Fence Height for Sheep and Cattle: How Low Can You Safely Go?

Cattle and sheep are not natural jumpers, so their fences are kept low — about 1.10–1.20 m for cattle and 0.80–0.90 m of sheep mesh, with the real work done by wire spacing, posts and bracing rather than height. But “they don’t jump” is not a guarantee: a startled or pressured animal can clear a low wire fence, bulls and handling yards are built to at least 1.50 m, and snow packed against a fence can be walked over. Goats and deer are a different problem altogether, and they set their own numbers.

Why are cattle and sheep fences so low?

Cattle lean and rub. Sheep push, rub and work along a fence. Neither behaviour needs height to stop it; it needs a fence that holds its shape under steady weight. That is why the guidelines land where they do:

• Beef and dairy cattle, normal boundary: 1.10–1.20 m, with commercial specifications commonly written as 105–120 cm (42–48 in) (NSDA livestock fencing guidelines).
• Cattle, temporary division: at least 0.90 m; permanent internal divisions 1.0 m, wire spacing around 30 cm.
• Sheep: 0.80–0.90 m of mesh, with electric or barbed wire added at the bottom of the fence.
• US published recommendations for holding domestic cattle and sheep: 0.81–1.07 m (32–42 in) — the low band USDA-NRCS treats as the norm (Range Technical Note 102).

Does “they don’t jump” mean a low fence will hold them?

No, and this is the boundary that matters most when you are specifying a fence. Three cases push the height back up:

• A startled or pressured animal. A cow separated from a calf, or an animal worked in a crush, can clear a low wire fence. Design for that as a risk — do not rely on a jump height figure, because there is no authoritative one.
• Bulls and handling facilities. Where escape cannot be tolerated, the minimum height is 1.50 m (NSDA).
• Snow. Packed snow raises the ground line, and cattle can then simply walk over a fence that was correctly specified in summer (NSDA).

For sheep the failure mode is not height at all — it is the head. A sheep that pushes its head between wires is caught by the head or horns rather than held out, which is why the mesh number matters more than the fence height (see sheep field fence mesh size). Height stops animals pushing over; mesh spacing stops heads.

Deer are the opposite case: they clear fences outright, and USDA-NRCS notes that for deer the lowest fence presents the least entanglement hazard, because legs catch between the top wires. That is an argument for building deer fencing properly high or not at all — not for a low deer fence.

How high should a sheep fence actually be?

• 0.80–0.90 m of sheep mesh, with electric or barbed wire at the bottom (NSDA).
• 90 cm of mesh plus a top wire to 120 cm — the typical Australian stock fence build for sheep (NSW supplier technical data).
• 1.0 m internal, 1.2 m external for a sheep handling unit (Teagasc).
• 1.45 m where the fence also has to hold off wildlife in a wetland setting, with graduated mesh and a skirt (Sustainability 17 (2025) 7295).

The spread is not about the sheep; it is about the job. A paddock boundary, a handling yard and a multi-species exclusion fence are three different fences.

How high for cattle, and when do you go higher?

A normal cattle boundary is 1.10–1.20 m. Internal divisions can be lower — 0.90 m for temporary work and 1.0 m for permanent ones, with wires about 30 cm apart — and Australian engineering guidance applies a general minimum of 1.10 m to farm fences (GV Water farm fence design guideline). Then the exceptions: 1.50 m for bulls and handling facilities.

Cattle also need less mesh complexity than sheep. The cattle exclusion design in the multi-species review is 115 cm high with no graduated mesh and no skirt, while the sheep design at the same site needs both. That is the practical difference between fencing cattle and fencing sheep: wire count and post strength for cattle, mesh aperture for sheep.

Where the low-fence rule breaks down: goats and deer

Goats are the hardest animal to hold. The review is blunt: feral goats can pass over, through or under fences. Recommendations run 1.10–1.30 m (a second table in the same paper lists 1.15–1.25 m), with the gap under the wires closed to no more than 80 mm, a skirt of 60–110 cm, and a specific warning: avoid external diagonal bracing posts, because goats use them as a ladder.

Deer jump, so height is the whole point. Exclusion fencing starts at 1.80–2.00 m, with mesh no coarser than roughly 300 × 200 mm for red deer and 200 × 200 mm for fallow deer. Farmed deer are fenced higher again: the BC Ministry of Agriculture livestock fencing manual puts the minimum at 8 ft (2.40 m) and prefers 8–9 ft (2.44–2.74 m), with snow depth taken into account.

What matters more than height?

• Wire plan. Cattle are normally held with 5–7 strands or a coarse mesh; sheep need a graduated mesh that tightens towards the ground.
• Posts and bracing. Spacing follows the fence type, not the animal alone: netting at about 3 m centres, heavy or predator-rated stock fence about 5 m, and plain-wire runs up to 10 m provided droppers hold the wire spacing between posts. Drive ends, corners and gate posts deeper — 760 mm or more.
• The gap under the bottom wire. Sheep and goat designs close it, and for goats it must be 80 mm or less.
• Visibility where animals run. Horse fencing is 1.05–1.20 m and avoids barbed wire at chest height; pig fencing is capped around 1.37 m and the effort goes into the base, not the height (NSDA).
• Your local standard. We produce to the standard you buy against on request, and confirm coating class and minimum coating mass in the quotation.

Fence height by stock: quick reference

Stock / fence	Height	Source	Note
Beef / dairy cattle, boundary	1.10–1.20 m	NSDA 2013	Commercial specs often 105–120 cm
Cattle, temporary division	≥0.90 m	NSDA 2013	Wire spacing about 30 cm
Cattle, permanent internal	1.0 m	NSDA 2013	—
Cattle (US published recommendation)	0.81–1.07 m	USDA-NRCS TN-102	32–42 in band for cattle and sheep
Bulls / handling facilities	≥1.50 m	NSDA 2013	Where escape must be prevented
Sheep, mesh fence	0.80–0.90 m	NSDA 2013	Electric or barbed wire low down
Sheep handling unit	1.0 m internal / 1.2 m external	Teagasc	Irish specification
Sheep, Australian stock fence	0.90 m mesh + top wire to 1.20 m	NSW supplier data	Typical AU build
Sheep, wetland / wildlife exclusion	1.45 m	Sustainability 17 (2025) 7295	Graduated mesh + skirt
Goats	1.10–1.30 m	MDPI review	Gap ≤80 mm; no external diagonal braces
Deer, exclusion	1.80–2.00 m	MDPI review	Mesh ≤300 × 200 mm
Deer, farmed	≥2.40 m (2.44–2.74 m preferred)	BC Ministry of Agriculture	Allow for snow raising the ground line
Horses	1.05–1.20 m	NSDA 2013	Visibility first; no barbed wire
Pigs	≤1.37 m	NSDA 2013	Effort belongs in the base
Generic Australian farm fence	≥1.10 m	GV Water design guideline	Engineering minimum

Read the table as a set of starting points, then tune it to your stocking density, terrain, snow load and local standard. The companion piece is best fencing for cattle, sheep and deer; for the hardware that carries the height, see our field fence and star picket specifications.

Frequently asked questions