fencing options for a fence-less yard.. electric?

[allebasi4]

So, I live in a place where there are a lot of vacation rental houses, which ultimately means a lot of random loose dogs and other things. Also, we have a public access path one yard over which leads to a lot of random people/dogs coming through. Our yard is quite big, and not fenced, and not really able to be permanently fenced because we live right on the river and the lawn occasionally floods. Our chickens spend most of the day in their completely secure coops/runs but they do get out almost every day to free-range for an hour or two but somebody always has to be watching them.

I haven't seen many land predators out during the day, but I know we have foxes, weasels, and rats that come out at night. There are also feral cats but they don't usually bother the chickens.. my main concern is dogs. Ideally, we would be able to put up some sort of fencing to keep the chickens in and everything else out and be able to let them be outside of their run without us watching. My initial thought was electric fencing, but it seems like a pretty big investment, though worth it- potentially.

I was looking at the premier one kit.. but do your chickens still fly over it, or do they test it and get shocked? Has it kept predators out for you? A couple rational/irrational worries: my chickens tend to flip out when a dog comes for them (as they should) even when they're in a fenced area.. I'm worried about something coming for them and them just flinging themselves into the fence and getting caught up.. we have pretty soft ground here so I'm kind of worried about it sagging or being pulled down easily.

Does anyone else have any ideas? If you have a similar situation what do you use? Any fencing recommendations? It would be so nice to give them more time ranging and not have to worry about things getting to them, even though I know the top is still open for hawk access.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have the 48" Premier 1 fence kit with the solar charger. The 100ft version.

I've found it extremely easy to use. Even picking it up so I can mow under the edge and putting it back is a quick and simple, one-person job.

Yes, some of my chickens can fly over and occasionally do. The California White is the worst offender but hasn't quite gotten to the point that I want to subject her to having her wings clipped because she dislikes being caught and handled.

I've never noticed my chickens reacting to the shock (feathers are good insulators), and when they were little they'd go *through* the fence rather than over it. But they don't tend to try escaping very often. Most of them are content to stay inside the pen where the good stuff is.

I have not *seen* the fence tested by a predator but when well-charged the energizer maxes my fence tester and, after over 6 months of letting them out daily whether we're home or not I still have all my chickens. I know that I have raccoons and oppossums and I have heard coyotes in the neighborhood.

One thing about an electric fence, especially in a neighborhood like you describe where there are strangers and their dogs -- you must have good signage. Probably more than just the one sign that comes with the kid. That way people can't blame you if they get shocked.

 

[3KillerBs]

P.S. In re: hawks,

I am in the same situation, knowing that there are hawks on the property. I have put a number of shelters of various kinds into the run -- a pallet up on blocks, a couple overturned lawn chairs, and the like.

 

[MissE]

I have the Premier 48". Its 164' long. I love it. Easy to move of I need to. My dogs won't go near it, and it even made Mr. Bear decide to find dinner somewhere else. I had a fox that would lie down next to it, but after one zap, decided he wasn't going to try crossing it again.

I set it up in the orchard the first year I had it. Figured the trees would provide cover and shade. Even though the trees themselves had cages to protect them, the chickens dug enough holes that I decided not to do that again.

Now is use the side of the barn for one side of their pasture, which gives them even more space. They don't fly over the fence often but I have heavy breeds. They respect the fence and there is a 6 inch strip of grass next to it that doesnt get eaten. I do include several hiding places from aerial attacks. We have eagles and hawks during the day. Not too worried about owls since they go in the coop at night.

Yes, there is a monetary investment. Any fence will cost money, but not every fence can be moved where you want it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I haven't seen many land predators out during the day

I've seen practically every land predator out during the day, they don't just come out at night. My list includes fox, coyote, mink, raccoon, skunk, rat, snake, and bobcat. I even saw a possum eating at my compost pile at 1:00 pm on a bright sunny day. Some predators mainly hunt at night but that doesn't mean they never hunt during the day. They know to stay well hidden and tend to avoid places where humans are active, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Don't be complacent.

