Electric Poultry Netting

[chocolate m'scovy]

Has anyone had experience with this sort of containment? I don't want a pen or coop for our biddies; instead, I prefer something which imitates freedom as much as possible. But, 100% complete freedom means devastation for seeds and ideals of squeaky-clean porches.
So, I want a happy medium. And a sort of fencing around the perimeter of the chickens' allowed area is appealing due to its movable nature. I suppose I would have to clip wings too to prevent happy escape artists...

Any feedback would be much appreciated!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes it’s an old thread but that is not a problem. There is a difference in netting and fencing, I’m not sure one of the earlier posters noticed that.

I’ve had mine for about three years and only lost one chicken to an owl when I was late locking them up. The netting does not offer any protection from flying predators but has stopped every four-footed predator. I’m in the middle of not much so there are predators all over the place plus people like to abandon dogs out here. That’s why I initially got the netting, I don’t want to shoot the dogs people drop off out here. If the dogs haven’t learned to kill I take them to the pound where it is free to drop them off.

Fur and feathers can insulate a critter from the netting. The animal needs to lick, sniff, or touch the netting with a bare body part to get shocked, something like the bottom of their feet. They also have to be touching the ground to complete the circuit. A lot of things like foxes, coyotes, and some dogs could easily just jump the fence, but they don’t. They inspect the barrier first, usually with their nose. When they get zapped, they leave and probably won’t return. It is extremely effective.

It does not work in snow. If the snow is wet and touches a live wire it will ground it out. If the snow is too dry to do that, it insulates the critter from the ground so it does not get shocked. It still serves as a deterrent because something that has been shocked doesn’t know that it is not working, but critters are being born and setting out on their own all the time. Not every critter has been shocked.

If chickens touch it with their comb of wattles, they will get shocked. They learn to not peck in the fence, eating weeds and grass that grows there. Baby chicks can just walk through it without getting shocked until they get too big to fit through. For my full-sized fowl chicks, that’s about 4 to 5 weeks of age.

The current is not a continuous current but instead it pulses, sending out a pulse about once a second. That is what keeps it from being deadly. Since it pulses whatever touches it can and will turn loose.

Mine is 4 feet high. Chickens can easily fly over it, even fully grown full sized breeds, but they generally don’t. The top is flimsy so it does not look like something to perch on. That’s a common cause of chickens going over a fence, they fly up to perch on the top and might hop down on the wrong side. Chickens just don’t tend to fly over things.

I do occasionally have chickens get out. These are almost always juveniles going through the pecking order/flock dominance stuff. It’s almost always cockerels but occasionally a pullet will get out. In these adolescent rites of passage, a chicken losing a fight tries to get away but is trapped against a fence so it goes vertical to get away. Occasionally that brings them over the fence. Occasionally a pullet trying to avoid an amorous cockerel does that. I wait until they go to roost near their grow-out coop and put them back in. One thing I’ve learned is try to avoid sharp corners, which isn’t that hard to do with netting. Also, don’t make long narrow sections but spread it out more. My adults don’t go over it, just the juveniles when they are trying to get away.

I have had two critters get caught in it. A big snapping turtle crawled into it and started getting zapped. It was paralyzed before it could back up, if a turtle would even try to back up. When I freed it, it eventually crawled off unhurt. Another time a possum got tangled up in it and could not turn loose. It was still alive when I found it though it was also paralyzed. The electric current is not what killed it. I used an ax.

The biggest problem you will have with it is that the weeds and grass that grow up in it will short it out when they are wet. Blowing leaves and such that build up against it will also short it when they are wet. During certain seasons, when the grass or weeds are growing like crazy or the leaves are falling, you have to do maintenance. Weed eaters probably destroy more electric netting than anything else. That’s not really an option.

One way I know to manage that involve taking the netting down and mowing, whether you put it back in the same place or relocate it. During certain seasons that can be pretty often. I leave mine in a permanent location and use Round-Up to stop any growth in the fence row. I still wind up taking it down and mowing a couple of times a year, but at least it’s not weekly during some seasons.

The netting is pretty easy to move. One person can do it though that 168’ long section can get fairly heavy and is just awkward to carry. Two people make a world of difference there but I always did it by myself. If your ground is rocky you can have problems putting the supports in. I got pretty good at straightening those spikes out by raw strength but it takes some effort. If you are going to move it a lot, get the lighter portable stuff or buy the heavier sections in shorter lengths and put them together. That’s not hard.

