It's not too much power. Depending on what size charger you get for fence will determine the max possible volt delivered (shock) when touched. None of those will cause injury. My birds learned to respect the fence within few hours. They know not to touch it. Wildlife will also be trained not to go near the fence in quick order too. That's how they work for containment and predator protection. All animals are quickly trained to respect the fence, land predators stay away. Deer can become entangled in fencing and can perish. Their prey instincts of quick death and constant charge. Use a easy to see fence and they'll leave it alone, wont even jump it after first shock. If your chickens are already trained to fly over fencing then electric wont work to contain them. If they grow up with electric they wont attempt to fly over it.
Premier1 or Kencove are good companies to get fencing from. I use a 4' high X 164' net with hotgate. The charger is Patriot P5 which is a .5 joule charger- delivers 5-6K volt. A P10 or 1 joule can deliver up to 8K volt. The voltage is determined by how much the fence it grounding out, will sag over time and if not tightened up ground on weeds and lose power. Longer fences need the larger charger to counter inherent grounding. You need 1 ground rod for .5 joule charger and two for a 1 joule. No need for larger charger than that. I'm getting a 1 joule charger to protect beehives this year from bear. They require over 6 K volts. Some goats need that much charge too but most everything else will get sufficient shock 4-6K. Premier1 sells as kit the charger that will include a ground rod and fence tester. It's cheaper to buy as kit and recommend the tester. Lets you know if the fence is grounding out too much. If it gets down to 3k you need to shift fence some to mow grass or it wont be effective. The fencing comes as kit too which includes 4 sturdier posts for corners. They are handy in aiding to tighten up the fence. Recommend Premier1 and the two kits. You choose the fence and length and charger but get both in kit to save cash. Hotgate is nice too.
