110-414: Barbed Wire may refer to Barbed wire [ edit ] Barbed wire Razor wire Film [ edit ] Barbed Wire (1927 film) , a war film starring Pola Negri Barbed Wire (1952 film) , a Western film starring Gene Autry Other [ edit ] BarbedWire Studios, developers of the video game Gates of Hell Barbed Wire ,
220-436: A braced line assembly is added in-line. This has the function of a corner post and brace assembly but handles tension from opposite sides. It uses diagonal brace wire that connects the tops to the bottoms of all adjacent posts. Line posts are installed along the span of the fence at intervals of 2.5 to 15 m (8 to 50 ft). An interval of 5 m (16 ft) is most common. Heavy livestock and crowded pasture demands
330-450: A 2000 album by rock and roll guitarist Link Wray Barbed Wire, an American Anarcho-punk band from Denver, Colorado Barbed Wire , a novel by Máirtín Ó Cadhain , published posthumously in 2002 "Barbed Wire", a song by Kendrick Lamar from the 2010 album Overly Dedicated See also [ edit ] Barb Wire Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
440-504: A Farm " describes a farmer named MacDonald and the various animals he keeps, celebrating the noises they each make. Many urban children experience animal husbandry for the first time at a petting farm ; in Britain, some five million people a year visit a farm of some kind. This presents some risk of infection , especially if children handle animals and then fail to wash their hands ; a strain of E. coli infected 93 people who had visited
550-468: A barbed wire fence. Within 2 years, nearly all of the open range had been fenced in under private ownership. For this reason, some historians have dated the end of the Old West era of American history to the invention and subsequent proliferation of barbed wire. The most important and most time-consuming part of a barbed wire fence is constructing the corner post and the bracing assembly. A barbed wire fence
660-450: A concrete base 51 centimetres (20 in) square and 110 centimetres (42 in) deep. Iron posts, if used, are a minimum 64 millimetres (2.5 in) in diameter. Bracing wire is typically smooth 9-gauge. Line posts are set to a depth of about 76 centimetres (30 in). Conversely, steel posts are not as stiff as wood, and wires are fastened with slips along fixed teeth, which means variations in driving height affect wire spacing. During
770-432: A diagonal wire connects the top of the brace post to the bottom of the corner post. This diagonal wire prevents the brace post from leaning, which in turn allows the horizontal brace to prevent the corner post from leaning into the brace post. A second set of brace posts (forming a double brace ) is used whenever the barbed wire span exceeds 60 metres (200 ft). When the barbed wire span exceeds 200 m (650 ft),
880-608: A falling out with Washburn and Moen and Isaac Ellwood. He moved to St. Louis and founded the Southern Wire Company, which became the largest manufacturer of unlicensed or "bootleg" barbed wire. An 1880 US District Court decision upheld the validity of the Glidden patent, effectively establishing a monopoly. This decision was affirmed by the US Supreme Court in 1892. In 1898 Gates took control of Washburn and Moen, and created
990-517: A farmer in 1873 and the first of the "Big Four," is often credited for designing a successful sturdy barbed wire product, but he let others popularize it for him. Glidden's idea came from a display at a fair in DeKalb , Illinois in 1873, by Henry B. Rose. Rose had patented "The Wooden Strip with Metallic Points" in May 1873. This was simply a wooden block with wire protrusions designed to keep cows from breaching
1100-438: A fence that was painful to cross. In April 1865 Louis François Janin proposed a double wire with diamond-shaped metal barbs; Francois was granted a patent. Michael Kelly from New York had a similar idea, and proposed that the fencing should be used specifically for deterring animals. More patents followed, and in 1867 alone there were six patents issued for barbed wire. Only two of them addressed livestock deterrence, one of which
1210-446: A fertiliser, returning minerals and organic matter to the soil in a semi-closed organic system. Although all mammals produce milk to nourish their young, the cow is predominantly used throughout the world to produce milk and milk products for human consumption. Other animals used to a lesser extent for this purpose include sheep, goats, camels, buffaloes, yaks, reindeer, horses and donkeys. All these animals have been domesticated over
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#17330849405321320-487: A plough to increase production of crops, and drawing a sledge, and later a cart, to bring the produce home from the field. Draught animals were first used about 4,000 BC in the Middle East, increasing agricultural production immeasurably. In southern Asia, the elephant was domesticated by 6,000 BC. Fossilised chicken bones dated to 5040 BC have been found in northeastern China, far from where their wild ancestors lived in
1430-562: A significant impact on the world environment. Both production and consumption of animal products have increased rapidly. Since 1950, meat production has tripled, whereas the production of dairy products doubled and that of eggs almost increased fourfold. Meanwhile, meat consumption has nearly doubled worldwide. Developing countries had a surge in meat consumption, particularly of monogastric livestock. Animal husbandry drives climate change, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss, and kills 60 billion animals annually. It uses between 20 and 33% of
1540-816: A small area and given supplementary heating. Litter on the floor absorbs the droppings and the area occupied is expanded as they grow. Feed and water is supplied automatically and the lighting is controlled. The birds may be harvested on several occasions or the whole shed may be cleared at one time. A similar rearing system is usually used for turkeys, which are less hardy than chickens, but they take longer to grow and are often moved on to separate fattening units to finish. Ducks are particularly popular in Asia and Australia and can be killed at seven weeks under commercial conditions. Aquaculture has been defined as "the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants and implies some form of intervention in
