. You can zig-zag a little rather than go straight over places that may need levelling or may need extra posts and tie-downs, and possibly more maintenance.

Remember that animals are likely to walk along the fence line, so you can prevent erosion by not fencing straight up a hill face. For example, use short wing fences or fence steep slopes on an angle so water can flow under the fence.

Hollows

You need to anchor posts in hollows because wires tend to pull them out.You could drive in a post at an angle. Use a steel anchor post or a high density hardwood with no sapwood (for example, ironbark) and then wire it to the line post.

Just how deep you need the stake depends on how soft the ground is when it is wet if it gets soft then drive the post in deep. A wire connection from the fence earth wire to the stake makes it serve the double purpose of holding down the stake and earthing the fence.

Ridges and Humps

On ridges and humps the wires tend to push the posts into the ground. If the ground becomes soft when wet you need something to stop the posts from sinking. For example, you could use a short length of 100 mm x 50 mm treated timber bolted to the post at ground level. The length you need depends on how soft the ground is.

Floodways, creeks and dams

You need a more rigid structure for a gully that is normally dry and big enough for stock to walk into. This structure can be a separate electric fence connected only electrically to the main fence. Floods can wash thissection away and you can rebuild it later. The main fence remains undamaged.

Separate fence that can collect debris or wash away in flood and be rebuilt later. Insulated wires are used to connect the flood fence. They are lightly twisted onto the fence so that they can pull off when the fence goes.

You can get electrical isolating devices (floodgate controllers or energy limiters) so the main section of fence doesn’t short out during flood times. Alternatively, you can use isolating switches next to the flood section.