Electric fence info needed

[KYBOY]

Good information clodbuster..
The box I bought is "rated" at 10K volts in under 2 miles. 8K in under 6 miles etc...Now if this is acurate or not?? I know my guineas will get shocked because they have little to no feathers on thier head and neck..If this rating is accurate then properly grounded my fence should carry 7K-8K watts...Im wondering if this will be to hard on the guineas walking head first into it??

 

[Iowa Roo Mom]

Ok, yet another DUMB question... I'm looking into getting a solar charger and setting up an EF, as there is no electricity where my coop is. What about the cat? We have an outside cat and if the EF can kill a squirril, could it (would it) kill my kitty? I want someting strong enough to deter the coons and oppossums, but NOT kill my cat!

Is it possible to set it to lower voltage at first in case she accidentaly "runs into it" or will she just automaatically know to stay away?

I'm dumb when it comes to this stuff...

 

[cmjust0]

Not sure what kind of fence some of folks are running that they're killing squirrels and stuff, but modern pulse fences shouldn't do that. My hi-tensile pegs a 5-light tester (6,000+ Volts)at all times, even with a heavy wet weed load, and I've never seen anything dead on it except the occasional grasshopper that happens to bridge the gap between a hotwire and a t-post. No birds, no mammals..

I've been hit by it...you can't think straight for a few seconds afterward. It's not pleasant.. My border collie got snapped the other day and squeeled like a pig, but was fine. The goats get snapped all the time, but they just run off and sling snot for a minute.. No real harm.

Would it kill a fuzzy butt chick...maybe. I dunno, though. If it didn't, it would probably never be the same. A full grown chicken, on the other hand...I really doubt it. Maybe it could, but I'd have to see it to believe it.

 

[ijon1]

Solar chargers work well. I use one for my horses in a pasture that don't have access to power.

 

[jjdward]

I can't imagine that it would kill a cat!!

 

[Clodbuster]

I'm quite surprised that squirrels have been killed by EF. I will say that animals can be killed if they are caught in the fence, otherwise not. The very low amperage and short pulse time prevents that causing them to pull back away from the pain source.
Electricity kills by the high amperage (+/-10-15 amps depending where you are) and constant power that causes muscles to grip hold of the source. That is why it is safer to test for a current with the back of your hand than the palm.

The same unit is regularly used to control anything from snails right up to an Elephant so just because a cat is smaller than a cow is not a significant problem. All mammals (including you) have got a very similar resistance of 500 Ohms/meter so are similarly affected.

The high voltages spoken of are only really necessary where animals with natural insulation need controlling, this jumps the gap and has the desired effect. Domestic animals, pigs, foxes, elephants need only about 3-4000 volts to be effective. The shock effect however is much greater.

 

[Clodbuster]

Quote:
The 10k is possibly a factory rating under perfect conditions. I would estimate you may work at about 75% of that, the only way to know is with a tester when the fence is up.

The guineas will only do it once and not all of them either as animals do realise when others have been stung, it's called Socially conditioned avoidance so only a proportion of the flock will test the fence the rest will take their word for it. Also put a few bright bits of kitchen aluminium foil to attract their attention to it, they will then use their beaks to investigate and not their heads.

 

[lalaland]

the last squirrel had its paw burned off, I'm guessing it had part of its body touching the fence and part of its body touching the electric wire, and, like the two other squirrels, that was enough to kill it.

My pullet that was electrocuted was in between a fence that was overlapping, and got one foot out of the fence onto the wire.

A cat would most likely approach the fence from the outside - so would touch the electric wire and then run away. The animals that were killed were inside, so touching the fence plus the wire simultaneously.

hope that helps