1650-539: A typical broiler chicken at eight weeks old was 4.8 times as heavy as a bird of similar age in 1957, while in the thirty years to 2007, the average milk yield of a dairy cow in the United States nearly doubled. Good husbandry, proper feeding, and hygiene are the main contributors to animal health on the farm, bringing economic benefits through maximised production. When, despite these precautions, animals still become sick, they are treated with veterinary medicines , by
1760-550: A week. At the other extreme, in the more developed parts of the world, animals are often intensively managed ; dairy cows may be kept in zero-grazing conditions with all their forage brought to them; beef cattle may be kept in high density feedlots ; pigs may be housed in climate-controlled buildings and never go outdoors; poultry may be reared in barns and kept in cages as laying birds under lighting-controlled conditions. In between these two extremes are semi-intensive, often family-run farms where livestock graze outside for much of
1870-428: Is Osage orange , a thorny bush that is time-consuming to transplant and grow). When wire fences became widely available in the United States in the late 19th century, it became more affordable to fence much larger areas than before, and intensive animal husbandry was made practical on a much larger scale. An example of the costs of fencing with lumber immediately prior to the invention of barbed wire can be found with
1980-517: Is a deciduous tree. In China, Korea and Japan however, two generations are normal, and in the tropics, multiple generations are expected. Most production of silk occurs in the Far East, with a synthetic diet being used to rear the silkworms in Japan. Insects form part of the human diet in many cultures. In Thailand, crickets are farmed for this purpose in the north of the country, and palm weevil larvae in
2090-542: Is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is the construction of inexpensive fences , and it is also used as a security measure atop walls surrounding property. As a wire obstacle , it is a major feature of the fortifications in trench warfare . A person or animal trying to pass through or over barbed wire will suffer discomfort and possibly injury. Barbed wire fencing requires only fence posts, wire, and fixing devices such as staples . It
2200-483: Is destroyed by clearing forests and converting land to grow feed crops and for grazing, while predators and herbivores are frequently targeted because of a perceived threat to livestock profits; for example, animal husbandry causes up to 91% of the deforestation in the Amazon region . In addition, livestock produce greenhouse gases . Cows produce some 570 million cubic metres of methane per day, that accounts for 35 to 40% of
2310-422: Is harder to handle and somewhat dangerous for inexperienced fencers. Soft wire is much easier to work but is less durable and only suitable for short spans such as repairs and gates, where it is less likely to tangle. In high soil-fertility areas where dairy cattle are used in great numbers, 5- or 7-wire fences are common as the main boundary and internal dividing fences. On sheep farms 7-wire fences are common with
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#17330849405322420-427: Is mainly derived from cereals and cereal by-products, fats and oils and sugar-rich foods, while protein may come from fish or meat meal, milk products, legumes and other plant foods, often the by-products of vegetable oil extraction. Pigs and poultry are non-ruminants and unable to digest the cellulose in grass and other forages, so they are fed entirely on cereals and other high-energy foodstuffs. The ingredients for
2530-455: Is managed by farmers with a view to encouraging traits seen as desirable. These include hardiness, fertility, docility, mothering abilities, fast growth rates, low feed consumption per unit of growth, better body proportions, higher yields, and better fibre qualities. Undesirable traits such as health defects and aggressiveness are selected against. Selective breeding has been responsible for large increases in productivity. For example, in 2007,
2640-456: Is no single universally agreed definition of which species are livestock. Widely agreed types of livestock include cattle for beef and dairy, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry. Various other species are sometimes considered livestock, such as horses, while poultry birds are sometimes excluded. In some parts of the world, livestock includes species such as buffalo, and the South American camelids,
2750-467: Is now frowned on in many countries because of the risk that it may lead to antimicrobial resistance in livestock and in humans. Governments are concerned with zoonoses , diseases that humans may acquire from animals. Wild animal populations may harbour diseases that can affect domestic animals which may acquire them as a result of insufficient biosecurity . An outbreak of Nipah virus in Malaysia in 1999
2860-461: Is only part of the purpose of keeping an animal which may also be used as a beast of burden or to draw a plough, or for the production of fibre, meat and leather, with the dung being used for fuel or for the improvement of soil fertility . Sheep and goats may be favoured for dairy production in climates and conditions that do not suit dairy cows. Meat , mainly from farmed animals, is a major source of dietary protein and essential nutrients around
2970-582: Is practical and down to earth, and anti-intellectual. Farm animals are widespread in books and songs for children; the reality of animal husbandry is often distorted, softened, or idealized, giving children an almost entirely fictitious account of farm life. The books often depict happy animals free to roam in attractive countryside, a picture completely at odds with the realities of the impersonal, mechanized activities involved in modern intensive farming . Pigs, for example, appear in several of Beatrix Potter 's "little books", as Piglet in A.A. Milne 's Winnie
3080-538: Is seasonal, for example in the temperate summer or tropical rainy season , so some areas of the crop are set aside to be cut and preserved, either as hay (dried grass), or as silage (fermented grass). Other forage crops are also grown and many of these, as well as crop residues, can be ensiled to fill the gap in the nutritional needs of livestock in the lean season. Extensively reared animals may subsist entirely on forage, but more intensively kept livestock will require energy and protein-rich foods in addition. Energy
