Electric fence opinions

[SCMommaHen]

I live in an area with the standard predators, coons, coyote, fox, etc. I planned on letting my birds free range in my fenced 1 acre back yard. But after reading how useless a fence is with these predators I know I need more. I was researching the electric poultry fencing but they don't appear to last long for the expense even if I was to fence a half acre. Plus I would have to move everytime I mowed. Attaching wire to the current fence is an option but I have several gates that would have to be worked around. How did you setup your electric fence and how well has it worked/lasted?

 

[azygous]

Soon after I got chickens, bears began to visit. They did fair amount of damage and drove up my stress level until my county fish and game supervisor had a nice long productive visit with me and suggested hot wire.

The most important tip he gave me was baiting the hot wire to force the bears to "engage" the charged wire. The idea is to entice the predator to notice, by smell, the bait, and then to investigate it. That entails smelling or licking it with a wet body part and getting a painful shock. That completes the "engagement" and the predator flees never to return.

Merely erecting hot wire does not provide engagement. Even worse, installing hot wire as a free standing barrier is useless. Most effective is installing the wire against a solid barrier such as the building or a solid fence that must be climbed to breach, as opposed to jumping through the gaps of the wire. To picture what I'm trying to say, think of a five strand barb wire fence and how relatively easy it is to roll your body through the gaps.

I've watched bears approach my hot wire surrounding my gardens and chicken run, engage the peanut butter dabbed on the hot wire, get a nasty shock, and turn tail and run off like their tail was on fire. Actually, it was their nose or tongue that was burning.

Once I had a bobcat that wasn't interested in peanut butter, and I rigged a mackerel "burrito" with chicken wire and wired it to the hot wire, making it part of the circuit. The bobcat encountered the electrified fish and never returned.

 

[SCMommaHen]

Soon after I got chickens, bears began to visit. They did fair amount of damage and drove up my stress level until my county fish and game supervisor had a nice long productive visit with me and suggested hot wire.

The most important tip he gave me was baiting the hot wire to force the bears to "engage" the charged wire. The idea is to entice the predator to notice, by smell, the bait, and then to investigate it. That entails smelling or licking it with a wet body part and getting a painful shock. That completes the "engagement" and the predator flees never to return.

Merely erecting hot wire does not provide engagement. Even worse, installing hot wire as a free standing barrier is useless. Most effective is installing the wire against a solid barrier such as the building or a solid fence that must be climbed to breach, as opposed to jumping through the gaps of the wire. To picture what I'm trying to say, think of a five strand barb wire fence and how relatively easy it is to roll your body through the gaps.

I've watched bears approach my hot wire surrounding my gardens and chicken run, engage the peanut butter dabbed on the hot wire, get a nasty shock, and turn tail and run off like their tail was on fire. Actually, it was their nose or tongue that was burning.

Once I had a bobcat that wasn't interested in peanut butter, and I rigged a mackerel "burrito" with chicken wire and wired it to the hot wire, making it part of the circuit. The bobcat encountered the electrified fish and never returned.

Your explanation is very helpful. I did read that in here somewhere to bait the fence. I could start by wiring the most likely sides to the existing fence and baiting it until I get the whole fence done. Would leaving the gates unwired still pose too much a risk? This is what my fencing looks like. Would 2 strands work set, say, 6" off ground then 2'?

 

[sdm111]

My setup works amazingly well. Without it I wouldn't be able to keep anything

 

[SCMommaHen]

My setup works amazingly well. Without it I wouldn't be able to keep anything

Do tell! I really feel I will be sending these chicks to the slaughter. My coop is undersized (failed chicken math class). They're 2 weeks so I don't have much time to get something up.

 

[Sally PB]

@sdm111, I want to see your set up too, please.

 

[azygous]

They sell insulated handles that you can use to span gates and doors, easy to unhook when you wish to pass through. Or you can erect posts and run the wire overhead. Or you can double back from the gate and have a horseshoe configuration from your charger. That leaves a vulnerabilty, though, that a smart predator could exploit.

Use your imagination. There are any number of ways to do it. They sell insulators that will fasten onto any surface.

 

[sdm111]

6 wires high
On one spot about 5 feet wide its 4 wires and I just step over

 

[cmom]

I have electric wires around my coops and pens which I have had up for many years. They work great. I have a very powerful fence charger but I want any predator that touches my wires to know it. I have never baited my wires but have heard predators test them, mostly in the spring when they are out looking for mates or feeding their young. I think here the predators teach their young that a chicken is not worth getting zapped for. I have accidentally touched the wires and it hurt and made my heart skip several beats. Most predators first explore with their noses. I agree that if you can get a predator to touch the wires with their nose, tongue or lips, they won't be back. I don't free range anymore due to losses from predators in the past. Lessons learned the hard way. If you get distracted for a moment, that is all it takes for a predator to grab a bird. Some times a predator will lurk looking for an opportunity and you may never see them. I have electric wires as I said around my coops and pens, good heavy duty netting covering my pens for protection from aerial predators and concrete under the gates. If you have a drip line to put the ground rod in, it will work great. Good luck...

 

[Jeanw]

Hi everybody, moving to a new area that has a bear problem. I would love to continue free ranging my hens during the day and have an electric fence setup to protect their run and hen house at night. I know next to nothing about electric fencing but would one of the continuous output chargers would be a good option to offer them protection while in their run? I also don’t want to electrocute the hens if they hit the fence. I assume the charger has to be powerful enough to deter a bear. I just hope the bears prefer the neighbors trash. I understand the risks to free ranging and that bears do come around during the day so the fence may be a waste but want to try. Thanks in advance!