Electric Fence Basics

[nao57]

I also wanted to ask...

How well do these simple electric fences work for larger predators? Can anyone comment about this?

Beekeepers use them for bears,...but I don't know how 'tested' they are, and what kinds of experiences people have had with them when it came down to it.

 

[Howard E]

Can the animals get shocked also by touching the grounding rod?

And can you use any car battery, or does it need to have a certain minimum number of amp hours in it? Or do you hook up a battery bank, and not just one battery?

*How many hours of fencing does a typical battery give you? Is it enough to last through a whole night?* (Or does the fence only deplete charging when its bumped into?)

You know this is so cool that you posted this. Just the last few days I had been thinking I needed to look up and learn about this but didn't know where to look for it. And then just now I saw this post! Yes! This thread helped a lot. And its giving me a chance to ask about it.

Thank you very much.

Fencers work as two circuits. The HOT wire, and earth ground.....which is not hot....it is simply the pathway back to the fence charger to connect the circuit. Think of the animal as the switch. They touch the hot wire, while standing on the earth ground, the juice flows from hot wire, through the switch (animal), back to ground. Animal feels low amp, high voltage current as a painful electric shock. Painful enough they do not want to repeat it, so quickly learn to avoid it. So no.....while fencer is on, you can grab the earth ground (connected to soil you stand upon) and not get shocked. It's the HOT wire you gotta look out for.

I am using 12 volt, Group 24 Deep Cycle marine battery (1) (Cost $75 to $100) on these 12 volt fence chargers. A good battery on a full charge, with nothing to short out the fence, will keep the fence hot for 45 to 60 days. It then gets charged overnight and good for another month or two.

For a permanent fence, where the fence charger can be kept in a weather protected setting, you could use a less expensive and more powerful AC charger. I use 12 volt chargers as they are portable, and can be placed outdoors in any weather, with no covering.

 

[Howard E]

One of those quick hedge clippers or fast trimmer things could work this out fast. And it seems that a lot of people also move these portable electric fences around also, so for some people an alternative to roundup might be better.

If truly portable (as with electric poultry netting), you can simply scalp the grass down to the ground with a lawnmower, as I did with this one, or a string trimmer. Once you get it down to an inch, you are down to nearly bare soil, and that may buy you a few days up to a week before the grass will come back to short it out.

You can use a string trimmer to keep grass down, but if the fence is really tight, you will be hanging it up all the time. But if portable, you can move it off to the side, then put it back.

 

[Howard E]

I also wanted to ask...

How well do these simple electric fences work for larger predators? Can anyone comment about this?

Beekeepers use them for bears,...but I don't know how 'tested' they are, and what kinds of experiences people have had with them when it came down to it.

I don't have bears to deal with, but in areas that do, they appear to be the universal protection device. About the only thing that works. Bears are sensitive to zaps on the nose and that is where they get it 99% of the time.

They are the best thing going for dealing with dogs. Once a dog gets a good dose of volts, you can hardly make them go near the fence again.

 

[nao57]

Thank you again for this thread. I really wanted to know about this.

 

[cmom]

Is that a shade shelter in the bottom image?

Yes, they are rain/shade tables I have in all of the pens. I originally put them in the pens before I planted the trees.

 

[cmom]

Here's another view. The birds do use them.

 

[hayley3]

Here's another view. The birds do use them.
View attachment 2260533

I was thinking of making some for my chickens when I get their fencing setup so they have some place to hang out.

 

[Howard E]

How it works.......these clips show coons, but dogs, bears and other varmints all have the same reaction. One and done........

BTW, bait was put in front of game cameras to catch them in the act. In most cases, you have to get the video the first night. After that, all have been shocked and while they may come back to sniff around if they have been finding food in the past, rarely do you get a second shot at em being shocked. It goes from "There's a Party Going On!!" to "Turn out the lights.....the party's over"....in one day.

 

[nao57]

So how likely is an animal to come back after getting a shock, on different days or weeks later after the first shock? Is it pretty much guaranteed that they won't ever come back?

Speaking of which I saw and read that people in Alaska also make bear traps out of getting big plywood sheets and covering them with nails sticking up. Then they put them in front of windows and doors at night during bear season. And it seems to work also. (But this would be a major, problem in areas that had little kids running around and in city, urban areas, or where lots of people are.)