Electric fence questions.

[TheBeardie]

Yesterday an unknown predator swiped one of my Red Pyle OEGBs from my Batchelor coop, this wasn't a great loss but I'd rather not have this happen again. The story is here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fl-predator-id-wanted.1290502/

No casualties happened last night since the entire Batchelor coop got put in crates and put in the more protected coop. I'm going to put up the hardware cloth after I'm done writing this.

Here's a bad drawing of how everything is set up. The black lines are fence, the line in the middle is the fenced-in area the chicken go into when they aren't free-ranging, the gaps are gates, the hearts are the coops and the purple is my house. What's the best way to protect all three coops with electric fence?

I would like to use only one energizer if at all possible. If I go around all the fence already in place to go around all three coops it would be about 200 feet around the coops. Maybe less if I configure it differently. Could this work?

Is the two wire way the best way to go?Is electric fence easily turned off and moved during the day? How many Joules should the Energizer put out? Anyone have any suggestions on what brand to use? What about the wire itself? Is there a specific wire I should use?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Two wire is the only possible way. Whether AC or DC, you have to have a + and - or Line and Neutral.
You can use square wire mesh rather than just two wires but the power must come from one point and end at another point.

 

[Molpet]

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/a-treatise-on-electric-fences-for-poultry

I use electric net. I bought most of it used off local FB farm swap groups

This is it new https://www.premier1supplies.com/list.php?mode=list&cat_id=53&species_id[]=6

 

[Howard E]

This is an additional thread that may help.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/quick-and-easy-electric-fence.1191333/

Use 4 or even 5 wires if you must, and use 17 gauge aluminum wire vs. the poly tape. Use the step in posts to hold the strands of wire off the ground. Mine are spaced about 20 feet apart on fairly level ground.

Use ratchet style wire strainers in at least two legs of your enclosure to tension it up to keep it from sagging.

I use a 3 joule 12 volt charger rated for 30 miles of fence....and it packs a wallop. Putting serious hurt on anything that touches the fence.

So process will be....you put the fence up and if anything is snooping around, they will have to be trained to it. Meaning they gotta touch it for it to work. You can leave that to chance and fate, or cheat, and bait it with bacon or some such thing so they will sniff or lick it. That really isn't fair, but given a choice of that or killing them, maybe they will appreciate just the seriously painful lesson and take the hint?