Electric Fence?

[Guthrie Chicks]

i have 2 rows around my run, one about 3 inches and another about 6 inches above the ground. the run is chain link with 1in wire on the bottom 2 feet.
Someone told me that skunks and coons can "feel" the electric fence before they touch it and just jump and scale the fence and right through the chain link???? Also i have not buried anything along the perimiter of the run. is this true or am i ok the way i have it setup?
Thank you!

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

They will learn really quick to jump over it. They can fit through any place that they can get their head through. A full sized coon or skunk would be hard pressed to get through chain link. I would run a third strand of electric wire about 6 inches down from the top and out about 4 inches. That way if they try to climb the fence they will be blocked by the top strand.

 

[Guthrie Chicks]

Thank You!!

 

[mdbokc]

Yep, I run 2 low and one high also. Two lines high in a couple of places. Wire is cheap!

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

I ran a line at 6", 12", 36", and one at the top. Dogs usually get one of the bottom two, while the other predators get into the 36" one. I can tell this by the way the 36" one is bent out of shape some mornings. So I say yes also, some predators do jump the lower wires.

 

[patandchickens]

What they previous posters said. You need at least one, maybe even 2, higher wires.

You might want to rethink that 3" wire, too -- at that height it can SOOOOO easily ground out, which tends to render the rest of the wires useless as well (unless you have way too big a charger on way too small a fence to begin with). I'd suggest that whatever you are intending the 3" wire to deter, find another way to do it, such as hardwarecloth or several feet of wire mesh apron or suchlike.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat