4,777 answers about horses & farm animals
Horses and farm animals run on routine — feeding schedules, hoof and health care, safe fencing and calm handling, in all weather. This page gathers the horse and farm animal library of KinsLe Answers in one place, organized by topic from daily care to travel and senior animals. Every answer is original, written by KinsLe, and tied to a real KinsLe feature.
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615 answers in Home & Lifestyle — page 15 of 26
Alpine goats winter well in a dry barn or sturdy shed that is draught-free where the goats sleep but ventilated up high, because this hardy dairy breed tolerates cold and suffers instead from wet bedding, damp air, and wind at floor level. Give them deep straw to nest into and raised platforms or benches, which…
Alpacas handle cold far better than wet and wind, thanks to their dense fleece, so winter shelter means an open-fronted, three-sided structure that blocks the prevailing wind, keeps rain and snow off, and lets the herd come and go freely rather than a closed, heated barn. Deep dry bedding matters because alpacas rest…
Yorkshire fencing has to solve the pig first: a large, powerful breed that roots under fence lines and lifts light mesh with its snout, escaping into exactly the danger the fence was meant to exclude. Rigid livestock panels or strong woven wire, pinned down with a buried mesh skirt or a low inside electric strand at…
Suffolks are large, fast-growing meat sheep, and their fencing needs woven wire strong enough to hold a heavy flock that surges together, with lower mesh small enough to contain lambs that are on their feet and exploring within hours. An offset electric strand on the outside is what actually stops a coyote or loose…
Silkies need the most complete enclosure of any common chicken breed, because their fluffy plumage is not waterproof, their crests block their upward view, and they essentially cannot fly. A fully covered run of fine hardware cloth on every side including the top, a mesh apron against diggers, and a dry, draught-free…
Saanens are among the largest dairy goats, tall and long-legged with the reach to stand against a fence and the weight to bow a weak one, so they need the tallest, tightest woven wire you would build for any goat. Small lower mesh keeps kids from slipping or sticking, an inside strand discourages the herd from leaning…
Rhode Island Reds are hardier and more active than the heavy breeds, and younger birds can fly surprisingly well, so their run needs height and overhead cover as much as ground-level strength. Fine hardware cloth, a mesh apron against digging foxes and dogs, and netting or a roof over the top stop hawks and climbing…
Pekins are heavy white ducks that cannot fly at all, so a fence has to do everything: fine hardware cloth a raccoon cannot reach through, an apron of mesh at ground level to defeat digging, and a solid night house the flock is locked into every evening without exception. Their pond complicates things, because open…
Orpingtons are heavy, docile hens that barely fly, so their protection has to come entirely from the enclosure: fine hardware cloth rather than wide chicken wire, a covered run, and a skirt of mesh laid outward at ground level to stop digging. Raccoons can reach through coarse wire and pull a sleeping hen apart at the…
Nubians are big, strong dairy goats that rear up on fencing, lean their full weight into it, and can clear a low line when something spooks the herd, so their fence has to be both predator-proof and goat-proof. Sturdy woven wire with small lower openings, well-braced corners, and an electric strand inside to stop…
Nigerian Dwarfs need finer mesh than standard livestock fencing because their kids are tiny enough to slip through openings that would stop a full-size goat, and adults are athletic climbers who test every corner. Use woven wire or welded panels with small openings, enough height to discourage a coyote, and an outward…
Merinos need woven-wire field fencing, not rails or plain strands that a dog or coyote can slip through, with mesh small enough at the bottom that a young lamb cannot push its head and shoulders through. Add one offset electric strand on the outside, low enough to meet a predator's nose before it starts digging or…
Llamas are usually the guardians rather than the guarded, and healthy adults deter coyotes well, but they still need sound perimeter fencing: woven wire or smooth high-tensile strands tall enough for a large animal, with no barbed wire that can tear skin and catch in fibre. The animals genuinely at risk are crias,…
Leghorns are light, flighty chickens, so they need an enclosed run rather than an open fence: hardware cloth walls and a covered top, because Leghorns can fly out over ordinary fencing and hawks can drop in. Use small-opening hardware cloth a raccoon cannot reach through, a buried or outward skirt against digging, and…
LaManchas need fencing that solves goats first and predators second: tall, tight woven wire or goat panels they cannot climb, squeeze, or push their distinctive earless heads through, because a goat outside the fence has no protection at all. On the outside, an electric offset strand and a ground-level apron or tight…
KuneKunes are small, placid grazing pigs, and their modest size means a determined dog or coyote is a real threat rather than a nuisance, so they need a proper barrier: sturdy mesh or panels low and tight to the ground, with an electric strand inside at snout height and one outside for predators. Unlike bigger pigs…
Khaki Campbells need a fully enclosed run, not just a fence: hardware cloth with small openings on the sides and over the top, a skirt buried or turned outward against digging foxes, and a solid night house that locks. Chicken wire keeps ducks in but lets raccoons reach through and stops nothing determined, so it is…
Katahdins are athletic hair sheep that can jump and scramble more than heavy wool breeds, so their predator fencing needs both height and tightness: woven wire tall enough to discourage climbing, small mesh low down for lambs, and a hot offset strand outside to stop coyotes and dogs before they test the mesh. Electric…
Jerseys are smaller and more nimble than the big dairy breeds, so their fencing needs lower, closer-spaced strands or mesh that a coyote cannot duck under and a Jersey calf cannot slip through. Protect the calf pens and the close-up calving pen with fine mesh to the ground, and do not rely on a wide-spaced fence built…
For Holsteins, protect two groups differently: the milking herd behind a solid multi-strand electric or woven perimeter, and calves in hutches or a calf yard behind fine mesh a coyote or dog cannot reach through. Dairy calves are raised apart from their mothers, so they have no cow standing guard — the calf yard fence…
Healthy adult Herefords are seldom at risk, so predator fencing for this beef breed is really calf fencing: a sound multi-strand or woven-wire perimeter, with calving pastures close to the house fenced tightest of all. High-tensile electric strands spaced closer at the lower levels stop coyotes slipping through to…
Adult Durocs are big, confident pigs that few predators will challenge, so fencing here is mainly about piglets and about stopping the pigs themselves from rooting under and weakening the barrier. Use rigid hog panels or strong woven wire, a buried skirt or ground-level electric strand inside to stop rooting, and an…
Dorsets are best protected by close-meshed woven wire with a buried or outward-turned apron where dogs dig, plus an outside electric strand that teaches coyotes to stop before they reach the mesh. Because Dorsets often lamb out of season, a secure night pen near the barn matters as much as the pasture fence itself.…
Dorpers need woven wire that a coyote or stray dog cannot push under, climb through, or dig past, with the bottom wire kept tight to the ground and an electrified offset strand on the outside at nose height. Lambs are the real target, so lambing paddocks deserve the tightest mesh and a gate that latches flush. Walk…
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