High Tensile Electric Fence

[CzyChikenMath]

Robert is a sometimes poster on BYC. Perhaps he will weigh in?

I tried his 1....then 2 wire system. Those did not work for me as far as stopping predator traffic and deer...... but 4 wires do. The only additional expense of 4 wires over 1 or 2 is the expense of the extra wire. The same posts and fence charger works for 1 or more wires.

I think Robert has said the larger the area, the better it works.....at least as far as keeping the birds in. The larger the area, the less pressure there is for them to want to roam away from their home base. And perhaps those simple 1 and 2 wire fences would have eventually worked for me if I had been more patient? I did notice with the 1 and 2 wire systems, the birds got shocked when they stepped on the fence. You would see one launch straight up, then stand off in protest. Rather than an instant fix like electrified poultry netting is, maybe these 1 and 2 wire fences work best over time? You can speed that up with predators by baiting the wire so they are sure to find it......with their nose.

ohh important - did it work for fox and coyotes, do you know? if so I might be able to mange it during the day then add more wires when we move - as you say, minor expense upgrade... and the rotation areas will be even larger (now I split a half acre into 3 areas - but more space avail if needed)

 

[Howard E]

The 4 wires on my fence are set at 5, 10, 15 and 20 inches. Highest wire is about knee high, so we step over it vs. installing any gates.

The tester for me that took me to 4 wires was our house dog, who is a bit smaller than a fox. He is a runner (wants to roam far and wide) who desperately wanted out. With only two wires, he would jump over it. When I raised the 2nd wire higher, he jumped through it. (If they are airborne, they are not grounded.....so no shock......plus the shock only pulses about once ever second....and even then only for a millisecond). By going tighter and higher, he was forced to crawl through or under......which got him. And once high enough, he would no longer jump over it.

Getting them to crawl through it seems to be the most effective method of zapping them. If you have really dry soil conditions, you can always alternate wires....hot and not (hot and grounded), to assure they get a shock.

The only drop in effectiveness I've seen is when there is snow on the ground. Pure snow is not a good conductor, so the shock is then diminished. I found tracks where a fox or coyote crawled under it......but seemed to have gotten a zap anyway. It jumped over to get back out.....and walked up and down the fence trying to find a way out before he resorted to jumping over it. So he wasn't going to crawl under to get back out. I kept an eye on the snow and no more tracks until it melted about a week later, so that one was in no hurry to come back.

In the beginning, this type of electric fence may not be 100% effective, as they all (birds and predators) have to learn about the fence by getting zapped by the fence. But once they do, they seem to avoid it. And it is critical they get a good dose of hurt. A mild shock from a weak or grounded out fencer won't do it. They suggest a minimum test voltage of 7,000 volts. Mine is testing to 14,000 on a fresh battery charge. (12 volt deep cycle......which lasts about 3 months on a single charge).

 

[Howard E]

BTW, once you go large with this or any other electric fence set low to the ground, keeping the weeds and grass down becomes the biggest problem. Chemical solutions seem to work the best. Spray the weeds to kill them. If organic matters, use straight vinegar.....and initially, you may need to use it often. Like once a week or so. If not, RoundUp and the cousins are an option as would be a layer of black plastic covered by mulch. Something is needed to keep the grass and weeds at bay to keep the fence from shorting out, and to establish an opening they recognize as the area where the fence is. You can mow up and down each side, but you need to keep it down to bare dirt for about a foot or so directly beneath the fence.

Initially, I also used a gas powered string trimmer, but once you go large, that becomes less effective, plus it is easy to do damage to the fence if you screw up for even a second.

 

[Howard E]

Here are some new looks at the fence as it exists today. This is from a corner, looking both ways.

These pictures offer a solution for how to get your fence to follow an uneven contour. The corner is set on an old farm terrace, and is at least a foot or so higher than the nearby trough or low spot of the terrace where water collects. Without something to hold the fence down, there would be a gap of at least a foot or so that about anything could walk under with no worries. So to get the wire to stay the same height through that dip, a steel post was set in the middle of the dip with snap on insulators installed upside down. So they are holding the fence down vs. holding it up as they normally would do. The white step in posts hold it up over any rise you encounter. So by using these two methods of fastening, those tensioned up wires pretty much follow the contour at a constant 5 inches or so. No low spots to crawl under and no wire dragging the ground. The more rolling the ground, the more posts that are required, but it can be done.

Also......note that at only 5 inches or so, a mole hill does look like a mountain and can be pushed up high enough to short the fence out. It can also collect leaves that blow around. So you do need to walk it every few days to make sure it is not grounding out somewhere.