3190-463: Is simple to construct and quick to erect, even by an unskilled person. The first patent in the United States for barbed wire was issued in 1867 to Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio , who is regarded as the inventor. Joseph F. Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois , received a patent for the modern invention in 1874 after he made his own modifications to previous versions. Wire fences are cheaper and easier to erect than their alternatives (one such alternative
3300-436: Is then wrapped around the opposite corner post, pulled tightly with wire stretchers, and sometimes nailed with more fence staples, although this may make readjustment of tension or replacement of the wire more difficult. Then it is attached to all of the line posts with fencing staples driven in partially to allow stretching of the wire. There are several ways to anchor the wire to a corner post: Barbed wire for agriculture use
3410-405: Is then wrapped around the tractor post and pulled onto the nail, stronger people can pull the gate tighter but anyone can jar off the chain to open the gate. Barbed wire fences remain the standard fencing technology for enclosing cattle in most regions of the United States, but not all countries. The wire is aligned under tension between heavy, braced, fence posts (strainer posts) and then held at
Barbed Wire - Misplaced Pages Continue
3520-506: Is typically available in two varieties: soft or mild-steel wire and high- tensile . Both types are galvanized for longevity. High-tensile wire is made with thinner but higher-strength steel. Its greater strength makes fences longer lasting because it resists stretching and loosening better, coping with expansion and contraction caused by heat and animal pressure by stretching and relaxing within wider elastic limits. It also supports longer spans, but because of its elastic (springy) nature, it
3630-432: Is typically double-strand 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 - gauge , zinc -coated (galvanized) steel and comes in rolls of 400 m (1,320 ft) length. Barbed wire is usually placed on the inner (pasture) side of the posts. Where a fence runs between two pastures livestock could be with the wire on the outside or on both sides of the fence. Galvanized wire is classified into three categories; Classes I, II, and III. Class I has
3740-404: Is under tremendous tension, often up to half a ton , and so the corner post's sole function is to resist the tension of the fence spans connected to it. The bracing keeps the corner post vertical and prevents slack from developing in the fence. Brace posts are placed in-line about 2.5 metres (8 ft) from the corner post. A horizontal compression brace connects the top of the two posts, and
3850-563: The Middle East . Animal rights activists have objected to long-distance transport of animals; one result was the banning of live exports from New Zealand in 2003. Since the 18th century, the farmer John Bull has represented English national identity , first in John Arbuthnot 's political satires, and soon afterwards in cartoons by James Gillray and others including John Tenniel . He likes food, beer, dogs, horses, and country sports ; he
3960-497: The cellulose in forage and require other high-protein foods. The verb to husband , meaning "to manage carefully", derives from an older meaning of husband , which in the 14th century referred to the ownership and care of a household or farm, but today means the "control or judicious use of resources", and in agriculture, the cultivation of plants or animals. Farmers and ranchers who raise livestock are considered to practice animal husbandry . The domestication of livestock
4070-898: The first crops . During the period of ancient societies like ancient Egypt , cattle , sheep , goats , and pigs were being raised on farms. Major changes took place in the Columbian exchange , when Old World livestock were brought to the New World, and then in the British Agricultural Revolution of the 18th century, when livestock breeds like the Dishley Longhorn cattle and Lincoln Longwool sheep were rapidly improved by agriculturalists, such as Robert Bakewell , to yield more meat, milk, and wool . A wide range of other species, such as horse , water buffalo , llama , rabbit , and guinea pig , are used as livestock in some parts of
4180-470: The nomads in the Middle East, while cattle and pigs were associated with more settled communities. The first wild animal to be domesticated was the dog . Half-wild dogs, perhaps starting with young individuals, may have been tolerated as scavengers and killers of vermin, and being naturally pack hunters , were predisposed to become part of the human pack and join in the hunt. Prey animals, sheep, goats, pigs and cattle, were progressively domesticated early in
4290-465: The American Steel and Wire Company, formed by the merging of Gates's and Washburn's and Ellwood's industries. Smaller companies were decimated because of economies of scale and the smaller pool of consumers available to them, compared to the larger corporations. The American Steel and Wire Company established in 1899 employed vertical integration: it controlled all aspects of production, from producing
4400-439: The American Steel and Wire Company, later acquired by The U.S. Steel Corporation. Between 1873 and 1899 there were as many as 150 companies manufacturing barbed wire. Investors knew that the business required minimal capital, and almost anyone with determination could profit by manufacturing a new wire design. There was then a sharp decline in the number of manufacturers, and many were consolidated into larger companies, notably
4510-559: The American Steel and Wire monopoly, which became a part of the United States Steel Corporation. This led to disputes known as the range wars between open range ranchers and farmers in the late 19th century. These were similar to the disputes which resulted from enclosure laws in England in the early 18th century. These disputes were decisively settled in favor of the farmers, and heavy penalties were instituted for cutting
Barbed Wire - Misplaced Pages Continue
4620-628: The Barb Fence Company in DeKalb following the success of "The Winner". The company's success attracted the attention of Charles Francis Washburn, Vice President of Washburn & Moen Manufacturing Company, an important producer of plain wire in the Eastern U.S. Washburn visited DeKalb and convinced Glidden to sell his stake in the Barb Wire Fence Company, while Ellwood stayed in DeKalb and renamed