I initially got a 168’ section then eventually purchased another 50’ and have it set up roughly 40’wide and maybe 90’ long with my permanent coop/run the other side. My normal laying/breeding flock is one rooster and seven adult hens but I hardly ever have that few in there. I’ve had over 40 adults, juveniles, and chicks in here at one time, though most are fairly young when there are that many and baby chicks don’t eat that much. In the spring when the grass is just starting to grow I lock them out of it for about a week to give the grass a chance to get started. After that it stays green until winter. I do have to occasionally get in there and mow. There are some weeds they don’t eat so I knock them down to get them out of the way and allow the grass and good weeds a chance to grow.

Premier advertises the life of their netting as about seven years. So far mine has held up well. I have had a rabbit chew through a wire when there was snow on the ground. That was pretty easy to fix, Premier included a repair kit in the kit I purchased.

I have not had to shoot any dogs abandoned out here “for the good life” since I got it. The only chicken I’ve lost was to an owl when I was away until 11:00 one night and did not get hem locked up. So, yes, I’m pretty pleased with it.

 

[JackE]

Yeah, The trench I dug was to run the electric from the house to the coop.
Jack

 

[JackE]

OK, old post here. I want to know how everyone that has been using netting now for a year or two like it?? Any hold-up problems, chickens escaping?? Was thinking about getting some. Thanks!!

The fence has worked out very well for me. The fence has held up well, and I don't have any problems with escapees. I have added another 350', to my original 300'. I am using Premier's PermaNet. The PermaNet has heavier posts, and they are closer together, which helps keep the fence from sagging. I consider it one of the best things I have done for my birds. I lost a bunch of chickens to the local fox. All they can do now, is sit and watch the birds, no more chicken dinners.

 

[JackE]

I have a couple more questions if you don't mind. I lost nearly my whole flock last year due to foxes and don't want to lose them this year. First, how do you get inside the netting? Can I make some sort of gate or is there just a place where the net unhooks? Although I could probably find enough flat area for 100 feet of the netting there is no way I have enough level area for 160 feet. Can the netting be used on a hill?

Premier has a gate kit available. The gate kit makes it so you don't have to de-energise the fence every time you want to go in. Before I got the kit, I would have to unplug the fence, then pull one of the posts out of the ground to get in. That worked out well for a while, except in the winter, sometimes the post's spike would get frozen into the ground, an would delay entry. My fence (Electronet, netting, whatever) is installed on a sloping yard with no problem. I guess it would depend on how steep the transition is from level ground. Too much and there might be a gap between the fence and the ground, right at that transition/grade change.
Here's the gate kit.

http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=102851&cat_id=45

 

[Scooter&Suzie]

Wait - they aren't going to have a coop? Do you plan on just having them in a fence? I do think they will need a coop inside that run so they have a place to lay eggs, sleep, and be safe from foxes, hawks, raccoons, cats, dogs, owls, and what not. I have a friend who keeps her hens in a coop, which is inside an electric fence. She lets them in the fenced in area during the day, but they go back in the coop for night. The fence does help to ward off walking predators and keep the hens in. I think it would work, provided, they had a sturdy place to go for the night away from predators that can fly, or somehow hop the fence (using a tree, possibly). Also, they might wanna get out of the rain, sun, or wind.

 

[chocolate m'scovy]

Oh, of course they will have a place to sleep and lay eggs! We have portable pens that would work for that purpose...I just don't want to confine my biddies to a pen when they can have a field.

 

[JackE]

I have electric poultry netting from Premier. I bought 300' of the netting (Thinking about getting another 100' section) and use a 110VAC charger to power it up. A solar charger is available. It was real easy to set up, once I dug the trench and ran the wire down to energize it. The chickens stay in it even though it is just 4' high. The first day it was up, the birds didn't know what to make of it. A couple of them got too close, and it was easy to tell when that happened. It has worked great for me.
Jack

 

[chocolate m'scovy]

I have electric poultry netting from Premier. I bought 300' of the netting (Thinking about getting another 100' section) and use a 110VAC charger to power it up. A solar charger is available. It was real easy to set up, once I dug the trench and ran the wire down to energize it. The chickens stay in it even though it is just 4' high. The first day it was up, the birds didn't know what to make of it. A couple of them got too close, and it was easy to tell when that happened. It has worked great for me.
Jack

Thanks for the advice! We already have fencing for goats, but the chickens can just squeeze under as they please...with the occasional squawking when a chicken runs into a wire. Sounds like it works with your chooks...good to hear.

 

[dc73nova]

Ive had the premier fencing for 2 and a half years now, and it has worked great keeping predators out and the chickens in. In that time I've lost one chicken to a hawk and thats it. It's been holding up great as well. I'm very happy with it.