Not sure i like premier1 electric fence

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shamrockmommy

shamrockmommy

Chirping
7 Years
Jan 22, 2013
125
12
98
So I read all the great reviews about electric netting for hens and I was sold on the idea. Yesterday I set up my new fence and honestly, I am really disappointed! Despite extra support poles and restaking several times a day, it still sags and I can hear the fence shorting out on our very short grass.

My next problem is that my dogs have been zapped by the fence, which, yes I realize this teaches them to leave the hens alone, but now they won't come out of the house to pee! We are on 5 acres and the coop and fence are quite a ways away from the house and now my girls are traumatized :(. I am thinking of returning the fence and charger but I'm completely embarrassed about it because I practically begged DH for it and now I'm really unhappy with it! I found some plans for a PVC mobile yard and that looks a lot better to me.

This fence and the sagging, what a joke! I called the company and ended up ordering more poles to weave into the fence.

Im just all kinds of upset and worried about it. But now with the dogs afraid to come out... It may be a no go and I just might return it! Only thing that keeps me from doing it right now is how dh is going to react. Ugh!
Wwyd?
 
A couple of things that might help you out. Use guy wires at the ends of your straight runs of netting so you can stretch it tighter. This might give you an idea of what I do.
700

Maybe this will give you an idea of how I help keep it up out of the grass and weeds when it sags. I can’t get it stretched out where it does not sag some in some places. I think part of that is uneven ground and part is that some of the plastic wires stretch. You can buy different things but I just break off some twigs with a branch forming a hook and prop it up. It’s pretty easy to do.

700



One problem with this electric netting is that it will short out. You need to mow well where it is going to cut the grass and weeds down. In the winter this is not a bit deal for me, though I’ve never been through a heavy snow with it. In the spring and summer when I get a lot of rain and warm weather, I might need to take it down and mow every week to ten days. In the dry summer in our drought, maybe once every three weeks or so was enough. Just depends on your climate.

Premier probably told you that lawn mowers and weed eaters cause more damage to this electric netting than anything else. You really do need to totally take it down and mow. Don’t try weeding around it.
 
What kind of fence did you get? Sounds like you have the regular fence that comes in 164' lengths., with the poles spaced 12' apart. THAT fence will sag, it's the lightest fence they sell. I have the PoultryPlus. It comes in 100' lengths, max. The support poles are heavier and closer together. This fence doesn't sag. Another thing to look for, as far as the fence shorting out. Check and make sure the bottom hot wire of the fence is not tucked under the fence post and touching the metal ground spike. I found a couple of those when I first installed the fence. You can get extra support posts at TractorSupply, they're cheap, and you won't have to wait and pay for shipping. The dogs will learn to give the fence a wide berth, and really, that's a good thing. See the pic below, that fence doesn't sag.
As far as keeping the grass out of the fence, I use Roundup, a little goes a long way. To me, it beats moving and mowing the fence line every week, or so.
Jack

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Last edited:
JackE said:
What kind of fence did you get? Sounds like you have the regular fence that comes in 164' lengths., with the poles spaced 12' apart. THAT fence will sag, it's the lightest fence they sell. I have the PoultryPlus. It comes in 100' lengths, max. The support poles are heavier and closer together. This fence doesn't sag. Another thing to look for, as far as the fence shorting out. Check and make sure the bottom hot wire of the fence is not tucked under the fence post and touching the metal ground spike. I found a couple of those when I first installed the fence. You can get extra support posts at TractorSupply, they're cheap, and you won't have to wait and pay for shipping.  The dogs will learn to give the fence a wide berth, and really, that's a good thing. See the pic below, that fence doesn't sag.
As far as keeping the grass out of the fence, I use Roundup, a little goes a long way. To me, it beats moving and mowing the fence line every week, or so.
Jack

900x900px-LL-26ef1f78_IMG_1989.jpeg
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x2
 
The dogs can be fixed!! Take some flags (like the kind used for Invisible Fence), pop 'em in the ground about 1' away from the fence. With the dogs on a leash, walk the around the perimeter giving the flags a shake while giving the dog/s a loud "NO". They'll realize that the fence is the what hurts and start roaming the yard again. It'll help too, if you can throw some treats around the yard teaching the dogs all the areas that are safe. It'll also be easier if you work the dogs one at a time. In a week, start removing every other flag until no flags remain. The dogs will have learned that the yard is "safe" and the fence is NOT.
 
uphilljill said:
Extra fiberglass posts like JackE suggested are very handy. And you can also place a narrow band of landscape fabric right under the fence to stop the grass from growing into it. Stick the fence stakes right into it to hold it in place and non-toxic.

 
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Thanks for the idea of landscape cloth. I'm going to give that a lot of thought.

How wide a strip do you use? Have you had a problem with the wind blowing it up against the fence and shorting it out when it rains?
 
I see so many of these things that sound so easy but often they are just an advertising ploy. When you try putting them into practice, they just aren't practical. That's why I was hoping you had some practical experience with it. I’ll do some thinking out loud. Maybe someone will see this and comment.

6" would never be enough for me. My Bermuda grass will grow over that and up without any problem. I've had enough experience to know that. I think the chickens would keep it eaten close enough on the inside to extend the life for a while as long as they were far enough back from the netting. Their feathers insulate them from the electric shock but when their combs hit it, they get shocked. Mine eat real close to the netting but they don’t keep it cleaned out.

I’d thought of those staples or maybe lay some boards on it to keep it from blowing. I get some pretty stiff winds here.

It would have to be wide enough so I’d feel comfortable weed eating along it to keep the grass and weeds down. A weed eater will destroy that netting if it gets in it so that would probably mean at least 18” for me. I’ll have to see what widths that stuff comes in, maybe cut a roll in half. It’s probably less work to weed eat around it than move it, but probably not by much. In the growing season here I don’t have to move it that often to keep them in some forage.

It’s an interesting thought. You have my curiosity up. Thanks.
 
Definitely different conditions and grasses here in the Northeast. Our net is half in woods, so we only have to worry about keeping grass from growing into it on one side. I think the fabric typically comes in 3-4' wide rolls. If you have over 100' of fence in grass, it'd probably be easier to use roundup than cut/fold that much fabric.

Our chickens go thru our goat electric net fence (bigger holes) very easily since they figured out not to touch it with their head/feet, but the poultry fence has much smaller holes. They can't get thru that even when it's turned off even tho the silly things try. (Don't seem to realize their bodies are bigger than their heads.)
 

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