As for foxes.......neighbor to the right in the 2nd picture told me a momma fox had raised 5 kits under a shed about 100 yards or so to the right of the fence. I have yet to lose a bird inside this fence to a predator........day or night.....and thus none to that momma fox or to the coyotes who can be heard tearing it up nightly only a few hundred yards to the north. Judging from that, I'd say it works.

 

[Howard E]

To those who would look at that fence and say it would never work.......anything could simply jump over it.........remember an electric fence is NOT a physical barrier. It is a psychological one. When they first encounter it.......they treat it as they do any other physical fence and try to crawl through it. When they do that, they get zapped. They have no clue what just happened, but do feel a level of pain from an electric shock that is unlike anything they have ever felt before and never want to repeat again. So while they don't understand the nature of electric fences, they do understand avoidance of pain. So they recognize the where the barrier is and do not cross it. Fence is simply set up in such a manner they are almost 100% certain to come into contact with it. So that is how you set it up and how much fence you need. No more.....and no less.

 

[CzyChikenMath]

Here are some new looks at the fence as it exists today. This is from a corner, looking both ways. View attachment 1091822 View attachment 1091823 View attachment 1091824

These pictures offer a solution for how to get your fence to follow an uneven contour. The corner is set on an old farm terrace, and is at least a foot or so higher than the nearby trough or low spot of the terrace where water collects. Without something to hold the fence down, there would be a gap of at least a foot or so that about anything could walk under with no worries. So to get the wire to stay the same height through that dip, a steel post was set in the middle of the dip with snap on insulators installed upside down. So they are holding the fence down vs. holding it up as they normally would do. The white step in posts hold it up over any rise you encounter. So by using these two methods of fastening, those tensioned up wires pretty much follow the contour at a constant 5 inches or so. No low spots to crawl under and no wire dragging the ground. The more rolling the ground, the more posts that are required, but it can be done.

Also......note that at only 5 inches or so, a mole hill does look like a mountain and can be pushed up high enough to short the fence out. It can also collect leaves that blow around. So you do need to walk it every few days to make sure it is not grounding out somewhere.

As for foxes.......neighbor to the right in the 2nd picture told me a momma fox had raised 5 kits under a shed about 100 yards or so to the right of the fence. I have yet to lose a bird inside this fence to a predator........day or night.....and thus none to that momma fox or to the coyotes who can be heard tearing it up nightly only a few hundred yards to the north. Judging from that, I'd say it works.

I have to say, I have been driving my self crazy .. fence vs. cost, loving these and not wanting bad to come, etc. Having the experience with it personally, and your neighbor/dog, the photos, and even giving me heads up to highest ground, leaves and such... You should start a fencing 101 for real free-ranging thread (which I guess ideally wouldn't even have a fence. lol). maybe it exists.. I don't know, but this seems prefert for me. thank you for all the help. I've read 8" per chicken at least. hahaha. I guess if it's all you can manage of course. Everyone has their own views, resources, needs, etc...The USDA even doesn't really have a good def. for free ranging. I know this is a backyard site and I continue to learn more from here. But even looking elsewhere, I have to accidentally stumble on info to find out that if i had any less ground for my qty, i would kill it with the manaure (too much) in a few years. I think this will be my permeant solution and I can work towards it. Then add goats (dwarf). Thank you Howard E!!!

 

[adamjones]

We are wanting to improve and expand our run fence. We originally free ranged, but with domestic dogs and just about every wild predator around, that did not last long. We quickly needed a fence. We used some cheap field fence and t-posts that we had laying about. That worked until our last bob cat attack. We then added a hot wire (pain in the rear with such flimsy fence) to the top and rocks on the inside. I want to add a lower hot wire, but I would probably need an insulator per foot. Here are a few pics of the fence and the area we would like to expand in:






We want to fence an area that is approx 120' by 60'. We want to keep it a rectangle for ease. We are thinking about using a high tensile electric fence, using 2-3" wire spacing on the bottom 2 feet or so and growing from there. I would be using a positive/negative system similar to this:



We know this will stop a four legged predators, but will it keep chickens in?

Our other more expensive options are no-climb horse fence with hot wires ($$$) or electric poultry netting ($$$ and durability issues).

Hello. I am planning building a five wire electric fence. I am not sure how far to space my all my line post. I have searched the internet and it seems that the spacing is all over the place, from 20' to 90'. I am thinking of spacing my post at 30'.