Electric fences as a deterrent. psuedo poll.

[Bear Foot Farm]

I was more thinking of it as a visual deterrent (thus the contractor twine) and to make it harder for them to "dive".

That's the best way, since the visual is all that works.
Running hot wires across the top would be hard to do VS just something they could see, plus the added expense of insulators

Even if you ran electric in pairs of hot an ground, you'd have to put them so close together you'd be just as well off to use netting​

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:
Awesome! I asked about criss-crossing the top a while back and immediately everybody started talking about chicken wire and bird netting. Has he had good luck with it? I was also considering brightly color contractor twine, more as a visual deterrent.

He has had good luck with it. Whether he meant to use the electric charge as the deterrent or the visual aspect I don't know.
He used the electro-braid that was left over from his horse paddock. Electro-braid is lightweight white poly rope with several lines of wire running thru it. He used the electric wire connectors to join it.
Maybe cost him $20.

He got the idea from a city garbage dump. They have wires running criss-cross to keep the seagulls etc. out. It works for them as well.

 

[DaveBeaty]

Quote:
I thought about an electric wire around the coop, but I have a five year old daughter. I would rather lose every chicken in the flock than have her get hurt. No electric fence for me (for now).

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I would rather lose every chicken in the flock than have her get hurt.

It wouldn't cause any serious injury, and after once or twice she'd know not to touch it​

 

[bakerjw]

Once when I was about 3 or so I walked under an electric fence. I did it before my parents could stop me and they felt terrible that I had gotten zapped. But in reference to the first sentence I need to stress the word "once"

 

[katharinad]

Quote:
Your daughter is old enough to understand, plus you can choose a charger with less of a shock. That way it would not hurt her that much. There are things that hurt more and continue to hurt. Check out some of the sites that make chargers. They give you a list of animals and you choose accordingly. It goes from rabbit up to cattle.
Katharina

 

[PhilErvin]

If kids touching the wire is a concern I would only turn on the charger when you lock the girls up at night. I have always had an electric fence for one thing or another (usually to keep my stock in) and as long as you maintain the fence they are a God send.

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:
Your daughter is old enough to understand, plus you can choose a charger with less of a shock. That way it would not hurt her that much. There are things that hurt more and continue to hurt. Check out some of the sites that make chargers. They give you a list of animals and you choose accordingly. It goes from rabbit up to cattle.
Katharina

I agree. We grew up on a farm and were told not to touch the electric fence lines or we would get a shock but of course my brothers did

they got a mild jolt and one sort of liked it. Brothers

The fence chargers I use are low voltage. If there is a bear around we switch to a cattle charger and it packs a wallop! you need something to get through all that hair.
I would rather keep the wild animals out of trouble and from becoming a problem, than have to deal with them, after they become a problem. They will not just be my problem but other farmer's problems as well.

 

[Dogfish]

I also have an electric fence. Pulse model, not a high test weed burner. That way if something gets shocked, it has an opportunity to pull away. One wire at 6", another around the top so that if a predator makes it up past the first wire, they won't make it past the second. I even ran it around my garden.

My dog and the neighbor's dogs have learned that they are not supposed to be near the chicken coop. The boys, 10 and 14, have eached touched the fence, and know they need not get near it. Once is usually all it takes, except for my dog.

 

[ChIck3n]

As others have said, hawks/owls can be deterred by just running wire/string a few feet apart over your pen.

As far as coons/critters, I doubt it would completely keep them out (especially if there are trees they can climb in and over). I just dug a 6" trench around the base of my house and filled it with concrete, then just lock the birds up at night. As long as there are no holes in your coop bigger than a few inches and you have a roost, you should have no problems. This is how my coop is set up and I have not lost a bird to coons for several years, besides one who chose to sleep with her head against the wire.

I don't use an electric fence because I don't need to. I built my coop like a fortress, and nothing can get in to it. An electric fence just adds an extra bit of complexity (and possible pain) that I don't need.

However, I know a guy who had one wire running 2" off the ground at the base of his coop. This completely stopped any snake problems he had. The snakes would try to cross, only to be zapped. Might make a good edition to your brooder coop.