Electrifying my coop with an electric fencer..... How I did it.....

[DaveOmak]

With the dogs, coyotes etc. I decided to wire the "RUN".... Here is how I did it.....

My 20 year old fencer came in handy...... Hot Wire and Ground wire....



The ground wire "ATTACHES" to all the wire enclosure and roofing panels for "THE GROUND SYSTEM"... I do not have a ground rod installed... the soil is too dry here about 8 months of the year....




The chicken wire and roof panels
are connected and part of the
ground system ....



The "HOT" wire is attached to insulators just above the roofing panels .... If an animal puts it's paws or nose above the panels to "LOOK" in the run, and comes in contact with the hot wire and any of the grounded "stuff"..... 6-8,000 volts, in a momentary discharge, will be felt.... I think the charger said the jolt was about 250 milliseconds... or about 1/4 of a second.... similar to a static electricity shock you would get from your carpet or sliding across the car seat and touching the door handle....

Insulated "ELECTRIC FENCE" wire runs to the 2 loops.... the "MAN" door is where the 2 loops meet....
USE ONLY "ELECTRIC FENCE INSULATED WIRE" for this connection.... normal insulated wire "WILL NOT" resist anything over 600 volts and your electric system "WILL NOT WORK" properly.... you do need the 10,000 volt insulation value.....

loop 1 loop 2


The man door wiring..... HOT on the insulators.... ground connected to the cage wire.....
Coils of wire to facilitate "FLEXING" of the wire.....



more grounding



more grounding.... all the way around the run.....




When I use the "Electric Fence Tester", the cage wiring and metal panels show the ground system is working properly...

 

[N F C]

Wow, that should keep the predators at bay...way to go! Some day when the bank balance can take it, we would like to electrify our run and coop too. If it's not being too nosey, would you mind sharing the approximate total cost and how long it took you to do?

Right now, we protect our girls by not letting them free-range (but they do have a big shade cloth covered run) and made the coop and run as much "Fort Knox" like as possible. But we do have a lot of things around here that would love to have chicken for dinner, so I figure whatever we can do to keep them safe is worth it.

Thanks for sharing your photos!

 

[Chuck Mc]

That definitely looks good!! I will do my setup like yours!! Just received mine the other day.
Great job!!

 

[DaveOmak]

Wow, that should keep the predators at bay...way to go! Some day when the bank balance can take it, we would like to electrify our run and coop too. If it's not being too nosey, would you mind sharing the approximate total cost and how long it took you to do?

Right now, we protect our girls by not letting them free-range (but they do have a big shade cloth covered run) and made the coop and run as much "Fort Knox" like as possible. But we do have a lot of things around here that would love to have chicken for dinner, so I figure whatever we can do to keep them safe is worth it.

Thanks for sharing your photos!

Be sure to get a fencer that "pulses" the voltage... continuous voltage, like some cheaper models will kill an animal if it gets stuck in the fence... a "homeowner" type fencer will work... you won't need a 30 mile fencer... Cost was about $30 for wire and insulators because I had the fencer from years back to protect my fruit trees and roses when I lived in the city.... My garden had 8' tall wire around it... Deer are a PITA unless they are on the BBQ or in the smoker.... then they are wonderful....

The coop and run, I have no idea the cost.... most of the materials I had from tearing stuff down.... screws were about $80... wire about the same.... lumber 2x4 about $100.... OSB about $100.... all the uprights and framing were re-sawn 2X6 from a horse barn dismantle... metal was tear off from my house re-roof.... used hinges etc...

Under the pavers is 2x3 welded wire 17 gauge fencing to stop digging....

I put up the metal on the lower 27" figuring if the animals couldn't see the chickens, they would be less likely to want to attack... then if they look inside, I hope they get jolted.... that is supposed to deter them from coming back... (so it says in fine print somewhere)....

I don't plan on "free-range" due to all the animals the local farmers have running loose... that's why the run is 12x20... lots of room...

 

[N F C]

Thanks for the information, that was a good tip about using pulsating voltage.

Our coop was built using an existing wood shed already on the property so it was easy and economical to fix it up on the inside. All we really had to do was put in an interior wall (so we could still use part of it for tools and feed) and use one of the windows fixed up with a closable door for the birds to go in and out using a ramp. One of our neighbors told us a previous homeowner here had fixed up the shed for their father to live in...wouldn't he be surprised to see his former home turned into a chicken coop! The coop opens out to their covered run which is I think 10x18.

Hope your chickens stay safe and well and thanks again for sharing your project.

 

[Primo]

To test my fence I kick off my sandals, grab a long blade of grass or weed. Wet it (little spit will do the trick) and hold it on the wire. Seriously. You will get a little tickle to let you know it is working.

 

[DaveOmak]

To test my fence I kick off my sandals, grab a long blade of grass or weed. Wet it (little spit will do the trick) and hold it on the wire. Seriously. You will get a little tickle to let you know it is working.

I hear P'ing on them works to.... HAHAHAHAHA ... not me.... I wouldn't do it..... I like the testers with the flashing lights...

 

[Primo]

I hear P'ing on them works to.... HAHAHAHAHA ... not me.... I wouldn't do it..... I like the testers with the flashing lights...

I might try that after a couple beers!!! Seriously though, most people don't understand these things are high voltage, but extremely low amperage(like a stun gun). It's amperage that kills you. That's why the 120volts in the electrical outlet in your house can kill you but the 10,000 volts in your fence will not. Your home outlet is on a 15 or 20 amp breaker that will let the juice flow, the electric fence has a transformer that limits current. I have touched many an electric fence on accident and on purpose over the years. not a big deal really. I am not advocating going around and toucking electric fences by any means, but it is not a big deal (or the wouldn't be sold in the first place)

 

[CrazyTalk]

I might try that after a couple beers!!! Seriously though, most people don't understand these things are high voltage, but extremely low amperage(like a stun gun). It's amperage that kills you. That's why the 120volts in the electrical outlet in your house can kill you but the 10,000 volts in your fence will not. Your home outlet is on a 15 or 20 amp breaker that will let the juice flow, the electric fence has a transformer that limits current. I have touched many an electric fence on accident and on purpose over the years. not a big deal really. I am not advocating going around and toucking electric fences by any means, but it is not a big deal (or the wouldn't be sold in the first place)

Yeah, its not pleasant getting zapped by them, but they're less dangerous than your laptop charger (which puts out an amp or 2 at 12-19v, instead of a couple milliamps at 10Kv). I'm talking abou actual electric fence chargers that you can buy at the feed store/farm supply/online though. Be careful with other people's fences, because there are some farmers out there doing some really dangerous things (like hooking 110v AC to fence lines - which will kill you).