Electric Fence Noob - Need Tips

[DuckDuckSook]

Hi there!
I'm super worried about the safety of my quail in their new coop/run. I have put hardware cloth all the way around on the sides, put out a skirt of 15" of hardware cloth around the entire thing with rocks on it, and even have 2 layers of hardware cloth underneath the entire thing held down with a trim of heavy pavers on the inside. I'm convinced nothing will be getting in from digging or underground. However, we do have raccoons who are going to probably try to get in and they will end up terrorizing the quail at night since I wasn't going to lock them into the coop area. I would like to put electric fencing around the entire thing, but I know very little about it.
Main questions:
What amount of joules will deter a raccoon? I'm looking at anywhere from .2 to 1 joule.
How many wires and how high? I was thinking 3 wires spaced about 6-8 inches apart vertically.
Will the raccoons try to jump the electric fence? I have thought about running wire across the top of the structure just in case, but honestly, I'm not even going to be able to get in there to feed/clean/see them if I do all of that.
Is this all just a waste of time and overkill? Should I just lock my quail up to be extra sure? Should I try other deterrents?
Any help is always appreciated. Thank you!

 

[RoyalChick]

Hi there!
I'm super worried about the safety of my quail in their new coop/run. I have put hardware cloth all the way around on the sides, put out a skirt of 15" of hardware cloth around the entire thing with rocks on it, and even have 2 layers of hardware cloth underneath the entire thing held down with a trim of heavy pavers on the inside. I'm convinced nothing will be getting in from digging or underground. However, we do have raccoons who are going to probably try to get in and they will end up terrorizing the quail at night since I wasn't going to lock them into the coop area. I would like to put electric fencing around the entire thing, but I know very little about it.
Main questions:
What amount of joules will deter a raccoon? I'm looking at anywhere from .2 to 1 joule.
How many wires and how high? I was thinking 3 wires spaced about 6-8 inches apart vertically.
Will the raccoons try to jump the electric fence? I have thought about running wire across the top of the structure just in case, but honestly, I'm not even going to be able to get in there to feed/clean/see them if I do all of that.
Is this all just a waste of time and overkill? Should I just lock my quail up to be extra sure? Should I try other deterrents?
Any help is always appreciated. Thank you!

I know nothing about Quail, but I do have an electric fence. When I was researching it I got super confused and in the end I just got the standard set up recommended by PoultryOne which was netting and it was super easy to set up and then I felt like an idiot for agonizing about it all.
One thing I did to make it easier is have a quick and easy way to disconnect the thing from the charger so I don't need to go all the way to the charger when I go in to care for my chickens (the charger is as far from the door as it is possible to be). Basically I ran an insulated wire from the energizer to the door and a clip connector from there to the fence. I just have to unclip it and it is safe to touch even though the energizer is still on.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

I know nothing about Quail, but I do have an electric fence. When I was researching it I got super confused and in the end I just got the standard set up recommended by PoultryOne which was netting and it was super easy to set up and then I felt like an idiot for agonizing about it all.
One thing I did to make it easier is have a quick and easy way to disconnect the thing from the charger so I don't need to go all the way to the charger when I go in to care for my chickens (the charger is as far from the door as it is possible to be). Basically I ran an insulated wire from the energizer to the door and a clip connector from there to the fence. I just have to unclip it and it is safe to touch even though the energizer is still on.

Thanks. I'm debating on the netting kind vs. just stringing three lines of wire. I will only have the electric charge going through at night time as predators aren't causing problems during the day. I will be doing something similar in terms of disabling it for me to get in there and do what I need to do in the morning and evening and then hooking it up at night. The netting is pricier than the wire lines, which is a bummer. Plus, I've read that if there's grass/leaves/weeds/debris in the netting, then the charge is less and I wouldn't want to have to worry about it not being effective. The wire might be easier for me to maintain and ensure it's in the best shocking order. I really want to get rid of these raccoons!

 

[CliftonQuail]

I have an RV and use the 164' long, 42" tall poultry net from Premier1 to keep the wildlife at bay. Separately, I have a garden that I used T-posts, with insulators from Lockjawz and plain wire. Both of them have solar powered energizers. Both need to have weeds, etc., kept away from them. The advantage of the poultry netting is that it's relatively easy to take down, mow the perimeter and then put back up. Since it would be a pain to remove the T-posts and do the same, I have to weed whack under the lowest wire and around the posts. I'm doing it every few weeks.

Yes, the poultry netting is more expensive, but putting up the wire with T-posts was much more labor intensive and there was a learning curve. Given the number of different insulators I tried and the need to brace corners, I suspect that I ended up spending almost as much on the wire fence as I did on the net.

Depending on how much space you need to enclose, Premier1 also sells 82' long netting.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

I have an RV and use the 164' long, 42" tall poultry net from Premier1 to keep the wildlife at bay. Separately, I have a garden that I used T-posts, with insulators from Lockjawz and plain wire. Both of them have solar powered energizers. Both need to have weeds, etc., kept away from them. The advantage of the poultry netting is that it's relatively easy to take down, mow the perimeter and then put back up. Since it would be a pain to remove the T-posts and do the same, I have to weed whack under the lowest wire and around the posts. I'm doing it every few weeks.

Yes, the poultry netting is more expensive, but putting up the wire with T-posts was much more labor intensive and there was a learning curve. Given the number of different insulators I tried and the need to brace corners, I suspect that I ended up spending almost as much on the wire fence as I did on the net.

Depending on how much space you need to enclose, Premier1 also sells 82' long netting.

I'm only enclosing an area that is 10 ft x 8 ft around my quail run/coop.