starting pen ?

[bluecollar beagler]

a friend an i just bought the wire to put our starting pen together.. my question is.. two sides of my pen we have to put posts in still and construct, the other two sides the board fence is already up for us to nail to... my question is this, what do you guys use to stretch the wire out when hanging and would it be better to use more board fence as support or what do you use in between the posts as support for the wire if anything? we are leaning toward putting posts every 8 ft and using 16ft two rows of board fence instead of using wire? which way would you lean?

[Rcoff]

Set your posts 30 feet apart and string high tensil fence wire 4 feet high, add tension tighteners, and suport your fence to it with hog rings. Works great and saves you money. Your corner posts will need reinforced.

[dawg182]

Use a4-wheeler and or tractor. Two boards with the wire sandwiched in between with screws. Pull it tight and he attach it to ur posts. Gets the wire nice and tight, so it'll stay straight longer. Then go back with ur high tensil wire at the top

[Shady Grove Beagles]

I cut two 2x4's the width of the fencing wire [4 feet or 6 feet ] that I'm using.Lay the 2x4's on top of each other and drill a 1/2 inch hole through both of them in top,bottom and middle.Then get three bolts that are long enough to go through both 2x4's and stick out and nuts and washers. Sandwhich you fencing in between the 2x4's and bolt them together.I then take a short length of light chain and hook one end near top of 2x4's and other end near the bottom.I use a come-along or rachet winch and hook one end to the middle of the chain and the other end to whatever is in line of the fencing [truck bumper,trees,anchored corner posts,etc. ].You can crank the fencing as tight as a piano wire and make it sing if you want.Nail it off to trees,fence posts that are good and sturdy.Then release the tension and do another section.I put iron posts 10' apart and found I could stretch out as much as a hundred feet of fence and keep it real tight.MAKE SURE you have good rugged corners.Most important.
Putting some type of heavy duty fencing wire [ nice and tight ] along the top and attaching the fencing to it with hog rings is a must.If you don't your fence may start to curl over between posts,deer will push it down as they come and go and tree branches will fall on it and bend it down.Knew one beagle club that got several thousand feet of old telephone line wire that had been scrapped for free.They used it for top support wire and it's been there for 25 years plus.
Good luck with your project.

[rabbitatfarm]

You'll also need a wire at the bottom to secure the fence. I run mine about an inch above the ground. I used a tractor and a come-along to tighten my fence. Come-along in tight places for tractor. It helps to mow a strip on the side where you are securing the fence so you can roll it out. Snowmansbeagle has a pretty good video on construction.