FARM STRUCTURES  Maintenance costs; fences with high

maintenance costs are least preferred by

There are constructions made in the farm farmers.
for various functions. Examples off arm
structures are; CATEGORIES OF FENCES

 Buildings (stores, offices, cattle dip, BARBEDWIREFENCE. It’s a type of fence

spray race, crush, animal house). that uses a barbed wire hanged on posts
to prevent animals from straying. It’s used
 Water storage structures (dam, in confining big livestock like cattle.
boreholes, tanks, reservoirs). Components of a barbed wire fence
 Fences (Barbed wire fence, plain wire,  Posts (strainer, dropper, standard and
woven wire fence, electric fence, wooden strut)
fence, trench fence and live fence.)
 Barbed wire (high tensile and low
 Crops are protected from animals tensile)
damage during mixed farming.
 Staple/U-nails.
 Controls spread of diseases from the
outside farms.  Metal caps.

 Live fence can make the farm  earth or concrete Structure of a barbed
wire fence Posts these are of 4 types and
To look beautiful. made of wood;
 Fences can increase the value of the Strainers/king post; these are large posts
farm since they areas sets. put at the Corners and gates. they resist
Explain the Factors that may determine the pull of the wire from one direction.
the type of fence to be used. Strut; smaller than the standard and
strainer posts; they give support to the
 Availability of capital with enough strainer Standard/ bigger than struts and
capital, expensive droppers.it holds the wire in position for
fenceslikeelectricfencescan be used. efficiency and pulls wires in both
 Topography; hilly places may not directions.
favour trench and concrete fences since Droppers; they are the smallest posts;
they can be easily damaged. they are hanged between wire strands to
 Animals to be confined/use; small prevent the wire from sagging.
livestock like goats, sheep, and poultry Staples/U nails
can be confined in woven fence but not
barbed wire.  Buildings (stores, offices, cattle dip,
spray race, crush, animal house).
 Skills of the farmer; highly sophisticated
fences like electric fence can only be  Water storage structures (dam,
handled by skilled people. boreholes, tanks, reservoirs).

 Farmer’s interest; some type of fences

may be highly used on a farm.
  Fences (Barbed wire fence, plain wire, Used for making the posts firm in the
woven wire fence, electric fence, wooden ground Barbed wire; It’s a wire having
fence, trench fence and live fence.) barbs at intervals. Types of barbed wires
 Low tensile barbed wire  High tensile
Fence This is a structure made of various
barbed wire. Low tensile barbed;
materials that is put around an area on
boundary of land to restrict movement  It’s thick (big barbs and wires)
from one direction
 Its long lasting
Importance offence;  Can act as a
 Does not sag easily
boundary for the farm hence reducing
land disputes over a boundary.  Fences  Rusts easily
can keep out intruders
 Breaks easily High tensile
On
 Its thin (has small barbed wires and
The barbs)
farm. The intruders can be thieves, stray  Does not break easily.
animals, wild animals and trespassers.  Can resist tensile force
 Can facilitate rotational grazing in the  Stretches to cover a big area during
farm by dividing up the farm into fencing
paddocks.
 Does not rust easily. Raising a barbed
 Double fencing is very effective In wire fence;
Controlling ticks (vectors)on a
1. Select the area for fencing.
farm.
2. Clear vegetation from the area where
 Live fence can act as windbreaks hence the fence line is to pass to a width of 2m
controlling wind erosion and destruction to provide enough working area.
of farm structure.  Paddock fence makes
it easy to control farm animals through 3. Use a string to set out a straight line for
confinement, separation and restraining. the fence.
 Ensures controlled grazing through 4. Use pegs to set out positions for posts
construction of paddocks. at about 4 mtrs for standard posts.
 Fence can facilitate controlled breeding 5. Dig holes of about 2feet (for
by making it easy to separate animals standards) and 3feet (for strainers) deep
according to sex and breed. and big enough.
 Water points can be controlled with 6. Determine the number of gates and
corners for easy calculation of posts
- nails;it attaches the barbed wire onto the
required.
post.
7. Fit the posts into holes beginning with
Metal caps; Cover the top part of the post
the strainers in corner sand gates.
to prevent rain damage. Concrete / earth;
8. Ensure that the post is 2m high above  As sap in the post evaporates, its space
the ground. is taken up by the preservative.
9. Pour concrete or soil in the hole after  After 5 days invert the post so that the
placing the post. other end comes in to contact with the
preservative.
10. Firm the soil/concrete to ensure that it
holds the post firmly.  After five days, remove the post from
the preservative and allow it to drip dry
11. Fix the struts on the strainers at the
while under a shade.
corners and gates.
 Put the posts in a good store before
12. Stretch out the barbed wire at one
selling to protect it from thieves.
end using a wire strainer.
 Preservative used is Tanexor celcure A.
13. Staple the first strand of the wire on
Vacuum/Pressure treatment
the posts.
14. Add more strands depending on the  Poles/posts are peeled to remove the
type of animals to be confined/purpose. bark.
Disadvantages of using barbed wire  Poles/posts are parked in a large
fence. cylinder
 Can damage hides and skins.  the cylinder is sealed up and pressure
 It’s expensive to raise and maintain. increased in side it

 Requires a lot of labour to erect.  A chemical is forced in to the 219 posts

at high pressure.
 Land divided up in paddock may be
difficult to mechanize fully.  The cylinder is opened and the posts
removed.
 They discourage selective grazing
which is of advantage to livestock.  The posts are allowed to dry outside
Equipment used in raising a barbed wire before use. Hot and cold soaking
fence String, measuring tape, claw  Peel the posts/poles to remove the
hammer, wire strainer, U nails/staples, bark.
concrete, hole digger, cross cut saw or
bow saw.  Immerse the poles/posts fully in the
preservative.
Methods of treating posts
 Heat the preservative with poles inside
Sap displacement Vacuum/pressure to near boiling pointfor2hours.
treatment Hot and cold soaking Cold
soaking  Heating causes cells to expand.

