Swapping the Top Barbed Strand for Smooth Barbless Wire at 42 Inches With a Ratchet Wire Stretcher: Three Wraps at the Brace and a Foot of Space Below

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Deer and elk that jump a fence usually catch a hind leg on the top wire. When that top strand is barbed, a leg can twist between it and the next wire, and that is often the end of the animal.

Replace the top barbed strand with smooth barbless twisted wire at no more than about 42 inches, about 12 inches above the next wire. Stretch it with a ratchet stretcher from the end brace, staple it loose, and wrap it three times around each brace post with no gaps. Barbless wire gets one more wrap than barbed.

What the guidance says

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' landowner's guide to wildlife friendly fences recommends smooth wire, such as barbless twisted wire, for the top and bottom strands to prevent snagging and injuries. Its ideal design shows a top wire around 40 inches, with 42 inches as the maximum, and it says to allow 12 inches between the top wire and the next one down.

The British Columbia four-strand barbed wire fence specifications allow barbless twisted wire where wildlife is a concern, with top and bottom wires at 42 and 18 inches. They say barbless wire is wrapped neatly three times around the tie-off post with no spaces, one more wrap than barbed wire gets.

Taking off the old strand

1. Start at a brace. Cut the old top strand behind the wraps with fencing pliers, holding the cut end so it does not whip.
2. Walk the line and pull each staple holding the top wire. Save the good ones in a bucket.
3. Roll the old strand up as you go, or drag it out straight on the ground for disposal.

Running the new wire

1. Tie the smooth wire off at the far brace first: three tight wraps, no gaps, and the tail twisted back on the strand.
2. Run a bar through the spool and roll it out along the fence line, keeping it off rocks.
3. Lift it onto the posts at about 42 inches, checking that the space down to the next wire is close to 12 inches.

Stretching it

1. Anchor the stretcher low on the near brace post and clamp the wire grip a few feet out on the new strand.
2. Ratchet until the sag is out and the wire runs straight between posts.
3. With the stretcher holding, staple the wire to each line post loose enough to slide.
4. At the brace, wrap the strand three times around the post, tight to itself, and twist the tail.
5. Staple the wraps tight to the post, then release the stretcher slowly.

A ratchet-style fence wire stretcher built for barbed and smooth wire grips the slick barbless strand without slipping and holds it while you do the wraps.

The classic mistake is wrapping smooth wire only twice, like the barbed strand it replaced. With no barbs to bite on the post, the wraps creep, and by the next summer the top wire is sagging again.

Making it visible

1. Hang a few strips of white flagging along the top wire in long open runs. Animals see the fence before they hit it.
2. Check the strand in spring for spots where animals have hit it, and re-staple anywhere it was pulled off.

Gear and next steps

Tractor Supply carries barbless twisted wire by the roll and fence staples by the box. Wear gloves for pulling the old barbed strand.

For other wire repairs on the same line, this walkthrough on splicing a broken 12.5-gauge high-tensile wire covers joining a snapped strand.