4730-837: The California-Mexico border. It included barbed wire and was intended to keep cattle from moving between the two countries. In 1924, the United States created its border patrol , which built more barbed wire fences on the Mexican border; this time to prevent people from crossing. More significantly, barbed wire was used extensively by all participating combatants in World War I to prevent movement, with deadly consequences. Barbed wire entanglements were placed in front of trenches to prevent direct charges on men below, increasingly leading to greater use of more advanced weapons such as high-powered machine guns and grenades. A feature of these entanglements
4840-587: The Combat of Magul in 1895. Less well known is its extensive usage in the Russo-Japanese War . In 1899 barbed wire was also extensively used in the Boer War , where it played a strategic role bringing spaces under control, at military outposts as well as to hold the captured Boer population in concentration camps . The government of the United States built its first international border fence from 1909 to 1911 along
4950-486: The First World War, screw pickets were used for the installation of wire obstacles; these were metal rods with eyelets for holding strands of wire, and a corkscrew-like end that could literally be screwed into the ground rather than hammered, so that wiring parties could work at night near enemy soldiers and not reveal their position by the sound of hammers. As with any fence, barbed wire fences require gates to allow
5060-451: The Germans used barbed wire as follows: The enemy wire was always deep, thick, and securely staked with iron supports, which were either crossed like the letter X, or upright, with loops to take the wire and shaped at one end like corkscrews so as to screw into the ground. The wire stood on these supports on a thick web, about four feet high and from thirty to forty feet across. The wire used
5170-537: The Mediterranean. In ancient Egypt , cattle were the most important livestock, and sheep, goats, and pigs were also kept; poultry including ducks, geese, and pigeons were captured in nets and bred on farms, where they were force-fed with dough to fatten them. The Nile provided a plentiful source of fish. Honey bees were domesticated from at least the Old Kingdom, providing both honey and wax. In ancient Rome , all
5280-438: The New World for the first time along with wheat, barley, rice and turnips. Selective breeding for desired traits was established as a scientific practice by Robert Bakewell during the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century. One of his most important breeding programs was with sheep. Using native stock, he was able to quickly select for large, yet fine-boned sheep, with long, lustrous wool. The Lincoln Longwool
5390-576: The Pooh stories, and somewhat more darkly (with a hint of animals going to slaughter) as Babe in Dick King-Smith 's The Sheep-Pig , and as Wilbur in E. B. White 's Charlotte's Web . Pigs tend to be "bearers of cheerfulness, good humour and innocence". Many of these books are completely anthropomorphic , dressing farm animals in clothes and having them walk on two legs, live in houses, and perform human activities. The children's song " Old MacDonald Had
5500-546: The United States used barbed wire. Animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat , fibre , milk , or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding , and the raising of livestock . Husbandry has a long history, starting with the Neolithic Revolution when animals were first domesticated , from around 13,000 BC onwards, predating farming of
5610-529: The West in the 1870s dramatically reduced the cost of enclosing land. One fan wrote the inventor Joseph Glidden : Barbed wire emerged as a major source of conflict with the so-called " Big Die Up " incident in the 1880s. This occurred because of the instinctual migrations of cattle away from the blizzard conditions of the Northern Plains to the warmer and plentiful Southern Plains, but by the early 1880s this area
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#17330849405325720-528: The Westmoreland bull to create the Dishley Longhorn . The semi-natural, unfertilised pastures formed by traditional agricultural methods in Europe were managed by grazing and mowing. As the ecological impact of this land management strategy is similar to the impact of such natural disturbances as grazing and wildfire , this agricultural system shares many beneficial characteristics with a natural habitat, including
5830-639: The alpaca and llama. Some authorities use much broader definitions to include fish in aquaculture , micro-livestock such as rabbits and rodents like guinea pigs , as well as insects from honey bees to crickets raised for human consumption . Animals are raised for a wide variety of products, principally meat , wool , milk , and eggs , but also including tallow , isinglass and rennet . Animals are also kept for more specialised purposes, such as to produce vaccines and antiserum (containing antibodies ) for medical use. Where fodder or other crops are grown alongside animals, manure can serve as
5940-448: The animal for food was a secondary consideration, and wherever possible its products such as wool, eggs, milk and blood (by the Maasai ) were harvested while the animal was still alive. In the traditional system of transhumance , people and livestock moved seasonally between fixed summer and winter pastures; in montane regions the summer pasture was up in the mountains, the winter pasture in
6050-404: The animals' rations can be grown on the farm or can be bought, in the form of pelleted or cubed, compound foodstuffs specially formulated for the different classes of livestock, their growth stages and their specific nutritional requirements. Vitamins and minerals are added to balance the diet. Farmed fish are usually fed pelleted food. The breeding of farm animals seldom occurs spontaneously but
6160-437: The birds are unable to exhibit their normal behaviours. In the developed world, the majority of the poultry reared for meat is raised indoors in big sheds, with automated equipment under environmentally controlled conditions. Chickens raised in this way are known as broilers, and genetic improvements have meant that they can be grown to slaughter weight within six or seven weeks of hatching. Newly hatched chicks are restricted to
6270-502: The birds can roam as they will but are housed at night for their own protection, through semi-intensive systems where they are housed in barns and have perches, litter and some freedom of movement, to intensive systems where they are kept in cages. The battery cages are arranged in long rows in multiple tiers, with external feeders, drinkers, and egg collection facilities. This is the most labour saving and economical method of egg production but has been criticised on animal welfare grounds as
