Electric fence--how much is too much?

[Gmsg01]

If running the wire at the top, remember the cat/hawk/coyote needs to be grounded for the wire to shock. If the animal touches it mid air, without any contact to the ground, the animal will not be shocked. Also, pay special attention to how well you place your ground rods. Our soil is very clay, and we had to "over design" the grounding system to get the results we wanted.

 

[bakerjw]

I always ground the regular fencing. Any animal getting between from that to the hot wires will always get a good jolt. Then at the top I then alternate a ground wire between a pair of hot wires. A piece of deer netting strung up at the top will also slow down an encroaching animal enough so that it should hit the charge window and take a zap.

You can also put a tin plate on the wires and put some cat food in it. It will draw in some predators but they'll certainly be leaving the area quickly after several licks.

 

[fishman65]

go to youtube and type in electric fence they have a lot of videos of kids holding hands and grabbing hot fence..it is funny as all heck.

 

[Kathi D]

Thank you ALL for your input! I'm going to plug in the fence now, thanks to your reassurances. And I'll probably find out pretty soon how many times the neighbor's dog will test it. He's a pretty smart dog, so maybe once will be enough!

My hens will be very glad to have some more freedom. I've been keeping them in the fully enclosed part of the coop until I got the electric fence working. It's technically "big enough" but they sure enjoy being let out into the larger yard to scratch around and spread out. Also, having the larger space is going to help me introduce the new chicks to the grownup hens. I'm thinking that the more space they have, the more likely it will be for them to live and let live until they are all fully integrated.

Again, what a great resource backyard chickens is! Books are fine, but being able to ask real people with real experience is the BEST!

Kathi

 

[philintheblank]

Its not the volts that make electricity dangerous, its the Amps. I saw on the discovery channel that it can take less than an amp across the heart to cause problems in some cases. Gettting a shock from the carpet or car door handle is upwards of 100,000 volts but an almost non-existant amount of amps. I got lifted off a horse fence when i was a kid, felt my entire body tighten up from it, but im still here

 

[Clodbuster]

Electric Fencing is primarilly safe due to the low amperage and the very short pulse. In over 60 years of Electric Fences around the world there have been just 2 human fatalities and both of those had alcohol complications and high Joule rated (+20 joules) energisers.
An energiser is designed to send out a high voltage (about 6000volts), low amperage (about 100 milliamps) electrical charge for a very limited time, about 1/300th. of a second, every second. Compare this with two other scenarios.

1.Static Electricity when you touch a door, about 20000 volts at 5 milliamps for 1/1000th. of a second, unpleasant but not lasting.
2.Mains Electricity. 220volts at 13 Amps and constant, unpleasant and regularly causes death.

This sting (similar to a "thwack" from a riding crop) is what creates a psychological imprint within the animals brain and it is this that fences him in or out.