Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[maryhysong]

I don't know if the rust problem is as bad out west as it is here but, my welded wire fence started popping welds real bad after 3 years, some were popping loose in 2 years.

Good Luck with your Fox!

Scott

here in the desert rust is not too bad on metal; the chicken wire rusted because it was on moist earth as there is a garden bed along that side of the pen (it was there for about 6 years or more) . We may go 4 months without a drop of rain and have 10-15% humidity most of the year unless a rain storm is imminent. There is wood and metal out here over 100 yrs old and just now getting rusted enough to be holey

 

[Ashburnham]

You have green things and no snow - sure you just started summer.

I just finished shoveling snow and more coming. Do you have emus too??

It has been a very wet spring and so far this summer we have had over 80 mils of rain, so I have the most green grass I have had in 10 years.
Warming up at last this week with 38 degrees forecast for Thursday.
No emus here - the wrong kind of country. Nearest emus are about 80 kms away. (Although some locals have pet emus.)

xxxxx M

 

[Ashburnham]

I had a pack of loose dogs come through once. They did not pull the wire off the frame, they literally bit holes IN the 1/2" hardware cloth. It is a _little_ stronger than chicken wire and it _does_ help keep out rats and snakes but I have begun to put 2x4" weld wire fencing on everything for dog proofing, with chicken wire or hardware cloth over that if needed to keep chicks in or smaller pests out.

Now I am losing birds to a fox. A pen put up early on of 6' chicken wire, with the bottom bent out about a foot to deter diggers. Well mr. fox tested and pushed the wire until he found the spot that rusted enough to break off just at ground level, then pushed it on in. working to get that pen repaired and trying to catch the fox.

I have an electric wire at fox nose height all around my pens- it has kept out foxes and dogs for 22 years.
But of course we don't have all the terrible predators here that you have over there.


xxxx M

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Hot wire is a good choice too. Though like you the humidity here is around 10-15 percent and for the most part it doesnt work because you cant achieve a good ground. The only way past that is to run the ground on a separate wire parallel and an inch away from the charge wire.

This is the product I know and will use once I get fence posts up.... http://www.horseguardfence.com/ The beauty of using the tape is you dont have to use two insulators per attach point.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Electric fence is an excellent deterrent. Especially if you can make a good ground. Here I have seen electric fence run to keep horses from messing with the physical fence. And it works famously on ground that is semi moist a few inches below the surface. But where its exceptionally dry most of the year it is considerably less effective.

For instance my Percheron Mare is 2000 lbs she was in a big corral at a boarding facility next to the owners Percheron Gelding Who was at least 2200 pounds and a good four inches taller. Both horses had the potential of bending 16 guge pipe corral. My girl for the most part respects the fence..... The gelding on the other hand was a known prankster and Bent pipe corral on a regular basis,

So when they were moved into their NEW pipe corrals and adjacent to each other the owners of the boarding facility put up a hot wire and charger on his fence between the pipes. I watched the two horses.... My girl would give him the Stink eye and stand JUST out of reach of his nips through the pipe. He would paw and flip his head and charge around a bit. They put up the hot wire and he stopped messing with the fence.... until he learned to play with it.

He would rest his upper lip on the hot wire and I would watch it twitch with each pulse.... It was like a game with him.... LOL. Kind of like someone who has learned to like the taste of hot peppers. If the ground had had any effect he would have been Zapped Good and hard the first time he touched it he would have snorted and jumped away.

I havent run hotwire up at my house because of that whole dryness issue Our annual precipitation is between 10 and 12 inches. I have the charger and am going to do an experiment with the Goats to see if it will work for them up there. Little Reprobates. But I am not holding my breath that it will work till I can get the Bipolar tape run.

deb

 

[ozexpat]

its 700 here and i have not been to sleep.

I was wound up at midnight so I started packing shipping boxes for the Philippines, Because of the shear numbers of Filipinos sending stuff home, there are several companies that offer door to door at very cheap rates compared to any other international shipping. AN 18x18x24 box costs 50 bucks door to door in Manila - regardless of weight. It takes 4-6 weeks. its $70 to our place and takes 8 weeks.

