does anyone use the kencove or premier poultry netting?

[crazedguinea]

i'm thinking of buying the poultry netting to keep the flock on our property mainly and hopefully a bit more protected while outside. i'm curious to know if anyone else uses it and what their experience has been with it before i order it. i guess i'd probably have to trim some primary feathers on my guineas and peafowl since they would be likely to fly over the fence(?). and would this netting deter hawks or would they fly down into the "chicken paddock" anyway?

 

[spook]

It is a must have in areas where you have preditors. I found that it helps keep the climbing preditors out, such as coons. I did not use those particular brands- er, I don't think...but I picked up a package at the feed store for covering trees, berry patch or row covers. We placed hooks to sting rope and then left enough to hook down with cloths pins or weights. It is an amazing relief to ones mind that no one escapes over, and nothing flies in to remove anyone! Good luck!

 

[Chicken Woman]

I bought mine at Home Depot. It's intended for keeping birds out of berries and fruit trees. I love it as my bantams can fly and IM afraid they will get in trees and not come down at night.

 

[Western Chick]

I'm assuming you're talking about the electrified poultry netting with the step-in posts...

I bought one from Premier a couple years ago and I still use it...with caution.

It is good for keeping the ground-dwelling predators away as long as you keep a good charge going through it. You will need to have a good fencer and check it regulary. Since it has so many electrified wires it is a heafty drain on the fence charger. We have a 100 mile charger that electrifies our pasture fences and I usually just splice it into there. You also have to keep an eye on it for electrical shorts. The wind will blow it around and if one of the electrified wires touches metal it will have no shocking power.

Hawks haven't been a problem for us (so far). I would guess you could put some fence posts with mylar ribbon tied on them inside the chicken paddock to deter the hawks.

The fence isn't the best for keeping chickens in. Most chickens will fly over the fence if they so desire unless you clip their wings. Smaller birds- young chickens and meat birds- will go right through the fence without being bothered by the electric shock. I do use it successfully for my full grown ducks and geese.

Although it's sold a portable or temporary fencing, moving the thing is not a joyful task. It's very difficult to move around without getting it all tangled up. I prefer to put it up and leave it so I don't have to deal with it very often. If I were buying it again I would get a shorter length. I have the 164 foot version which is very difficult for me to carry myself when it's all folded up.

If you have other livestock or small children, use extreme caution. The shock from the fence isn't enough to do any damage but the shock along with the potential to get entangled in the fence is a deadly combination. I've lost one goat to the fence and rescued many others that happened upon the fence when they got out of their own. The goats are curious enough that they will stick their head through the fence...they get the shock and end up getting tangled up trying to pull their head out. Not pretty.

Sorry for the long ramble...bottom line is it works best if your intentions are keeping the ground-dwellers (dogs, cats, raccoons, etc) away from the birds. That's about it.

 

[patandchickens]

Spook and chickenwoman seem to be talking about netting to cover a run. The electrified stuff is totally unrelated

-- it is good stuff, but you need to respect its eccentricities. You will probably need extra step-in posts to tie back the corners so it doesn't sag; not great in super windy areas; and (big thing) the grass under it needs to be kept extremely short so it doesn't ground out the fence, meaning every week or month or so (depends on growing conditions) you will have to take down the fence, mow real short, and replace fence. The fence goes up and down VERY quickly, but still, it is another chore. If you don't keep up with it, you'll be sorry. And it draws a *considerable* load, so you need a good powerful charger, correctly installed.

Electronet offers no protection whatsoever against hawks etc, sorry.

I am not sure whether clipping wings would be sufficient for guineas and peacocks. Wouldnt take much of a hop to get over just a 4' fence. Even chickens, if they really WANT to get over it, they prolly will (well except CornishX

)

Good luck,

Pat

 

[crazedguinea]

thanks for all the replies, they have been very very helpful...i'm leaning towards other options now but am still mentally debating it since i don't think my husband would be too thrilled about building yet another bird pen. i'd really prefer not to clip wing feathers on the guineas or peas-but you are right they will likely get out easily otherwise(4 foot would be no problem for them to fly out of). now i'll have to come up with another plan. wish they would just STAY on the property!!!!!!! thanks thanks thanks, everyone's info. was EXTREMELY wonderful and was just what i was looking for! being that i'm rather petite and all the upkeep-i don't know it might be a mess for me.

p.s. western chick i LOVED the picture of your geese and ducks too, they are SOOOO pretty-are they nice? (american buffs, sebastopol(spelling wrong probably), and indian runners???)

 

[Western Chick]

Yeah, knowing what I know now...it's probably not worth the price.

Yes...Buff geese, one Sebastopol and runner ducks. I don't have the ducks anymore, they had to leave to make room for my Silver Appleyards.

I love the geese, they're relatively calm and quiet. They can be aggressive during breeding season. The Sebbie- Magenta (named by DD) is my pride and joy. She is an eBay egg success story. I actually hatched out two but as luck would have it the little boy gosling drowned, go figure!

ETA- by the way, I love this picture...I post it whenever I get the chance.

 

[Der Alte]

Hi,

I just got the double spike 48 inch high, 164 foot long PoultryNet kit from Premier. I also got a Patriot P5 energizer kit from them too.

The entire fence only weighs about 30 lbs. I don't have a hawk problem, just ground based predators, such as cats.

The fence kit comes with 5 extra posts and you can get more at Tractor Supply for a couple of bucks each if you need even more.

The P5 energizer runs on 110VAC or on 12VDC. For a fence as short as mine, it should do. It is important to keep grass and weeds short near the fence or the voltage goes way down.

What is best for you will depend on your particular circumstances. Spend some time searching the forum. The people here are nice and very willing to share their knowledge and experience.

May your flock prosper,

Der Alte

 

[spook]

Sorry about that, shows that I shoulda looked it up before typing.

 

[greyhorsewoman]

I started using electrified poultry netting from Kencove this year and so far I'm pleased with the results. We wanted to enclose as large an area as possible for our chickens to 'freerange'. Our corgi found out REAL quick not to try to go under then fence!

Western Chick brought up some good points. Before we had 3 to 6 hens every day get out, even though we clipped the wings of any that flew out. They were always waiting at the coop door to go back in at feeding time. Fortunately, nothing ever happened to any of them, but I knew they were really vulnerable. Since then we more than doubled the area (we combined TWO 164' fence units) and we've had less 'escapees' now.

Kencove suggested using rebar for the corners for bracing and that has worked well. ALWAYS use 2 or 3 people when moving it ... especially if you are going around TREES (or other permanent items) ... makes it much easier. Extra step in posts help where the land isn't perfectly level and you get any drooping.

Definitely get a good charger and check often.