6380-452: The book, had in 1086 "2 fisheries worth [paying tax of] 7s and 6d [each year] and 20 acres of meadow [for livestock]. Woodland for [feeding] 70 pigs." The improvements of animal husbandry in the medieval period in Europe went hand in hand with other developments. Improvements to the plough allowed the soil to be tilled to a greater depth. Horses took over from oxen as the main providers of traction, new ideas on crop rotation were developed and
6490-479: The centuries, being bred for such desirable characteristics as fecundity, productivity, docility and the ability to thrive under the prevailing conditions. Whereas in the past cattle had multiple functions, modern dairy cow breeding has resulted in specialised Holstein Friesian-type animals that produce large quantities of milk economically. Artificial insemination is widely available to allow farmers to select for
6600-496: The company I.L Ellwood & Company of DeKalb. In the late 1870s, John Warne Gates of Illinois began to promote barbed wire, now a proven product, in the lucrative markets of Texas. At first, Texans were hesitant, as they feared that cattle might be harmed, or that the North was somehow trying to make profits from the South. There was also conflict between the farmers who wanted fencing and
6710-653: The correct height by being attached to wooden or steel fence posts , and/or with battens in between. The gaps between posts vary depending on type and terrain. On short fences in hilly country, steel posts may be placed every 3 metres (3 yd), while in flat terrain with long spans and relatively few stock they may be spaced up to 30 to 50 metres (33 to 55 yd) apart. Wooden posts are normally spaced at 10 metres (11 yd) on all terrain, with 4 or 5 battens in between. However, many farmers place posts 2 metres (2 yd) apart as battens can bend, causing wires to close in on one another. Barbed wire for agricultural fencing
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#17330849405326820-515: The countryside to assist in pollination. Sericulture , the rearing of silkworms, was first adopted by the Chinese during the Shang dynasty . The only species farmed commercially is the domesticated silkmoth . When it spins its cocoon , each larva produces an exceedingly long, slender thread of silk. The larvae feed on mulberry leaves and in Europe, only one generation is normally raised each year as this
6930-731: The farmer and the veterinarian . In the European Union, when farmers treat their own animals, they are required to follow the guidelines for treatment and to record the treatments given. Animals are susceptible to a number of diseases and conditions that may affect their health. Some, like classical swine fever and scrapie are specific to one type of stock, while others, like foot-and-mouth disease affect all cloven-hoofed animals. Animals living under intensive conditions are prone to internal and external parasites ; increasing numbers of sea lice are affecting farmed salmon in Scotland. Reducing
7040-416: The fence. Later other smaller scale cattlemen, especially in central Texas , opposed the closing of the open range, and began cutting fences to allow cattle to pass through to find grazing land. In this transition zone between the agricultural regions to the south and the rangeland to the north, conflict erupted, with vigilantes joining the scene causing chaos and even death. The Fence Cutting Wars ended with
7150-417: The fence. That day, Glidden was accompanied by two other men, Isaac L. Ellwood, a hardware dealer and Jacob Haish, a lumber merchant. Like Glidden, they both wanted to create a more durable wire fence with fixed barbs. Glidden experimented with a grindstone to twist two wires together to hold the barbs on the wire in place. The barbs were created from experiments with a coffee mill from his home. Later Glidden
7260-517: The first farmers in the Fresno , California, area, who spent nearly $ 4,000 (equivalent to $ 102,000 in 2023) to have wood for fencing delivered and erected to protect 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) of wheat crop from free-ranging livestock in 1872. Fencing consisting of flat and thin wire was first proposed in France, by Leonce Eugene Grassin-Baledans in 1860. His design consisted of bristling points, creating
7370-400: The gate ends with two corner posts braced or unbraced depending on the size of the post. An unpounded post (often an old broken post) is held to one corner post with wire rings which act as hinges. On the other end a full-length post, the tractor post, is placed with the pointed end upwards with a ring on the bottom stapled to the other corner post, the latch post, and on top a ring is stapled to
7480-558: The growing West needed to keep livestock off their tracks, and farmers needed to keep stray cattle from trampling their crops. Traditional fence materials used in the Eastern U.S., like wood and stone, were expensive to use in the large open spaces of the plains, and hedging was not reliable in the rocky, clay-based and rain-starved dusty soils. A cost-effective alternative was needed to make cattle operations profitable. The "Big Four" in barbed wire were Joseph Glidden , Jacob Haish , Charles Francis Washburn, and Isaac L. Ellwood . Glidden,
7590-444: The growing of crops for winter fodder gained ground. Peas, beans and vetches became common; they increased soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, allowing more livestock to be kept. Exploration and colonisation of North and South America resulted in the introduction into Europe of such crops as maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes and manioc, while the principal Old World livestock – cattle, horses, sheep and goats – were introduced into
7700-524: The history of agriculture. Pigs were domesticated in the Near East between 8,500 and 8000 BC, sheep and goats in or near the Fertile Crescent about 8,500 BC, and cattle from wild aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and Pakistan around 8,500 BC. A cow was a great advantage to a villager as she produced more milk than her calf needed, and her strength could be put to use as a working animal , pulling
7810-473: The jungles of tropical Asia, but archaeologists believe that the original purpose of domestication was for the sport of cockfighting . Meanwhile, in South America, the llama and the alpaca had been domesticated, probably before 3,000 BC, as beasts of burden and for their wool. Neither was strong enough to pull a plough which limited the development of agriculture in the New World. Horses occur naturally on