I am shipping a couple of 110--220 power coverters, a few boxes of nail gun nails, a gallon of cold galvanizing compound, some 14" cut off wheels, brooder lamps and 10kg of vitamins and minerals a chinese company sent me as a sample and some sundry tools that are cheaper here and hard to find there. It should make for a 200lb box.

I have lunch with my folks who are over from Oz and visiting my sister so I better ger 2 or 3 hours sleep

 

[Jucknath]

its 700 here and i have not been to sleep.

I was wound up at midnight so I started packing shipping boxes for the Philippines, Because of the shear numbers of Filipinos sending stuff home, there are several companies that offer door to door at very cheap rates compared to any other international shipping. AN 18x18x24 box costs 50 bucks door to door in Manila - regardless of weight. It takes 4-6 weeks. its $70 to our place and takes 8 weeks.

I am shipping a couple of 110--220 power coverters, a few boxes of nail gun nails, a gallon of cold galvanizing compound, some 14" cut off wheels, brooder lamps and 10kg of vitamins and minerals a chinese company sent me as a sample and some sundry tools that are cheaper here and hard to find there. It should make for a 200lb box.

I have lunch with my folks who are over from Oz and visiting my sister so I better ger 2 or 3 hours sleep

Pleasant Dreams

 

[Phage]

its 700 here and i have not been to sleep.

I was wound up at midnight so I started packing shipping boxes for the Philippines, Because of the shear numbers of Filipinos sending stuff home, there are several companies that offer door to door at very cheap rates compared to any other international shipping. AN 18x18x24 box costs 50 bucks door to door in Manila - regardless of weight. It takes 4-6 weeks. its $70 to our place and takes 8 weeks.

I am shipping a couple of 110--220 power coverters, a few boxes of nail gun nails, a gallon of cold galvanizing compound, some 14" cut off wheels, brooder lamps and 10kg of vitamins and minerals a chinese company sent me as a sample and some sundry tools that are cheaper here and hard to find there. It should make for a 200lb box. 

I have lunch with my folks who are over from Oz and visiting my sister so I better ger 2 or 3 hours sleep

Gosh!! Hope you have a REALLY strong box!!!!!

 

[maryhysong]

Electric fence is an excellent deterrent. Especially if you can make a good ground. Here I have seen electric fence run to keep horses from messing with the physical fence. And it works famously on ground that is semi moist a few inches below the surface. But where its exceptionally dry most of the year it is considerably less effective.


deb

The first pen the fox was in to had 6' chicken wire with a hot wire close to the ground and another at about 5'. This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement (yea like 3 years now....) so I just used Tposts and didn't brace the corners. The wire had sagged really bad in one place so I think the fox was jumping over the bottom wire and climbing the sagging fence and so getting under the top wire (the sag in one spot made the fence only about 45 degrees or so)

I've since straightened up the fence and added another hot wire. So then it went after the duck pen. Will have some extra days off over the holidays so hope the weather is good and I can get my new chicken house finished. Then I can move some birds around. Also waiting for the friends to come pick up the foster chickens, that will relieve the space issue a bit.

 

[ozexpat]

The first pen the fox was in to had 6' chicken wire with a hot wire close to the ground and another at about 5'. This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement (yea like 3 years now....) so I just used Tposts and didn't brace the corners. The wire had sagged really bad in one place so I think the fox was jumping over the bottom wire and climbing the sagging fence and so getting under the top wire (the sag in one spot made the fence only about 45 degrees or so)

I've since straightened up the fence and added another hot wire. So then it went after the duck pen. Will have some extra days off over the holidays so hope the weather is good and I can get my new chicken house finished. Then I can move some birds around. Also waiting for the friends to come pick up the foster chickens, that will relieve the space issue a bit.

as frowned upon as it is, a few nasty old rabbit traps around a bait will take him out.