Bobcat vs Electric Fence HELP

[RossAcres]

I’m kind of laughing at your neighbor comparing a non-electric fence to a regular fence. No a bobcat should not crawl under that. I have a 17lb dog that tried to climb under my horse fence. The bottom wire is 9” off of the ground….yeah that sent him screaming and howling. I think our fence is set at 2 joules? We keep it set lower in power because it’s 5’ tall 5 wire fence. We only electrified the bottom wire to keep critters out and the top wire to keep the horses from leaning on the fence then the middle ones are not electrified. However, even a shock from those 2 joules makes my 1,000lb draft horses yearlings take off running. Based off of the trail cams the coyotes don’t like it either

Yeah, when he told me that the bobcat would just go under the electric fence, I kinda laughed. I will be honest, I didn't trust my cheap amazon tester, so I just straight up touched the fence. It didn't necessarily "hurt" but woo wee did I FEEL it. All the way from my finger to my feet. With the lowest hot wire 4-5 inches off the ground, I am starting to doubt anything will want to push through after the shock.

 

[RossAcres]

Not sure if I am remembering your past posts... do you have a solar charged fence? Do you have a tester? When I put up our fence I had a lot of people recommending against solar ones, but if I'm remembering your situation correctly that was the only option? I would just test the fence fairly frequently, keep it mowed, and I think you are fine.

I do have a solar charged fence. I do have a tester, but it's just a cheap amazon one. I didn't trust it at first, so I touched the fence lol. It was definitely working. I test it with the tester every time I go out there (daily). Solar is the only option, as there is no electricity on the property. I keep it mowed, as well as use grass killer spray along the perimeter.

 

[RossAcres]

One other quick thing -
Do you have any trees nearby? Bears, and so I imagine bobcats too, can climb nearby trees and jump down into the run. That could be an issue.

That's a really good point. I will have to look when I go back out there. I wonder how far they can jump off of a tree. I may not have many options if there are trees. This property is owned by someone else, but she lets me do whatever I want as long as I'm not trashing the place. I'll try to move the fence before I decide to cut a tree down.

 

[McChooky]

If you have a fence around the pens with a couple strands of electric fence around it all you should be good .Because nothings got in yet nothings hunting your chickens regularly.Bait the fence to encourage it to touch the fence with it's mouth.