flock and property protectors

[zzGypsy]

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hotwire with a charger designed for livestock is not a danger to people. depending on the charger, they can bite like a son-of-a-gun, but there's not enough power there to seriously injure or kill a person. or a cow, or a sheep. I've had lambs get tangled in an electric fence and while I'm certain it was no darn fun, no injuries were caused or lasting harm done.
predators may be detered by hotwire, it works on my 100 lb + hunting hounds. some predators will learn to jump it, or dig under, or learn that if they hit it fast and run through it only bites once. we had wild rabbits that would chew through it... nom nom <jump> nom nom nom <jump> nom....

so it's not a perfect solution.

if you're worried about humans, hang the little "electric fence" signs on the wire. that way, should a rustler with a pacemaker enter your property at night and get irrevocably tangled in the hotwire and die, you'll at least have no legal worries.

although who knows if even a pacemaker would put them at more risk than normal.

ETA: string the wire at nose-height for the animal you want to deter, and you might need several lines, one near the ground, one nose high, one at the height they'd hit if they jumped or tried to go over. hotwire does need to be tested often because there's always a weed or a short or a branch or a section where it gets broken or.... something that makes it ground out. it needs maintenance, or at least inspection every few days if you want to to be effective.

and if you're worried about walking into it at night, you can hang little reflectors on it, and adding the flashlight to your shotgun would help.

 

[gryeyes]

I "said" I wanted my geese for flock protectors, but that's just an excuse to have a pair of 'em. They DO announce strangers AND me when I get home from work. They run flapping towards me, and because I know they're just happy to have me home, I am not deterred by this display. I am hoping any unwelcome visitors ARE deterred!

They announce hawks and are very vigilant. They are curious as heck and will follow squirrels to the base of any tree the squirrels escape into. But I lock them into the LARGE coop with the chickens at night.... they are awake more than the chickens, and sometimes they alert inside the coop, but only rarely. Not really sure what that's about, but there's never been anything *I* could see wrong when I checked.

 

[Pretty Pony]

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I have 2 donkey-donks and they make more noise than the geese! I love them, and my neighbors (so far) like the 7 o'clock donkey alarm clock...They are very watchful if anything gets in the yard. Strange dogs to squirrels, watch out!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I will say this my gander likes order in the barn yard. anything out of the ordinary including those he lives with will get a repremand from Sammy. And most people are very scared of geese and will go to great lengths to tell you why.

 

[Yetti]

My big goose King Kong is a menace. he tries to attack anything that come near the pen. he dives at the open squares and gets about a foot of his neck out. while he snaps and hisses

 

[chickenzoo]

I have geese and a mini donkey, aswell as 5 GP dogs. i call the geese and Donkey my Red Neck Alarm System..... LOL. If the geese or guinea hear something they start going off, then the donkey chimes in and that gets the dogs racing and barking to see what it is.......

I swear that donkey can hear me turn the door knob............

 

[zzGypsy]

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Ha! love it, gonna use that... red neck alarm system