Sap displacement Procedure;  Cool the preservative to allow the plant

cells to suck in the preservative.
 Peel off the bark from freshly cut posts.
 Immerse the post at the bottom end
into a preservative for 5days.
 Remove the poles from the 3.It is light to lift during work.
preservative and allow it to drip dry under 4.Easytocutintorequiredshape and size.
a shade. 5.With good treatment, it can last long.

 Prepare the poles for use. 6. It’s a good insulator against heat and
electric shocks.
Cold soaking
Disadvantages
 Poles are peeled to remove the
a. They are highly susceptible to attack by
bark.
pests if not treated.
 They are immersed fully in a
b. easily decays under moist conditions
preservativefor1-3days.
due to fungal attack
 The preservative is drawn into the c. They are a fire hazard.
poles/posts.
ELECTRIC FENCE
 The posts/poles
A fence that depends on mild electric
are removed from the preservative and current flowing in wires to keep off
allowed to drip dry. animals by giving them a mild sock.
 Posts are placed in a shade ready for The main components are posts, insulator
sale. Seasoning of timber and facing wire, power source and control
 Provide a shade to keep off sunshine unit. Raising an Electric Fence
and rain.  Clear the area where fence line is to
 Heap the timber in stacks. pass to a width of 2m.

 Support timber off the ground to allow  Measure off the distance required for
air circulation beneath. each post.

 Separate pieces of timber with wooden  Dig the holes to accommodate the
rods to allow free air circulation. posts and over it.

 Closely space the support sticks to  Place the posts as required.

avoid wrapping of the timber.  Install the other equipment as
 The stacks should be parallel to the required.
ground to avoid sliding and bending of  Ensure good earth connections for
timber. efficiency.
 place heavy materials on top of the Challenges of using an Electric Fence
stack to stop the timber from bending
 Requires a lot of skill to install.
Advantages of using wood.
 Has a high maintenance cost.
1.It is readily available in most areas.
2.Itisrelativelycheaptobuy  Works best only in humid conductions.
 Equipment is expensive to buy.
 Continuous shocks frighten the animals  Nature of spacing; lose spacing leads
reducing productivity. low effectiveness and vice versa.
LIVEFENCES  Morphology of the shrub; plants with a
lot of branching shows more
 Its barrier of tree or shrubs in rows that
effectiveness.
is thick enough to prevent penetration by
animals or intruders.  Fertility of the soil that influences
growth of the shrubs has a high influence.
 The common shrubs used in making
 Environmental condition; drought may
live fences are Kie apple, sisal, tick berry,
dry the shrubs making it less effective.
ficus, and cassia.
CONCRETE/STONE/WALL FENCE
Advantages of using live fences
Does not harm animals
1.Planting materials can be obtained
locally hence cheap.  It can be made up of concrete or
2.Canaddbeautytothefarm. bricks/blocks that make up a wall. It’s
3.Mayactaswindbreaks. used for small enclosure.
4.Has a low maintenance cost. Advantages
Limitation  Efficient at controlling intruders.
1.Difficult to establish under harsh  Has a low maintenance cost.
environmental conditions
 Resistant to harsh weather
2.They take long to establish
 Can confine small livestock.
3.Shrubs become ineffective at the
bottom where branches are few. Disadvantages

4.May compete with crops for nutrients.  Very expensive to construct and
5.Some hedge plants are poisonous to maintain.
animals.  May prevent proper air floor into the
6.Some harbour pest that attack animals farm.
and crops  Can be destroyed by water in poorly
7.Cannot be used effectively to subdivide drained soils.
land into paddocks for grazing WOVEN FENCE
Factors that affects effectiveness of Plain wire is woven into different patterns
hedges to make a sheet of wire mesh.the fence is
 Age of the plants at a young age, they good for confining small animals though
may have less branches and hence less can work for big animals.
effective. Advantages
 Level of branching; poor branching Easily confines small animals
makes it ineffective.
 Does not damage the hides and skins.
 Can restrict movement of a wide range
of intruders including people.
Disadvantages

 Its very expensive to buy wire s and

install Animal handling structures

 Crush

 Sprayrace

 Cattle dip

 Milking parlour/shade
Crush
It s a farm structure used for restraining
animals during farm operation .it has a
collecting yard, inlet, draining yard and
out let. It can be made from wood or
metal bars. It can confine animals during
1. Hand spraying to control ticks.
2.Artificialinsemination
3.Administering oral and intravenous
drugs
4.Identification of animals
5.Dehorning
6.Taking the animal’s temperature.
7.Milking
8.Pregnancy diagnosis.
9.Physical examination of the animal.