Woven Wire Fences

Barbed wire is not a very effective way to contain pigs, goats or sheep. Where these animals are to be fenced; woven wire can be used instead, often with one or more strands of barbed wire at the top. For swine, a ground-level barbed wire strand or offset electric fence wire is used as well to prevent them digging beneath the fence.

Woven wire is the most costly to purchase and time-consuming to install compared to barb wire or electric fencing, but is often safer and less expensive than wood, pipe, or other materials.

Woven wire with large openings has some potential hazards. Animals contained inside the fence can easily put a foot through the wide squares while grazing along the edge of the fence line or while reaching over it, and then become tangled in the fence. It is also dangerous for wild animals, such as deer that attempt to jump such fences. They can become trapped when their back feet clip the fencing and get caught. While they can be cut out, they are often seriously injured and must be euthanized. A variation, called "farm & field fence," has narrower openings at the bottom and wider openings at the top, which prevents animals from getting their feet entangled while grazing close to the fence, though is of little help if an animal becomes tangled in the openings higher up

Horses and ponies in particular are safer kept inside woven wire fence with squares of smaller dimensions, such as "no climb" fence with squares that are approximately two inches by four inches or Horse Safe Fencing.