Help with Poultry Electric Fencing & Chicken Math!

[sarahandbray]

Right now, we have 4 day old babies and are trying to figure out fencing.

Looking not to break the bank--not sure how bad our predators are here, but I'm bracing or the worst. Upstate, NY installation. Plenty of nice, flat, area to move fence around.

How's my chicken math?
One section of 164' of poultry fencing could essentially make a "square" with 41' sides, thus giving me 1,681sf of "run"'space. Chickens need at least 10' of run space. Assuming I keep 30 birds, I would "need" 300sf minimum, which one fence would do, correct?

Thinking of just buying one 164' length fence to start and see how it goes.
What am I missing?
Poultry Net, double spike, 164' = $204
Battery Housing= $118
Battery=$60-ish?
Charger=$30ish?
Door=$53
Extra posts=.$4 each...so $64

What am I missing? Are there any places here I can save $$?
I'm guessing our coop is 150' from the nearest electrical outlet in our Morton Building Garage. Would it make more sense to run a long extension cord or do the battery?

Don't want to spend a fortune but I'm already up to over $500!!!

 

[centrarchid]

Right now, we have 4 day old babies and are trying to figure out fencing.

Looking not to break the bank--not sure how bad our predators are here, but I'm bracing or the worst. Upstate, NY installation. Plenty of nice, flat, area to move fence around.

How's my chicken math?
One section of 164' of poultry fencing could essentially make a "square" with 41' sides, thus giving me 1,681sf of "run"'space. Chickens need at least 10' of run space. Assuming I keep 30 birds, I would "need" 300sf minimum, which one fence would do, correct?

Thinking of just buying one 164' length fence to start and see how it goes.
What am I missing?
Poultry Net, double spike, 164' = $204
Battery Housing= $118
Battery=$60-ish?
Charger=$30ish?
Door=$53
Extra posts=.$4 each...so $64

What am I missing? Are there any places here I can save $$?
I'm guessing our coop is 150' from the nearest electrical outlet in our Morton Building Garage. Would it make more sense to run a long extension cord or do the battery?

Don't want to spend a fortune but I'm already up to over $500!!!

Extension cord more cost effective which saves on battery related expenses ($118 + $60 + $30). AC powered charger I use runs about $60 for a single length of fencing. Also fencing I purchased was about $134.

Space sufficient for 30. I run up to 72 birds and move fencing about to protect forage to too much pressure and nutrient buildup. Depending on breed of chicks, fencing may be leaky to chicks for a while. I also put a fully adult rooster with clipped wings in with such small chicks as can reduce odds hawk comes in for such small chicks. Make certain they have good shade and water, sometimes chicks get stupid when it comes to avoiding the elements.

 

[thomasboyle]

AC power will be cheaper than DC battery / solar power. The chargers draw a very small amount of power, so running them off an extension cord is not a problem. You can get a 1/2 - 1 joule AC charger for $70-$100. You also need a 10' grounding rod ($10 at a big box store) and connecting wires from the charger to the fence and grounding rod ($5).

One thing to keep in mind is 30 birds will strip mine a 40x40 section of grass in a short period. I would recommend another section of fence which will give you 4X the area.