Replacing Rotted Posts for a Three Rail Fence

When we bought our farm we knew we would have to redo the fencing to make it goat-proof, but what we didn’t plan on was replacing all of the wooden posts. Nearly all of the posts are rotted at the ground and if they haven’t already broken off they do as soon as you try to work them out, so we got to work with a digging bar and post-hole diggers. Dad always said using post-hole diggers would build muscles and let me tell you I’m still exhausted.

Here in this video we install a 6” brace post (in a 3ft deep hole) and the 5” horizontal brace member to almost complete the H-brace assembly – if I had a ratchet strainer on hand I would have installed the tension wire and I’d call it 100%. Yes, the horizontal brace is level. The ground kind of slopes away from that end post so it looks out of whack. We also put in two 4.5” fence posts between the new and the existing H-braces and then attach the rails with outdoor-rated screws. Our goats, Bonnie and Clyde, do their best to get in the way.

Before this field becomes a goat pasture we’ll have to take the rails back off and stretch a woven-wire sheep and goat fence between the gates but for now it’s good enough the keep the steer in the field. As with many projects we undertake it has become much more involved than we first anticipated but hey, it’s got to be done. I’m thankful I have something to do and a strong back to get it done.

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