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How much fence will my rolls of fence wire build?

A quarter-mile roll of fence wire sounds like a lot until it is divided by the number of strands. Enter the rolls you have and the fence line they string comes back at the calculator's four strands on 1,320 foot (402 m) rolls, with its five per cent for tie-offs, corner wraps and strainer loops taken back off.
  • 3 rollsThe example worked below
  • Livestock Fence Wire CalculatorEvery figure is its own

You have

How much fence wire?

rolls

Worked by the Livestock Fence Wire Calculator at the settings below.

Saved amounts stay in this browser.

The settings it uses

Number of Wire Strands
4

What it will do

Enough for 943 ft of fence.

  1. One fence. Enough for 943 ft of fence.

  2. Or several. About 1 fence of the size the Livestock Fence Wire Calculator opens on: 655 ft of fence.

Check it forwards

Fence Perimeter Length
943 ft
It asks for
3 rolls
You have
3 rolls

The Livestock Fence Wire Calculator asks for 3 rolls at that size, and 4 rolls one step larger.

Open this in the Livestock Fence Wire Calculator

If you had more, or less

Around your amount

Each worked by the Livestock Fence Wire Calculator at the same settings.

  1. Half

    2 rolls

    629 ft of fence

  2. Yours

    3 rolls

    943 ft of fence

  3. Half as much again

    5 rolls

    1,571 ft of fence

  4. Double

    6 rolls

    1,886 ft of fence

Common amounts

What each amount of fence wire covers

The sizes it is usually sold in, each worked by the Livestock Fence Wire Calculator at the settings above.

You haveIt coversAs one fenceAverage fences
1 roll—314 ft of fenceunder 1
2 rolls—629 ft of fenceunder 1
3 rolls—943 ft of fence1
6 rolls—1,886 ft of fence2
10 rolls—3,143 ft of fence3

A quarter mile, four strands

Standard agricultural wire rolls are commonly 1,320 feet, a quarter mile, about 402 m. Four strands with five per cent slack take 4.2 feet of wire for every foot of fence, so one roll strings about 314 feet (96 m) of fence and three rolls about 943 feet (287 m). Two strands double the fence a roll builds; five strands bring one roll down to about 251 feet (77 m).

An acre is not a small paddock

A square acre is about 209 feet (64 m) a side, 835 feet (254 m) of fence. At four strands that is 2.66 rolls, so three bought; a square hectare, 400 m (1,312 feet) round, takes 4.18, so five. Gateways are wired straight through in this count, rolling ground adds run the plan length never sees, and a laneway where the lower strands stop short of the top wire comes out long.

Roll size and spacing are yours to check

Every roll here is a full quarter-mile coil. Polywire, poly tape and woven field fence are commonly put up on 330, 660 or 4,000 foot spools, and a count on those has to be re-divided by hand. Strands only multiply — two for cattle and eight for goats are processed alike, with no check on spacing, height or gauge — and rounding happens once, so pulling every strand unspliced needs a roll-by-roll count.

How the answer is worked

Nothing here is a second formula. The Livestock Fence Wire Calculator runs forwards — a size in, a quantity out — and this page grows its own starting fence in proportion until the quantity it asks for is what you have. Where it rounds up to whole containers, the answer is the largest size before the next one would be needed.

Where the calculator adds an allowance for cuts or breakage when you order, the same allowance comes off here, because it is the same calculator: a stack you already own finishes less than its face value. Where it adds none, neither does this page — the settings beside the answer say which.

Livestock Fence Wire Calculator

runs it forwards

Estimate how many rolls of wire you need for a multi-strand electric or woven-wire livestock fence.

Work out what to buy instead

Solve backwards

Other things you might already have

Solve backwards

Start from what is already in the yard

Paint, sheets, rolls, bags and pieces, each read the other way by the calculator that orders it.

Every Solve Backwards pageLivestock Fence Wire Calculator

  • The calculator's own figures

    Nothing is estimated twice: the page runs the same calculator you would order with.

  • The largest size that fits

    Where a calculator rounds up to whole containers, the answer stops before the next one.

  • Both unit systems

    Gallons and litres, square feet and square metres, side by side.

Frequently asked questions

How much fence does 3 rolls of fence wire cover?
At the Livestock Fence Wire Calculator's own settings: Enough for 943 ft of fence. That is about 1 fence of the size the calculator opens on: 655 ft of fence. Every figure follows the settings, which you can change in the calculator.
How many feet of fence does a roll of wire make?
Divide the roll by the strands, less the calculator's five per cent: a 1,320 foot roll strings about 314 feet (96 m) of four-strand fence, 419 feet (128 m) of three-strand and 629 feet (192 m) of two-strand. Corners, braces and gate ties come out of the five per cent.
How many rolls of fence wire do I need for 1 acre?
A square acre has about 835 feet (254 m) of fence line. At four strands with five per cent slack that is about 3,506 feet of wire, 2.66 rolls of 1,320 feet — so 3 rolls. A long, thin acre has more perimeter than a square one and takes more wire for the same ground.
How many strands does a livestock fence need?
The calculator does not decide it: strand count is only a multiplier. Its guidance is that electric fences for cattle commonly use one to five strands, and woven wire with a top strand is common for sheep, goats or general perimeter fencing. Spacing, height and gauge for the stock you keep are design decisions.