***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Ksane]

Do any of you use electrified poultry fence? How could I not have known about this?! The cost comes out to the same as 4' chain link, I've been using mainly 5' chain link and that horrible 5' welded wire fencing all this time. This plasic electrified fencing would be a lifesaver! With the added advantage it would keep other critters out. There's so many different ways to use it plus it's easily moveable. I'm definitely using this next.

I only had 4 Silkies hatch from the shipped eggs, 2 had the vaulted skull and 1 of those was dead this morning. These were a lot better "quality" than my 10 hatchery Silkies but the hatchery Silkies are certainly stronger and more solid. The 7 mixes from my eggs are doing wonderful. I hope i don't lose any more tiny Silkies from those shipped eggs. Started out with 29 eggs and only have 3 chicks to show for it, not good odds. They're certainly adorable though!!

 

[shelbydog]

Has everyone seen the new @ feature here?  You can tag people so they get notices when you mention them, just like on facebook... @shelbydog
Hi! 

hmmmm.....I didn't get any additional notification of being tagged.

How's the 'preparing for the move' going?

 

[artsyrobin]

@ksane, how do you set your shipped eggs- i have been told to not turn for the first five days and set them in egg carton sections point down in the bator, after that set them normal and hand turn...

@NanaKat let me know when would be good for you- needs to after the 24th, thats payday and we can fill the tank..

now lets see if this tagging worked...

 

[Kassaundra]

@Ksane plastic and electrified??? how does that work, I didn't know plastic was a conducter of electricity???

 

[Sooner]

My chickens would just fly over that fencing. Although it would be nice to use to keep them off my porch.

 

[Sooner]

Thanks for the tip on the mobile, I will try it at home.

 

[miohippus]

@Ksane plastic and electrified??? how does that work, I didn't know plastic was a conducter of electricity???

i believe it is plastic coated wire. That is what the horse fencing is made of.

 

[BetsyOK]

Several years ago, our guinea fowl group toured Harvey Ussery's homestead (he wrote--and may still do--extensively for poultry magazines), and he used that plastic electric fencing with great success. He and his wife lived in a pretty exclusive rural subdivision with pretty close neighbors. He kept his chickens and guinea fowl pretty well protected with that fencing. His homestead was a wonderful place with many innovations, and very "green". He had long ago given up his rototiller and other equipment of that type, because he rotated his pens using the electrified fencing and the guineas and chickens kept his garden plots weeded, devoid of insects and tilled.

I don't remember how he kept his guineas and chickens from flying out of that area, and I think foxes and hawks were probably his main predators. Seems to me he kept guard dogs that alleviated most of the hawk problem. The fencing kept the foxes out.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Do any of you use electrified poultry fence? How could I not have known about this?! The cost comes out to the same as 4' chain link, I've been using mainly 5' chain link and that horrible 5' welded wire fencing all this time. This plasic electrified fencing would be a lifesaver! With the added advantage it would keep other critters out. There's so many different ways to use it plus it's easily moveable. I'm definitely using this next.

I only had 4 Silkies hatch from the shipped eggs, 2 had the vaulted skull and 1 of those was dead this morning. These were a lot better "quality" than my 10 hatchery Silkies but the hatchery Silkies are certainly stronger and more solid. The 7 mixes from my eggs are doing wonderful. I hope i don't lose any more tiny Silkies from those shipped eggs. Started out with 29 eggs and only have 3 chicks to show for it, not good odds. They're certainly adorable though!!

I will let you know in the next few weeks- I have two big boxes of it sitting on my porch ready to use at the new house. I am hearing a LOT of good about it from my friends on other threads. It comes in different heights. I am not using it to solely keep the chickens in- only the extra boys will be free ranging, everyone else will be in portable tractors with covered runs. Every time we have visited the new house we have seen hawks PLURAL- so we know they are going to be a major predator- as well as coyotes, foxes, coons, skunks, owls, etc. We are going from a neighborhood where a stray dog or a hawk are the worst of our worries to a place where everything under the sun eats chickens. But several friends on Stella's thread use electric fencing + covered tractors and have very few losses as long as they are vigilant with AM/PM lockups.

hmmmm.....I didn't get any additional notification of being tagged.

How's the 'preparing for the move' going?

I think it sends you an e-mail to the address you setup your account with.

Preparations are moving along- the closing got moved back because we insisted on a new roof- the old roof was so bad it was "uninsurable." Roof goes on Saturday, and we close Monday! Then we have 5 days to move the chickens and beehives, then all of our stuff the next weekend, THEN we list the old house. Using my time to do as many touch-ups and repairs here as I can. Although I don't begrudge the rain it does make things more difficult!

@Ksane plastic and electrified??? how does that work, I didn't know plastic was a conducter of electricity???

The fence is netted and has electric wires running along the length of it, I think it has about 9 lines of electric on the 48" tall fencing I bought. We bought 3 fence sections and an energizer big enough to power up to 5 sections. Each section is 164 ft long. http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=20170&cat_id=53 On the recommendation of most reviews I bought extra support poles. We'll see how it goes next week when we go out to set it up!

 

[Ksane]

Thanks for the explanations on the poultry wire, cleared it up for me also. Sooner, I clip wings on the good flyers, I want this poultry fence for Silkies (& hopefully Showgirls). I can thinks of lots of uses, I'm sure it would've held my Cochins and Brahma girls just fine. Their chunky butts couldn't get over a 4' fence. Betsy, I was really glad to hear your account of the luck that guy had with it. Rinda, be sure to let us know how it works. I'm deciding on a charger, does it have to be a specific kind made for those fences?
Robin, I've heard so darn many ways of treating the eggs before incubating them that I don't know what to believe. There's too many variables with shipped eggs. And Silkies in particular are prone to problems anyway, especially the ones with the vaulted heads (IMO).
I did get a notice when @Kassaundra tried it with my name and the symbol. Lemme see if it works for me, I'm probably doing it wrong.
Edit: Yes I did.