Garden Fencing Calculator
Fencing feet, line posts, and total material cost for a rectangular garden or orchard fence by fence type.
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Livestock Fencing Calculator
Turn paddock acreage and shape into perimeter, panels, posts, strand footage and a species-based barrier height recommendation.
Livestock Fencing Calculator
Chlorova · updated for 2026
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Click “Calculate” to see your results.
This assumes a rectangular paddock of the stated area and ratio, which real fields rarely are, so walk any irregular boundary with a measuring wheel or a satellite outline before ordering. Height, strand and spacing figures are working containment guidance, and local ordinance, roadside setback rules, wind load, snow depth and your own animals' behaviour outrank them. Gate hardware, corner bracing and ground conditions commonly add the most to a fence bill, and none of that is in the panel count. Check local code before electrifying any fence that touches a public boundary.
Fencing bills are paid in feet, not in acres, and that is why so many paddock budgets go wrong. An acre is 43,560 square feet of ground, but the barrier around it depends on the shape you choose, the animal you keep and the gates you need to drive through. This calculator turns acreage into side lengths, side lengths into perimeter, and perimeter into panels, posts, strands and a recommended barrier height, so you can price the fence before someone prices it for you.
From Acreage to a Shopping List
- Choose the animal, since height, strands and post spacing follow it.
- Enter the paddock area in acres, including trough and shade space.
- Set the side ratio: 1 for a square, 2 for a doubled rectangle.
- Enter the panel length the supplier actually stocks.
- Count the gates you will genuinely drive or walk through.
- Enter gate width, since a vehicle gate costs two extra posts.
- Read the perimeter line before comparing any two quotes.
- Check the shape penalty against the square version of the field.
- Add corner and gate braces to the post list before ordering.
- Round strand footage up five per cent for ties and strainers.
Perimeter Is the Whole Bill
Area in square feet is acres times 43,560. For a rectangle whose long side is r times its short side, the short side is the square root of area divided by r, the long side is that times r, and perimeter is twice their sum. A square acre measures 208.7 ft on each side and needs 835 ft of fence, while the same acre stretched to a 1:2 rectangle demands about 912 ft, which is nine per cent more steel for identical ground.
Panels come from dividing the fenced length, perimeter less gate openings, by the panel you can buy, and posts from dividing it by the spacing your species needs. Strand footage is the fenced length multiplied by the number of horizontal courses, which is where a multi-wire fence becomes expensive quickly. A circle would enclose that same acre in about 740 ft, and the shape penalty line prints exactly what your awkward boundary costs you.
Worked Example: One Square Acre for Goats
- Select goats, at 60 in of height and five strands.
- Enter 1 acre and a side ratio of 1 for a square.
- Area converts to 43,560 sq ft of ground.
- The square root gives sides of 208.7 ft each.
- Perimeter therefore reads 834.8 ft of barrier.
- Two 12 ft gates drop the fenced length to 810.8 ft.
- At 16 ft per panel, that is 51 panels to order.
- Posts at 8 ft spacing come to 103 line posts.
- Five strands over 810.8 ft means 4,054 ft of wire.
- Add eight corner and gate braces, then compare 739.9 ft for a circle.
Barrier Height by Animal
Working figures for containment and predator pressure. Local rules, wind load and the behaviour of your own animals all outrank any table.
| Animal | Height | Strands | Post spacing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poultry | 72 in | 6 | Netting panels |
| Goats | 60 in | 5 | 8 ft |
| Sheep | 48 in | 5 | 10 ft |
| Pigs | 40 in | 4 | 24 ft |
| Cattle | 54 in | 4 | 25 ft |
| Horses | 60 in | 3 | 8 ft |
| Alpacas | 54 in | 5 | 10 ft |
| Rabbits | 30 in | 3 | 6 ft |
Key Terms
- Line post
- A post between corners that carries fence but takes no strain.
- Braced corner
- A reinforced angle post that absorbs the pull of the wire.
- Strand
- One horizontal line of wire, counted separately around the perimeter.
- No-climb
- Woven wire with small bottom mesh, made to stop goats climbing.
- Hot wire
- A single energised strand acting as a psychological rather than physical barrier.
- Shape penalty
- Extra fence feet a long or irregular paddock needs for the same area.
Fence Costs Are Decided Before You Dig
- Height should stop the animal you actually have, not the one you might buy later, so a fence built for sheep gets rebuilt the season goats arrive.
- Adding a hot wire to existing woven fencing doubles the containment of a low barrier for the price of a few insulators, and it beats rebuilding the whole perimeter.
- Every gate costs two braced posts and hardware, and gates are the first place a curious animal tests for weakness.
- Water and shade placement shapes the paddock more than the survey does, because stock wear the shortest route to water into a permanent wish to escape.
- Buy corner hardware before panels, since bracing is where a fence either holds its strain or quietly folds within one season.
Common Mistakes & Fixes
- Budgeting from acres rather than from the perimeter the shape demands.
- Ordering panels before measuring gate openings, then cutting fence to fit.
- Using low poultry netting for goats, who treat it as a climbing ladder.
- Spacing high-tensile posts as if they carried barbed wire, then getting sag.
- Skipping corner braces on a five-strand fence under real tension.
- Fencing the shape that exists on the map instead of the one on the ground.
- Assuming one energiser covers runs longer than its rated wire footage.
When to Reach for This
Use it before you accept a fence quote, when subdividing a pasture into paddocks, when a new species arrives with different climbing ability, when moving from garden netting to real livestock barriers, and when a garden fence calculator no longer covers the height you need. Pair it with the garden fencing tool for shorter decorative runs, the hedge calculator for a living barrier, and the pond pump size tool once stock need watering away from a stream.
Livestock Fencing Calculator: Frequently Asked Questions
How much fencing do I need for one acre?
A square acre needs about 835 ft of barrier. A 1:2 rectangle needs roughly 912 ft, and a long narrow strip more still, because perimeter is set by shape rather than by area. Multiply by strands for multi-wire, since each course is its own purchase.
What height actually keeps goats in?
Four feet of tight woven wire with an electrified offset strand works for most goats, and 5 ft is the safer answer for large breeds. Goats go over and through rather than around, so bottom mesh size matters as much as the top rail.
Are electric fences legal for livestock?
In most places yes, with conditions on signage, energiser output and any fence touching a public road or property line. Some counties restrict plain electrified wire as a boundary fence along a highway. Check local rules before buying a mile of polywire.
Do netting fences still need braced corners?
Netting panels are self-supporting, yet corners still carry every ounce of strain the animal applies, so a driven steel stake or anchor at each corner pays for itself. Hang gates from a separate post so the netting never carries their weight.
How do I handle an irregular field?
Walk the boundary with a measuring wheel or trace it from satellite imagery, then enter that true perimeter instead of the acreage. This tool assumes a rectangle, so treat its answer as a budget order of magnitude and add ten per cent for bays and water crossings.
Should I fence water and shade separately?
Yes, and it usually shrinks the whole job. A single trough and one shade structure let you keep a smaller, more regular paddock, which cuts perimeter and improves grazing. Open stream access costs you fencing later and water quality now.
Sources & Further Reading
- Fencing for Small Ruminants — Kent State University Extension. Barrier height, mesh and predator pressure for goats and sheep.
- Electric Fence Installation and Maintenance — University of Missouri Extension. Post spacing, corner bracing and energiser wire-length ratings.
- Rotational Grazing Layout and Paddock Design — USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Paddock shape, water placement and perimeter efficiency.
Chlorova Gardening Team
Builds, checks and documents every tool we publish
Chlorova editorial review
Checked against extension-service publications
Formula verified against published references · Updated
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