Could you electrify chicken wire when using livestock electric wire?

[Weeg]

Asking for a friend who recently lost her ducks to a coyote attack. Trying to think of a quick fix to predator proof the area, since a lot of the run is chicken wire. I thought we could use Premier 1 netting, but its a bit to expensive to cover her whole run area in that netting, it is an expensive set. So I was wondering, would it be possible to use electric wire (straight wire not tape) and a charger to run a few strips of wire, and then light up the chicken wire as well? It would be metal on metal, so I was wondering if this would work. It would be much cheeper than Premier 1, and pretty instant until she can get ahold of Hardware cloth which she's waiting for at TSC.
Thanks for the help!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes, you can use the chicken wire as your ground and set your hot wires off of it (not in contact, separated by plastic or nylon insulators most likely, such that a creature in contact with the hot wire and the chicken wire or the hot wire and the physical ground, will get a shock.

You just need to ensure the chicken wire is in contact with the ground (or is wired to yoru grounding rod), and that your hot wires are properly postioned.

 

[BroK]

No preference.
I touch my hot wires. Its a good test. (NOT recommended if you have a heart condition, etc!!! I use the back of my thumbnail to make contact).
Good
Good.

Thank you, very helpful. Maybe I'll delegate to my spouse to use her thumbnails--they're longer than mine. ; )

 

[jher77]

As long as you are not grounding out the 'hot' wire, it will work. If the chicken wire is touching or electrically connected to earth, it is grounded.

 

[jher77]

The '-' wire on the charger goes in the ground. The "+" wire on the charger just hangs loose waiting for a chance to touch the ground basically. If you or metal touches the hot wire, it completes the circuit and you get shocked or it shorts out the charger.

So the '-' wire goes in the ground with a ground rod. The '+' wire does not touch the ground electrically in any way through a metal fence or fence post or physically touching the ground.

Weeds can grow up into a '+' fence wire and short it out making the shock less effective but still depending on the power of the fence charger, deliver a shock.

Wood is an insulator so no electricity passes through it.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I tried something similar when installing my fence but didn't have a tester so I used a weed.Touching the hot wire with it I could feel it tingle so I know it was getting power. (I've ordered a fence tester that will give a digital reading ) Temporarily I disconnected my ground wire from my fencing after hearing popping sounds coming from the trees.
An electrician I called said its possible my hot wires were too close to the fence.

When you push a lot of charge, and have a very good ground - as I do with a 30 mi fence charger powering roughly 1 mi in wire, right after it rains, with extra ground rods wired to the main spaced every 200'; or so, yes, you can arc to very close trees, and hear a clicking or popping noise if your wires are (in my case) about 3/8" distance or closer. Its pissible it might ark a little further when the bark is throughly soaked.

I had to replace a number of insulators for just that reason, earlier in the year.

When my soil is dry?? I could probablb double the number of ground rods and still not be happy.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

if you are blessed with true quiet, walking your fence after a rain storm will help you quikly locate the problem areas in ways that just can't be duplicated in other conditions. Even in the dark, you often can't see the spark or the arc, but you can hear it.

 

[Weeg]

As long as you are not grounding out the 'hot' wire, it will work. If the chicken wire is touching or electrically connected to earth, it is grounded.

So as long as the chicken wire isn't grounded, it will work? Or the other way around. Sorry if this is an obvious question.
I believe the wire is touching the ground, but we could always move it up if thats necessary. Its attached to wooden posts, so no worries there. Thank you!
@clbarnar

 

[Weeg]

Yes, you can use the chicken wire as your ground and set your hot wires off of it (not in contact, separated by plastic or nylon insulators most likely, such that a creature in contact with the hot wire and the chicken wire or the hot wire and the physical ground, will get a shock.

You just need to ensure the chicken wire is in contact with the ground (or is wired to yoru grounding rod), and that your hot wires are properly postioned.

Perfect, thank you! I'm pretty sure its touching the ground, but when we add a ground rod we could probably connect it to be certain.

 

[avjudge]

Wood is an insulator so no electricity passes through it.

Dry wood is an insulator. Wet, not so much. I would not electrify an existing chicken-wire fence as insulating it from the ground would probably prove impossible without rebuilding it.

@U_Stormcrow’s solution of using the chicken wire as part of the grounding surface, and standing charged wires off from it (using fence insulators attached to those wooden posts), is how I would go.