Barbed wire

[cafarmgirl]

I use hot wire around the outside of my pens and along the top to discourage things like fox and coyote as well as roaming dogs. Barbed wire won't faze them, they'll just slip through or over it with no problem. Any critter that comes sniffing around a hot wired pen is probably going to stick it's nose on that wire at some point, they aren't usually interested in trying it again. And being's that the wire is outside my pens and along the top of the fence line it is out of reach of my birds.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sorry but barbed wire for predator protection is a waste. As some other said, it will not phase them. Many of us have grown up around barbed wire. It is used to keep certain animals in. It will not phase a predator and it will not phase your chickens. Your chickens will go right through it.

Electric wire or netting works great to keep predators out as long as it is maintained. They touch it, figure it is made out of raw lightning, and want nothing to do with it.

Chickens can walk through electric fencing if the holes are big enough. Their feathers so insulate them. If they touch it with their combs or wattles they will get a shock. They tend to learn to not do that too often. I use electric netting to keep my chickens in and land based predators out. It doesn’t do much for hawks or owls.

The electric current is not a steady current. It pulses, sending out a very brief current about 50 times a minute. If it were a steady current it would be dangerous and we would not be using it. If the current is steady you can’t turn loose. Since it pulses that gives the animal or us a chance to turn loose. Trust me, if you ever touch it, you will turn loose.

A few days ago I saw a hen pick a grasshopper off my electric netting. She obviously touched the netting with her comb or wattles just as it pulsed. She jumped back and up a few feet and squawked, then went about her business not hurt at all. She kept the grasshopper by the way.

 

[Jessica89]

Haha.. at least she got the grass hopper!
Bless her.
Thanks for your replies.. A bit gutting but oh well.. guess I will have to try something else!
Hot wire? Is that literally what it is ? Wire that is hot?
Never heard of it before!

 

[waddles99]

I wouldn't chose barbed wire, maybe hotwire. If it fell and a bird got tangled in it that would be a risky scene.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Barbed wire is a strand of wire with barbs every few inches. It is stretched tight with the strands a few inches apart. A chicken is not going to fall in that and get tangled up. Predators walk right through it or climb over it.

Concertina wire is razor sharp wire that is twisted to form a barrier, often on top of a solid wall to keep people out. It was famous in World War I to guard no-man’s-land between trenches. That stuff is dangerous.

Hot wire is not hot. A pulse of electricity is shot through it at close intervals. It is very high voltage but low amps and amps are what hurts you a lot more than voltage. Think of it as static electricity you get when walking across carpet in socks. You can shock someone with that but you won’t damage them.

 

[Jessica89]

Barbed wire is a strand of wire with barbs every few inches. It is stretched tight with the strands a few inches apart. A chicken is not going to fall in that and get tangled up. Predators walk right through it or climb over it.

Concertina wire is razor sharp wire that is twisted to form a barrier, often on top of a solid wall to keep people out. It was famous in World War I to guard no-man’s-land between trenches. That stuff is dangerous.

Hot wire is not hot. A pulse of electricity is shot through it at close intervals. It is very high voltage but low amps and amps are what hurts you a lot more than voltage. Think of it as static electricity you get when walking across carpet in socks. You can shock someone with that but you won’t damage them.

Thank you for the help! I may look into hot wire. The concertina would be too dangerous I guess?
Paranoid a fox is going to get into enclosure.
I have a 4ft (about) fence with chicken wire at the bottom and pinned to the bottom of the floor but im worried a fox can still jump over. At night time, I lock the ducks in a secure pen but worried about the day time. Someone suggested using lion poo on the outside of the perimeter?! Haha

 

[zazouse]

I use hot wire around the outside of my pens and along the top to discourage things like fox and coyote as well as roaming dogs. Barbed wire won't faze them, they'll just slip through or over it with no problem. Any critter that comes sniffing around a hot wired pen is probably going to stick it's nose on that wire at some point, they aren't usually interested in trying it again. And being's that the wire is outside my pens and along the top of the fence line it is out of reach of my birds.

Great advice