7920-530: The livestock known in ancient Egypt were available. In addition, rabbits were domesticated for food by the first century BC. To help flush them out from their burrows, the polecat was domesticated as the ferret , its use described by Pliny the Elder . In northern Europe, agriculture including animal husbandry went into decline when the Roman empire collapsed. Some aspects such as the herding of animals continued throughout
8030-459: The middle, it is permanently wired on one side and attaches to a gate post with wire loops on the other. Most designs can be opened by hand, though some gates that are frequently opened and closed may have a lever attached to assist in bringing the upper wire loop over the gate post. Gates for cattle tend to have four wires when along a three wire fence, as cattle tend to put more stress on gates, particularly on corner gates. The fence on each side of
8140-510: The most widely held position in the western world, a form of utilitarianism : that it is morally acceptable for humans to use non-human animals, provided that no unnecessary suffering is caused, and that the benefits to humans outweigh the costs to the livestock. An opposing view is that animals have rights , should not be regarded as property, are not necessary to use, and should never be used by humans. Live export of animals has risen to meet increased global demand for livestock such as in
8250-509: The movement of cattle. By the beginning of the 20th century, large numbers of cowboys were unnecessary. John Warne Gates demonstrated barbed wire for Washburn and Moen in Military Plaza , San Antonio, Texas in 1876. The demonstration showing cattle restrained by the new kind of fencing was followed immediately by invitations to the Menger Hotel to place orders. Gates subsequently had
8360-501: The overall methane emissions of the planet. Further, livestock production is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide . Since the 18th century, people have become increasingly concerned about the welfare of farm animals . Possible measures of welfare include longevity , behavior , physiology , reproduction , freedom from disease , and freedom from immunosuppression . Standards and laws for animal welfare have been created worldwide, broadly in line with
8470-480: The parasite burdens of livestock results in increased productivity and profitability. Where the condition is serious, governments impose regulations on import and export, on the movement of stock, quarantine restrictions and the reporting of suspected cases. Vaccines are available against certain diseases, and antibiotics are widely used where appropriate. At one time, antibiotics were routinely added to certain compound foodstuffs to promote growth, but this practice
8580-406: The particular traits that suit their circumstances. Whereas in the past cows were kept in small herds on family farms , grazing pastures and being fed hay in winter, nowadays there is a trend towards larger herds, more intensive systems, the feeding of silage and "zero grazing", a system where grass is cut and brought to the cow, which is housed year-round. In many communities, milk production
8690-462: The passage of a Texas law in 1884 that made fence cutting a felony. Other states followed, although conflicts occurred through the early years of the 20th century. An 1885 federal law forbade placing such fences across the public domain. Barbed wire is cited by historians as the invention that tamed the West. Herding large numbers of cattle on open range required significant manpower to catch strays. Barbed wire provided an inexpensive method to control
8800-501: The passage of persons, vehicles and farm implements. Gates vary in width from 3.5 metres (12 ft) to allow the passage of vehicles and tractors, to 12 metres (40 ft) on farm land to pass combines and swathers. One style of gate is called the Hampshire gate in the UK, a New Zealand gate in some areas, and often simply a "gate" elsewhere. Made of wire with posts attached at both ends and in
8910-554: The period. By the 11th century, the economy had recovered and the countryside was again productive. The Domesday Book recorded every parcel of land and every animal in England: "there was not one single hide, nor a yard of land, nay, moreover ... not even an ox, nor a cow, nor a swine was there left, that was not set down in [the king's] writ." For example, the royal manor of Earley in Berkshire , one of thousands of villages recorded in
9020-410: The promotion of biodiversity . This strategy is declining in Europe today due to the intensification of agriculture. The mechanized and chemical methods used are causing biodiversity to decline. Traditionally, animal husbandry was part of the subsistence farmer's way of life, producing not only the food needed by the family but also the fuel, fertiliser, clothing, transport and draught power. Killing
9130-525: The ranchers who were losing the open range . Demonstrations by Gates in San Antonio in 1876 showed that the wire could keep cattle contained, and sales then increased dramatically. Gates eventually parted company with Ellwood and became a barbed wire baron in his own right. Throughout the height of barbed wire sales in the late 19th century, Washburn, Ellwood, Gates, and Haish competed with one another. Ellwood and Gates eventually joined forces again to create
9240-1033: The rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated." In practice it can take place in the sea or in freshwater, and be extensive or intensive. Whole bays, lakes or ponds may be devoted to aquaculture, or the farmed animal may be retained in cages (fish), artificial reefs , racks or strings (shellfish). Fish and prawns can be cultivated in rice paddies , either arriving naturally or being introduced, and both crops can be harvested together. Fish hatcheries provide larval and juvenile fish, crustaceans and shellfish, for use in aquaculture systems. When large enough these are transferred to growing-on tanks and sold to fish farms to reach harvest size. Some species that are commonly raised in hatcheries include shrimps , prawns , salmon , tilapia , oysters and scallops . Similar facilities can be used to raise species with conservation needs to be released into