I agree that dogs are often the worst threat. The reason I got my Premiere1 electric netting was people abandoning dogs in the country. The electric netting stopped all land-based predators, including digging and climbing ones.

do your chickens still fly over it, or do they test it and get shocked?

Can chickens fly over the 48" high netting? Yes, my full sized fowl have no problems flying up to my 5' high roosts. If they wanted to they could easily clear that netting. Mostly mine don't want to. There are some tricks to that.

When I have immature cockerels being raised with the flock they sometimes get into fights. If the loser gets trapped against the netting it may go vertical to get away. Sometimes it lands outside the netting and does not know enough to fly back in. It could fly back in and often wants to but just doesn't know enough to rejoin the flock. On really rare occasions a girl may be trying to escape an amorous rooster and go vertical to get away. That's when mine fly over, not just because they want to. When mine is set up right I hardly ever find a chicken out of it, except occasionally those pesty immature cockerels.

I've found a couple of things that help. One is to not have any sharp corners. 90 degree corners seem to work OK but anything sharper seems to help them get trapped. Another trick is to not have any tight places. I once configured mine with a fairly narrow corridor, maybe 10 feet wide and about 25 feet long. As soon as I did that the number of immature cockerels getting out skyrocketed. They could not walk past each other without starting a fight. When I reconfigured that into more of a wide rectangle with soft corners the escapees pretty much stopped. I have the 164' length with a 50 feet addition.

They do require maintenance. If grass or weeds grow up into it they can short the fence out, especially if it is wet. A heavy rain or strong wind may cause dead leaves or other trash to build up against the fence, that can short it out. They are designed to be taken down and put back up fairly easily. I do that by myself but especially with a longer one It's easier with two people. The netting can get heavy and awkward to handle.

One of the safety features is that the current pulses instead of stays steady. It pulses about 50 times a minute. If it were a steady current the critter would not be able to turn it loose, but since it pulses the critter can. If it gets zapped it will turn loose. So will you if you touch a hot wire. I don't worry about my chickens getting into it. If they touch a hot wire with their comb, wattles, or bare beak while they are grounded, they will get zapped. When mine do that they squawk, jump back a couple of feet, and then return to grazing. After a while they learn to not peck right at the fence. That's unfortunate because that means they do not keep the grass and weeds eaten down so it can grow up and short out the fence.

To me a very satisfying sound is a dog giving out a surprised yelp and seeing it run away, probably never to test that fence again. It is not permanently injured, just shocked and taught a lesson, leave that netting alone.

The way the netting works is that all the horizontal wires except the bottom one is a hot wire. The soil acts as a ground. A critter has to touch a hot wire while it is grounded to complete the electric circuit and get a shock. So you need to install the grounding system properly. The standard way is to drive a grounding rod into the ground and hook up the wiring properly. That's not that hard to do. My young chicks can walk right through the electric netting up until they are about 7 or 8 weeks old, then they grow too big to fit between the openings. I have full sized fowl, I do not have bantams. The feathers insulate them, plus mine tend to jump up onto a horizontal when they go through instead of keeping a foot on the soil. They are hardly ever shocked as they go through.

You need to check local ordinances to see if an electric fence is allowed. Some localities have banned them. With that walking trail an all you might be setting yourself up for legal problems. But not necessarily. With proper signage and setting it back on your property a bit you might be fine. I'd really want to know what the local legal requirements and restrictions are so I could protect myself. That's one reason I like living in the country instead of in a town or HMO, fewer legal restrictions. But you still need to know what those are, if any.

In my experience electric netting is very effective in stopping land based predators. But like everything else, it's not always the perfect answer for everyone.

 

[allebasi4]

Thanks for taking the time to relply! It’s really helpful to hear everyone’s experiences with the fences. Hopefully I’ll get one set up soon