Swapping a Barbed Bottom Wire for Smooth Wire at 18 Inches So Pronghorn Can Crawl Under: In-Line Joiners at the Splices and 12 Inches Between the Top Two Wires

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Pronghorn would rather crawl under a fence than jump it. A barbed bottom wire set low turns an ordinary cattle fence into a wall for them, and it scrapes the hide off anything that tries.

Replace the barbed bottom wire with smooth wire set at least 16 inches above the ground, and 18 inches where you can. Keep the top wire at 40 inches or less, no more than 42, with at least 12 inches between the top two wires. In-line joiners make the splices and re-tension easy.

The numbers I build to

Wyoming Game and Fish's landowner's guide to fences and wildlife lays out its wildlife-friendly standard. It calls for a top wire preferably 40 inches or less and no more than 42 inches, at least 12 inches between the top two wires, and a smooth bottom wire at least 16 inches and preferably 18 inches above the ground.

The same guide recommends posts at 16.5-foot intervals and, preferably, no vertical stays. It says these standards will control cattle in most situations and still let wildlife pass.

Texas Parks and Wildlife's pronghorn fence recommendations go a little higher. They call for a smooth bottom strand at least 18 inches up, set at about 20 inches wherever possible, with modifications near fence corners and natural travel corridors.

Where to start

You do not have to redo a mile at once. I start where the tracks say animals already cross: low spots, corners, and trails worn under the bottom wire.

The classic mistake here is raising the bottom wire but leaving it barbed. Pronghorn still have to drag their backs under it, and the barbs catch hair and hide.

What I use for the swap

1. A roll of smooth 12.5-gauge high-tensile wire or barbless twisted wire.
2. In-line wire joiners sized for 13.5 to 10 gauge wire. Each one splices two ends and lets you pull the wire tight through the sleeve.
3. Fencing pliers, wire cutters, leather gloves, and safety glasses.
4. A tape measure and a scrap of wood cut to 18 inches as a height gauge.

Doing the swap, post by post

1. Release tension on the old barbed bottom wire at a brace, standing to the side of the wire, not in line with it.
2. Pull the clips or staples along the section and roll up the old barbed wire as you go.
3. Run the new smooth wire along the fence at the 18-inch mark, using the wood gauge at every post. Measure up from the ground at the post, not from a high spot between posts.
4. Tie the new wire off at the far brace, then splice it to any existing tail with an in-line joiner: push each end through the sleeve from opposite sides, about 4 inches through each side.
5. Pull the tails until the wire is snug, then clip it to each post at the gauge mark.

Where the ground dips between posts, I leave the dip as a free crawl space instead of pulling the wire down into it. The Wyoming guide points out that small dips and swales can give animals a slightly larger gap below the fence.

Checking the top

While I am on the fence, I check the top. If the top two wires are closer than 12 inches, deer and elk can catch a back leg between them when they jump.

Measure the top wire at several posts. If it sits above 42 inches, drop it to 40 so adults can clear it.

Where to get the wire

Tractor Supply carries smooth high-tensile wire, fencing pliers, and clips. Home Depot has the basic hand tools if you are short a pair of cutters.

If a joiner splice is new to you, see this walkthrough on splicing a broken 12.5-gauge high-tensile wire with an in-line joiner.