9350-410: The second (from bottom) to fifth wire being plain wire. In New Zealand wire fences must provide passage for dogs since they are the main means of controlling and driving animals on farms. Around the turn of the 20th century, in some rural areas, barbed wire fences were used for local telephone networks . Barbed wire was used for the first time by Portuguese troops defending from African tribes during
9460-422: The smaller spacing. The sole function of a line post is not to take up slack but to keep the barbed wire strands spaced equally and off the ground. Once these posts and bracing have been erected, the wire is wrapped around one corner post, held with a hitch (a timber hitch works well for this) often using a staple to hold the height and then reeled out along the span of the fence replacing the roll every 400 m. It
9570-421: The south. The crickets are kept in pens, boxes or drawers and fed on commercial pelleted poultry food, while the palm weevil larvae live on cabbage palm and sago palm trees, which limits their production to areas where these trees grow. Another delicacy of this region is the bamboo caterpillar , and the best rearing and harvesting techniques in semi-natural habitats are being studied. Animal husbandry has
9680-606: The steel rods to making many different wire and nail products from that steel. It later became part of U.S. Steel, and barbed wire remained a major source of revenue. Barbed wire was important in protecting range rights in the Western U.S. Although some ranchers put notices in newspapers claiming land areas, and joined stockgrowers associations to help enforce their claims, livestock continued to cross range boundaries. Fences of smooth wire did not hold stock well, and hedges were difficult to grow and maintain. Barbed wire's introduction in
9790-755: The steppes of Central Asia and their domestication began around 3,000 BC in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea region. Although horses were originally seen as a source of meat, their use as pack animals and for riding followed. Around the same time, the wild ass was being tamed in Egypt. Camels were domesticated soon after this, with the Bactrian camel in Mongolia and the Arabian camel becoming beasts of burden. By 1000 BC, caravans of Arabian camels were linking India with Mesopotamia and
9900-929: The thinnest coating and the shortest life expectancy. A wire with Class I coating will start showing general rusting in 8 to 10 years, while the same wire with Class III coating will show rust in 15 to 20 years. Aluminum-coated wire is occasionally used, and yields a longer life. Corner posts are 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 in) in diameter or larger, and a minimum 2.5 metres (8 ft) in length may consist of treated wood or from durable on-site trees such as osage orange, black locust , red cedar , or red mulberry , also railroad ties, telephone, and power poles are salvaged to be used as corner posts (poles and railroad ties were often treated with chemicals determined to be an environmental hazard and cannot be reused in some jurisdictions). In Canada spruce posts are sold for this purpose. Posts are 10 centimetres (4 in) in diameter driven at least 1.2 metres (4 ft) and may be anchored in
10010-494: The title Barbed Wire . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barbed_Wire&oldid=1108678239 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Barbed wire Barbed wire , also known as barb wire ,
10120-464: The tractor post, tied with a Stockgrower's Lash or one of numerous other opening bindings. Wires are then tied around the post at one end then run to the other end where they are stretched by hand or with a stretcher, before posts are stapled on every 1.2 metres (4 ft). Often this type of gate is called a portagee fence or a portagee gate in various ranching communities of coastal Central California . Most gates can be opened by push post. The chain
10230-539: The uplands of the United Kingdom, sheep are turned out on the fells in spring and graze the abundant mountain grasses untended, being brought to lower altitudes late in the year, with supplementary feeding being provided in winter. In rural locations, pigs and poultry can obtain much of their nutrition from scavenging, and in African communities, hens may live for months without being fed, and still produce one or two eggs
10340-603: The valleys. Animals can be kept extensively or intensively. Extensive systems involve animals roaming at will, or under the supervision of a herdsman, often for their protection from predators . Ranching in the Western United States involves large herds of cattle grazing widely over public and private lands. Similar cattle stations are found in South America, Australia and other places with large areas of land and low rainfall. Ranching systems have been used for sheep , deer , ostrich , emu , llama and alpaca . In
10450-487: The whole range of available plant material. Cattle, sheep, goats, deer and antelopes are ruminants ; they digest food in two steps, chewing and swallowing in the normal way, and then regurgitating the semidigested cud to chew it again and thus extract the maximum possible food value. The dietary needs of these animals is mostly met by eating grass. Grasses grow from the base of the leaf-blade, enabling it to thrive even when heavily grazed or cut. In many climates grass growth
10560-523: The wild long before that. Fixed comb hives are used in many parts of the world and are made from any locally available material. In more advanced economies, where modern strains of domestic bee have been selected for docility and productiveness, various designs of hive are used which enable the combs to be removed for processing and extraction of honey. Quite apart from the honey and wax they produce, honey bees are important pollinators of crops and wild plants, and in many places hives are transported around
10670-529: The wild, or game fish for restocking waterways. Important aspects of husbandry at these early stages include selection of breeding stock, control of water quality and nutrition. In the wild, there is a massive amount of mortality at the nursery stage; farmers seek to minimise this while at the same time maximising growth rates. Bees have been kept in hives since at least the First Dynasty of Egypt , five thousand years ago, and man had been harvesting honey from
10780-521: The world's fresh water, Livestock, and the production of feed for them, occupy about a third of the Earth's ice-free land. Livestock production contributes to species extinction , desertification , and habitat destruction . and is the primary driver of the Holocene extinction . Some 70% of the agricultural land and 30% of Earth's land surface is involved directly or indirectly in animal husbandry. Habitat
