Electric poultry netting/fencing?

[Kristen D]

Wouldn't have living chickens if I didn't have a very high poultry net and deer fence from Premier 1, awesome stuff. The very tall net they offer keeps in all but the flightiest of birds, I use a 30 inch net around the coop, a tall net outer net. I had to shift to an interior net as well to keep a very determined fox and a tree jumping possum out of the six foot high kennel that forms the central coop.

When I've tried to go with just hardwire I end up with near complete loss.

Electric poultry net from premier and a Good charger and no loss.

And in truth, mostly the chickens and always the dogs, honor even the 30 inch net.

Thanks! Great to know.

 

[Howard E]

Kristen:

Your question was about poultry netting, but I'll share what I use instead. A simple 4 wire system. And it serves double duty to keep predators out and chickens in. I have also started using it for crowd control to keep birds out of designated garden areas. If grazed down to nothing, it may not keep them in an area like that, but most poultry netting might.

This is the system:


A fence of this type costs a fraction of what netting does, so enables you to enclose a large area measured in acres vs. square feet. When I first set it up, it was only two wires and that is what the birds trained on. To cross over it, they would walk on it, stepping on the wire to go over it. All of them did that and all of them eventually found themselves with one foot on the wire and one on the ground and got zapped on the bottom of their foot......and would launch about 5 feet in the air. After that, they respect the fence and won't cross it. So much so that the fence I am now using for crowd control is this one:



That is just a single strand of poly tape. Before that went up, the birds were going in there and scratching and digging and eating the young cabbage plants. Once it went up, they have only been in there once that I know of and that was a day when the fence was off. Since then that has grown to the point where it is shorting out the fence, which is now off. They walk past it daily, yet still do not cross that single white tape, even though it is not hot. If I took it down, they would be in there the same day.

So that 4 wire fence keeps the birds in (none have gone past it in over a year) and it also keeps predators out. Friends who live a few hundred yards away have a fox in their yard......saw it two days ago. We also have coons, coyotes, stray dogs, etc. and despite all that, none come into the chicken yard. I have never seen one and have not lost a bird of this flock to predators......that going on 18 months. One neighbor's dog made a beeline for the birds early on, hit the wire, yelped, went home and has not been back since. Their garden is no more than 100 feet from where the birds hang out and I've seen that dog lay down that close and it won't even look up at them.

Only downside of this fence is the ground beneath it has to be kept clear to keep it from shorting out. But that is the same with poultry netting. You scalp the ground beneath it with a mower and do that every time you move it and it will be fine.

But I also have two sections of poultry netting and am no longer using them as such. I prefer this system for ease of maintenance. I have found it works as well and is easier to keep going.

Others mileage may vary.

 

[UGLYFOOT]

Kristen:

Your question was about poultry netting, but I'll share what I use instead. A simple 4 wire system. And it serves double duty to keep predators out and chickens in. I have also started using it for crowd control to keep birds out of designated garden areas. If grazed down to nothing, it may not keep them in an area like that, but most poultry netting might.

This is the system:
View attachment 1149584

A fence of this type costs a fraction of what netting does, so enables you to enclose a large area measured in acres vs. square feet. When I first set it up, it was only two wires and that is what the birds trained on. To cross over it, they would walk on it, stepping on the wire to go over it. All of them did that and all of them eventually found themselves with one foot on the wire and one on the ground and got zapped on the bottom of their foot......and would launch about 5 feet in the air. After that, they respect the fence and won't cross it. So much so that the fence I am now using for crowd control is this one:

View attachment 1149586

That is just a single strand of poly tape. Before that went up, the birds were going in there and scratching and digging and eating the young cabbage plants. Once it went up, they have only been in there once that I know of and that was a day when the fence was off. Since then that has grown to the point where it is shorting out the fence, which is now off. They walk past it daily, yet still do not cross that single white tape, even though it is not hot. If I took it down, they would be in there the same day.

So that 4 wire fence keeps the birds in (none have gone past it in over a year) and it also keeps predators out. Friends who live a few hundred yards away have a fox in their yard......saw it two days ago. We also have coons, coyotes, stray dogs, etc. and despite all that, none come into the chicken yard. I have never seen one and have not lost a bird of this flock to predators......that going on 18 months. One neighbor's dog made a beeline for the birds early on, hit the wire, yelped, went home and has not been back since. Their garden is no more than 100 feet from where the birds hang out and I've seen that dog lay down that close and it won't even look up at them.

Only downside of this fence is the ground beneath it has to be kept clear to keep it from shorting out. But that is the same with poultry netting. You scalp the ground beneath it with a mower and do that every time you move it and it will be fine.

But I also have two sections of poultry netting and am no longer using them as such. I prefer this system for ease of maintenance. I have found it works as well and is easier to keep going.

Others mileage may vary.

How do you keep them from flying over? Do you clip wings?

 

[Howard E]

Once they are trained to avoid it.......I do this by only having one low strand to start with.....they step on it to cross over and get zapped in the process......they seem reluctant to cross over it again.

My belief is that while they could easily fly over it, they don't, as they do not know what awaits them on the other side. If they have been zapped before, they may fear they will get it again on the other side. So they don't push it. Existing birds have grazed all around inside the 4 wire system and none have been outside the wire in over 18 months and I have not clipped any wings.

The flip side to this is if one did manage to get out, it is easy for them to punch through or lift up to fly over it to get back in. In a panic, they will do this every time.

I also think this is what helps deter predators, many of which could also easily jump over it. But once zapped, they may fear what awaits them on the other side if they were to go airborne. When danger threatens, they like to stay grounded and not be off their feet.

 

[UGLYFOOT]

Thank you for your response. I have been looking at poultry netting for a temporary grow out area, but the cost would be prohibitive. Would you be willing to PM me the details of your complete set up? Thank you!

 

[Howard E]

Most of the details one needs to know can be found here......

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-treatise-on-electric-fencing.1117877/

Be glad to fill in any holes I left out.

I need to do a better job of boiling all this information down into a concise easy to follow set of instructions.

 

[Howard E]

Did a quick check and one thing missing from that thread is how to get these low wires to follow uneven contours to keep the wires close to the ground through dips and rises in terrain.

I had some photos, but will need to take some more and perhaps try to draw some sketches if the photos don't come out.

Another important ingredient are the ratchet tensioners used to keep the wires tight.