Electric Poultry Netting, MUST Be Doing Something Wrong-Please help

[suzettex5]

I recently got electric netting/fencing for my run and coop, its 80 feet long and 3 feet tall. Its not fancy, just the netting and the plain stakes to anchor it to the ground.

I followed all the directions when setting it up (had my hubby help just to sure I was doing it right and as a just in case person, in case I electrified my self!) and when I was done, it would POP in certain places, no arching, just the noise. It would be in different spots and I would go along the fence to see where it was coming from and try to adjust the lines till it stopped. But it would just make the popping noise somewhere else, so I just gave up. I called the place I bought it and they said it was 'grounding out', but that the fence was still hot and still functioning, so not to worry.

The other day, my minihorse got its foot stuck in the fence (long story, it was raining and I had to let her into the barn where the fencing was, but I had rolled up the fencing, but she still managed to step on it), and so a couple of the strings in the netting got broken, just 2 were broken but still hanging on, they just had seperated from the little white plastic bead they usually are attached to in order to make the complete rectangle in the netting (if that makes any sense?).

Now when I plug it in, it never pops, and I'm not sure if the fence is even hot. How do I test it without shocking myself? (I'm pregnant and dont want to risk any electrical shocks). Is it possible to repair it if it is broken due to the 2 broken strings? Could something else be causing it to not work? It is plugged in to a reliable electricity source (its running on household current through an insulated extension cord) and all the wires are correctly hooked up and it is attached to a grounding rod that is buried well.

Anybody have any ideas? (especially on how to check if the fence is hot without touching it?)

 

[crtrlovr]

I had the same issues. I finally gave up altogether and just use it as a visual barrier to keep them in the part of the yard I wanted them to stay in (well, sort of....

-- it used to keep them in until the smarties figured out they could go under if they tried hard enough, and the bantams just wiggled right through) . I kept the grass trimmed around it, and I'd check it at the connectors -- it had enough juice to nearly knock me out of my socks, but I could put my hand on the fence itself at any point, and not feel anything but a very VERY slight tingle -- certainly not enough to deter anything from reaching through, climbing, etc. Pretty expensive flexible fencing just to be used like that...

 

[RedReiner]

Pay the neighbor kid 5 bucks to touch it. wont hurt them lol.

they do make fence testers, digital ones or some cheaper ones that light up if the fence is electrified. I also grab some long blades of grass and lay them on the fence and I can feel the electricity through the grass but not the full force. doesnt hurt.

 

[suzettex5]

Thanks! I think I'll try the grass trick, but still pay my money hungry son to do it!!

So, you think the 2 broken strings arent going to make the rest of the fencing stop working?

 

[RedReiner]

probably still works but you can always repair it yourself? thin gauge wire and wire it back together? I use hot tape for the horses and if that breaks I just tie it back together, it has very thin wires woven in it and you can get contact by tying it.