10890-495: The world's meat is produced from animals grazing on open ranges or on enclosed pastures, the other half being produced intensively in various factory-farming systems; these are mostly cows, pigs or poultry, and often reared indoors, typically at high densities. Poultry, kept for their eggs and for their meat, include chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks. The great majority of laying birds used for egg production are chickens. Methods for keeping layers range from free-range systems, where
11000-764: The world, averaging about 8% of man's energy intake. The actual types eaten depend on local preferences, availability, cost and other factors, with cattle, sheep, pigs and goats being the main species involved. Cattle generally produce a single offspring annually which takes more than a year to mature; sheep and goats often have twins and these are ready for slaughter in less than a year; pigs are more prolific, producing more than one litter of up to about 11 piglets each year. Horses, donkeys, deer, buffalo, llamas, alpacas, guanacos and vicunas are farmed for meat in various regions. Some desirable traits of animals raised for meat include fecundity, hardiness, fast growth rate, ease of management and high food conversion efficiency. About half of
11110-1016: The world. Insect farming , as well as aquaculture of fish , molluscs , and crustaceans , is widespread. Modern animal husbandry relies on production systems adapted to the type of land available. Subsistence farming is being superseded by intensive animal farming in the more developed parts of the world, where, for example, beef cattle are kept in high-density feedlots , and thousands of chickens may be raised in broiler houses or batteries . On poorer soil, such as in uplands, animals are often kept more extensively and may be allowed to roam widely, foraging for themselves. Animal agriculture at modern scale drives climate change , ocean acidification , and biodiversity loss . Most livestock are herbivores , except for pigs and chickens which are omnivores . Ruminants like cattle and sheep are adapted to feed on grass; they can forage outdoors or may be fed entirely or in part on rations richer in energy and protein, such as pelleted cereals. Pigs and poultry cannot digest
11220-531: The year, silage or hay is made to cover the times of year when the grass stops growing, and fertiliser, feed, and other inputs are brought onto the farm from outside. Animals used as livestock are predominantly herbivorous , the main exceptions being the pig and the chicken which are omnivorous. The herbivores can be divided into "concentrate selectors" which selectively feed on seeds, fruits and highly nutritious young foliage, "grazers" which mainly feed on grass, and "intermediate feeders" which choose their diet from
11330-468: Was already divided and claimed by ranchers. The ranchers in place, especially in the Texas Panhandle, knew that their holdings could not support the grazing of additional cattle, so the only alternative was to block the migrations with barb wire fencing. Many of the herds were decimated in the winter of 1885, with some losing as many as three-quarters of all animals when they could not find a way around
11440-417: Was driven by the need to have food on hand when hunting was unproductive. The desirable characteristics of a domestic animal are that it should be useful to the domesticator, should be able to thrive in his or her company, should breed freely, and be easy to tend. Domestication was not a single event, but a process repeated at various periods in different places. Sheep and goats were the animals that accompanied
11550-482: Was from American Lucien B. Smith of Ohio. Before 1870, westward movement in the United States was largely across the plains with little or no settlement occurring. After the American Civil War the plains were extensively settled, consolidating America's dominance over them. Ranchers moved out on the plains, and needed to fence their land in against encroaching farmers and other ranchers. The railroads throughout
11660-467: Was generally as thick as sailor's marline stuff, or two twisted rope yarns. It contained, as a rule, some sixteen barbs to the foot. The wire used in front of our lines was generally galvanized, and remained grey after months of exposure. The (German) wire, not being galvanized, rusted to a black color, and shows up black at a great distance. During the Great Depression , migratory work camps in
11770-504: Was improved by Bakewell and in turn the Lincoln was used to develop the subsequent breed, named the New (or Dishley) Leicester. It was hornless and had a square, meaty body with straight top lines. These sheep were exported widely and have contributed to numerous modern breeds. Under his influence, English farmers began to breed cattle for use primarily as beef. Long-horned heifers were crossed with
11880-544: Was joined by Ellwood who knew his design could not compete with Glidden's for which he applied for a patent in October 1873. Meanwhile, Haish, who had already secured several patents for barbed wire design, applied for a patent on his third type of wire, the S barb, and accused Glidden of interference, deferring Glidden's approval for his patented wire, nicknamed "The Winner," until November 24, 1874. Barbed wire production greatly increased with Glidden and Ellwood's establishment of
11990-518: Was that the barbs were much closer together, often forming a continuous sequence. Barbed wire could be exposed to heavy bombardments because it could be easily replaced, and its structure included so much open space that machine guns rarely destroyed enough of it to defeat its purpose. However, barbed wire was defeated by the tank in 1916, as shown by the Allied breakthrough at Amiens through German lines on August 8, 1918. One British writer described how
12100-540: Was traced back to pigs becoming ill after contact with fruit-eating flying foxes , their faeces and urine. The pigs in turn passed the infection to humans. Avian flu H5N1 is present in wild bird populations and can be carried large distances by migrating birds. This virus is easily transmissible to domestic poultry, and to humans living in close proximity with them. Other infectious diseases affecting wild animals, farm animals and humans include rabies , leptospirosis , brucellosis , tuberculosis and trichinosis . There
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