Wanting to put goat fence, plus a strand or two of barbwire on my 56 acres I just purchased. How much do I need to save and expect to pay for this (labor plus materials)? I have already paid for bulldozer service to clean the perimeter for me after Easter.

If my calculations are correct, you are looking at almost 6300 feet of fence. Goat wire is in 330' rolls and is $220 a roll (give or take). 7-8 rolls if barbed wire for two strands at $40-$60 depending on brand and strength and posts. Will take about 630 posts of your choosing. You will also need corners set. They can be pipe or large posts. You will need H-braces as well. Not going to be cheap.

This doesn't answer your question but I'll say it anyway -

It won't be cheap, because it never is. A well built fence constructed with good materials a fine thing and something to take pride in. Get what you want, even if it hurts.

You could use something like this but their heads could possibly get stuck. A lot cheaper though at $145 a roll.
https://shop.mccoys.com/farm-ranch-yard/fencing/field-fence-and-wire-fence/field-fence/p.3583

6 1/2 ft treated posts are around $4.50
6 ft t-posts around $4

Check in with your local electric provider. Sometimes they have old telephone poles they don't need and those make great corner posts and braces.

I paid about $9/LF for last year for 2"x4" mesh with two strands of slick wire on top. All wood posts. The wood posts were $7-10 each so that added up quickly

I am on the outskirts of Houston so I am sure that I paid a premium but I got two bids and they were pretty much the same.

I personally like the unpeeled cedar wire posts. Still fairly cheap here http://auldcedaryard.com/price_list.html

With any fence built to contain stock let quality be your biggest deciding factor, not price or aesthetics.

A good fence is even more important if you are an absentee owner and can't check it regularly.

Your terrain will be an important factor in determining the price.

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Wanting to put goat fence, plus a strand or two of barbwire on my 56 acres I just purchased. How much do I need to save and expect to pay for this (labor plus materials)? I have already paid for bulldozer service to clean the perimeter for me after Easter.

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What are the dimensions? The length of the perimeter is highly dependent on the dimensions.

For example, 56 acres is 2,439,360 square feet. If the land is one foot wide by 2,439,360 feet long, the perimeter will be 5,878,722 feet.

If it is 1,320 feet wide, then it would be 1,848 feet long and the perimeter would be 6,336 feet.

Looks like my perimeter is 6645'. I would like to buy all the materials myself and then pay someone to work on it. I have a total of 5 corners and I assume I would need H braces wherever I put my gate. Have you all ever housed goats on your property and if so what was your preferred fence of choice? What are the pros and cons from buying T posts vs other types of stakes? What should I use for my corners? Just any general recommendations about all this would be helpful for a first time land owner. TIA.

Agrilife does an annual survey to help give a ball park guess for all custom agriculture jobs. Fencin is on page 28 I believe. As always, nothing will beat an actual on site quote.

http://agecoext.tamu.edu/resources/custom-rate-survey/

In my opinion the best net wire fencing out there is 939-12 which is 9 horizontal wires tall, which equates to 39" in height. The 12 tells you that the opening will be 12" in width. I like this wire over 6" opening wire because when goats get their heads stuck through, which they will, they have more room to get out of the fence with the 12" vs the 6". You'll still have goats get stuck no matter which one you go with, but you'll have more stuck that can't get out with the 6" than the 12".

As far as construction.....that's going to depend on where you are located. Throughout the Hill Country, I don't think you can beat modern fence building techniques which include 2 3/8" or 2 7/8" drill stem pipe for your posts and h-braces and steel t-posts for your stays. The cost is more, but the fence can be built much more quickly than using wood and will last much longer. If you're over in East Texas, I can't give you much guidance, but they tend to build fence differently in that area due to soils not holding the tension of a pipe pull as well.

As far as costs, it's going to depend on topography, etc. A good estimate for pretty much everywhere in the Hill Country for 939-12 with one strand of slick or barb on the top and one strand of slick or barb on the bottom, is around $2.50 per foot. You will get some guys that will charge a little less and some guys that charge a little more. As far as buying materials yourself and then hiring the labor, you can do that but you aren't going to get very many of the best fence builders to do that deal. You will end up hiring someone that is a jack of all trades and will build a fence on the fly. IMO, find a good fence builder and hire them to do the whole shooting match.

Depending on where you're located, I may know some folks to put you in contact with.

About 3 yrs ago I had about 1,400 yards of fence installed for $3.30 per foot. This included 5 strands of heavy gauge barbwire, 4-5" cedar posts spaced 10 feet, three medium duty gates, and heavy three-post cedar corner posts. A few months ago a different contractor installed about 1,700 yards of fence for $2.10 per foot + $145 per corner. This included one 4-5" cedar post / four t-posts with 10 foot spacing, six strands of heavy gauge barbwire, four post pipe corner posts (painted and concreted). Entrance gate not included in price. This guy also removed the old fence and cleared the fence row for an additional $0.40 per foot. I tell them I want the fence straight and tight, and make sure the posts are sunk and tamped in properly. Don't go cheap on wire, or any materials actually. Hope this is a little help.
Cool thing - we were pulling up old fence and discovered some of the wire was scutt arrow plate, made between 1878 and 1906.

