Electric Fencing

[Kimbroe1981]

We have 9 chickens & 5 (well now 4

) Guineas. Something tried to pull one of our smaller guineas out of the fence and pulled it's little head off. We found him dangling in the fence. I don't think it was my dog, since I have a shock collar on him and the wire for the shock collar run around the chicken coop. What I was wondering is if anyone has used electric fencing around the outside of their coop. If so, how many joules do you need to keep away predators? Is .5 joules enough? I'm having a hard time figuring out what would be strong enough to keep out the bad guys!

Thnx in advance for any advice. I'm brand new to chickens. Mine aren't even 2 months old yet.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum! Glad you joined us, just wish it were better circumstances!

That sounds like something a raccoon would do. Sorry for your loss. You might consider a live trap to reduce the threat. You'll never remove all the raccoons in your area but you can remove the ones that have found your chickens.

I don't have any good numbers for you. I use the electric netting from Premier. Mine plugs into a 110 volt 60 cycle outlet but it goes through a converter. I don't know the volt-amperage output exactly, but the voltmeter reads over 8,000 volts on the fence. The amperage is low enough that it won't kill you if you touch it but you will get a good shock.

It's not a continuous flow of current either but it pulses. I don't know the frequency or duration of the pulse. You might look at Premier's website to try to figure it out.

Mine is netting and I don't think that is what you are talking about. I think you are looking at a couple of electric strands of wire running around the run and coop. You might try going to Tractor Supply and looking at their equipment. You should be able to get some specs off it.

I don't know your knowledge around electricity but you might consider getting a kit. There are some serious legal liability issues if you put out something that can injure or kill a person if they touch it, especially a young kid, whether they should be around or not.

 

[mama24]

Well, I had a problem with my electric fencing. We rent our farm, and the previous owner had cattle, and a previous tenant had horses. The barn had a fence charger already installed, so to save money, I just hooked that baby up when we started having fox problems. I fried probably 5 chicks and my son saved a gosling that was getting fried. So I turned the fence off. Make sure your charger isn't too strong! Apparently the charger I am trying to use if for a lot more acreage than what I fenced in and meant for large animals, not poultry! It packs a punch, but not so much that my boys weren't still daring each other to touch the fence and doing it!

 

[Kimbroe1981]

A raccoon makes perfect sense. There's a momma raccoon that lives in a tree not too far from the coop. The first weekend we lived here my dogs found her nest and killed 1 of her babies and hurt another one, we took that baby to a wildlife rehab center here in town. But from that event I know exactly where the momma and her last baby live. Guess we'll be heading to our home away from home, Atwoods, and getting a live trap. While I'm there I'll look at their fences. I know we want to use the newer stuff, not necessarily the poultry netting, but the poly tape.

 

[fried green eggs]

All new fence chargers sold today are pulse type so, while you will get a poke by touching it - children won't be harmed by it but, chickens arn't so smart so, i would only put it outside of fence at about 6" - 8". Most fence chargers will say how many miles of fence it is for. .05 Joules would work if your fence is small and you don't allow any grass or metal fencing to touch it which would weaken the strength or short it out.
Good luck and hope you catch the predator.

 

[Kimbroe1981]

Luckily I know where the momma lives. My dogs found her nest and it's right behind where the coop is. Our land had been vacant for many years before we moved in in april. Where she lives is still overgrown. Its in a dead hollowed out tree. We'll be taking care of that on this long weekend. I did go and buy 5 new chicks. We now have 15 chickens!

 

[fried green eggs]

Good plan! It sounds like this mama coon has worn out her welcome and you will be helping her find a new home soon. Congrats on the new chicks!

 

[terrikt52]

I was reading that if you get a rooster that he will protect the hens. Does anyone know if this is true? I'm new at this. Thanks

 

[wamtazlady]

Rooster are good for keeping the girls together in a group. They also look for danger and will sound the alarm if they see something so the girls can go run and hide. They can not win a fight with a raccoon, fox, or skunk. In fact, my rooster runs and hides after he sounds the alarm.

 

[sdm111]

I use it to fence in an area where my pens are and it works excellent. I have coons, possoms, Fox, neighbors dogs etc no problems had big problems before