I work for a fence manufacturer that specializes in fence for livestock/ag/wildlife. I spend every day talking with folks about these same type questions and scenarios from our dealers/distributors, fence contractors, and landowners/producers. I'd be happy to talk with you if you want to shoot me an email: kyle at staytuff.com

Basically the cost of installation is going to vary pretty greatly depending on where you're located, the topography of the property, the soil type, and the different contractors you talk to. Some will give you a straight up price per foot that will include everything, and others will give you a price per foot and then separately list a price per brace assembly, per gate, per creek crossing or water gap, etc. etc. etc. It's best to get a quote in writing with as much detail as possible. And always ask a fence contractor where you can see some fences that they've previously built. Any half-way decent fence contractor should gladly show off his work. If they don't want to, I'd steer clear of them.

As far as wire I would definitely recommend high tensile, Fixed Knot fence with either a Class 3 galvanized coating or a Class 40 Zinc Aluminum coating. 1348-12 is what I recommend most by far for perimeter fencing for goats. You can get it in either 330' or 660' long rolls. You don't want anything with a 6" spacing on the verticals because the goats will get their head stuck. I would stay away from low tensile wire with Class 1 galvanized coating (much thinner galvanized coating thickness) similar to what others have posted here. It is cheaper for the wire itself, but you'll need to install more posts to keep it standing up and it will not last near as long as high tensile fixed knot.

There are a few different manufacturers of quality high tensile fixed knot. I would contact them directly or find some dealers that they sell through to get specific recommendations on the wire, posts, installation, etc. and to get recommended contractors from them. Our company has a list of recommended contractors that we've worked with in the past and we know to do quality work. Other fence manufacturers will almost certainly have similar lists.

There's tons of other recommendations I can make if you're interested. It would be way too much to post here, but I'd be happy to talk with you if you're interested.

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About 3 yrs ago I had about 1,400 yards of fence installed for $3.30 per foot. This included 5 strands of heavy gauge barbwire, 4-5" cedar posts spaced 10 feet, three medium duty gates, and heavy three-post cedar corner posts. A few months ago a different contractor installed about 1,700 yards of fence for $2.10 per foot + $145 per corner. This included one 4-5" cedar post / four t-posts with 10 foot spacing, six strands of heavy gauge barbwire, four post pipe corner posts (painted and concreted). Entrance gate not included in price. This guy also removed the old fence and cleared the fence row for an additional $0.40 per foot.

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I was quoted 3.90/foot for everything recently. Cedar posts, hogwire, a strand of barb wire top, middle, and bottom, removal of old fence. So, that looks about right for what the OP should expect if he contracts it out.

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I would like to buy all the materials myself and then pay someone to work on it.

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It's always cheaper to provide your own ass wagon than rent someone else's.

I own a fence contracting company in STX. For a property of that size, the fence you want, from any reputable contractor, will cost you $3.50-$4.50 per LF. That's a turnkey price.

Worst thing you can do is try to but materials yourself and try to hire labor only. You will end up either paying more in the long run (we charge more for labor only jobs, if we even bid them, bc the client NEVER gets the materials right, meaning it slows you down) or you will only get the lesser contractors who are willing to put up with that BS. Any larger fence contractor is getting a discount from what you would pay for the same materials (I don't care who you know who works at Mccoys/MG/etc), meaning after they are their markup, you are still getting it as cheap or cheaper than paying for it yourself.

Find a reputable contracto and pay their price, even it it's 10-20 percent higher. One with insurance and an office. Either that or be ready to accept the risk that they may leave you in the middle of the job, possibly with your money in hand.

Geronimo, do you work for Stay Tuff?

I have goats and am constantly building fence to replace old fence. I really like Stay Tuff and use the 1348-12 and the 949-12. More expensive but will last a lot longer and fewer problems. Better investment overall. As for cost we are materials only because we are building it ourselves. Rule of thumb in that area though is $5 /ft to be on safe side. We have a lot of rock that a standard auger won't dig. A Beltec auger is needed (or a jackhammer and a lot of sweat) to place most of the posts. For that much work I am going to hang the good stuff.

Agree with some earlier posters that trying to do a job this size yourself could wind up costing more in the long run than contracting it out. I would think the best way to find a reputable fence builder in your area is to ask the surrounding property owners, especially the ones who have been around for a while. Local feed stores, dozer contractors, etc. would probably be other good sources. These sources should be able to steer you to someone that has been building fence in the area for a while, has a good reputation, and charges a reasonable price. Like someone said before, would be good to look at some of their previous jobs to see what kind of work they do.

http://acme.com/planimeter/

http://www.rangemasterfence.com/acreage_guide.html

Do your research on which brand is best for your situation and DON'T necessarily go with cheapest! You already have some solid advice from others here.

I agree with earlier posters if doing entire new fence.....go with reputable fence builder. If repairing sections at a time....... you can do it over several long weekends (IF you want to take a DIY approach)

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Geronimo, do you work for Stay Tuff?

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Sorry, I had a ton of stuff going on yesterday evening and didn't see this til now.

Yes I work for Stay-Tuff in our New Braunfels office.

Cool. We are a dealer and contractor in CC. Howard A is our sales rep.

It took me 7 months to fence my 63 acres. I did 90% of the job by myself. Well, I had a tractor and post hole digger. I am very proud of my work.