How is your electric net fencing working??

[Carolyn]

I thought mine was great until recently. The only losses I had inside the fence were 2 chickens lost to hawks last winter.

We had a spring flood followed by a long drought. I tried to move one post several weeks ago and it broke because the ground is like cement. It has been sagging some but I really did not know how to rememdy the problem. So when I had a grown hen disappear from the run after an instant molt, I was puzzled as to what got her. The hawks killed and ate part of the bird in the pen so I was thinking it was a dog or dog family critter that had managed to jump the fence. We set a trap inside the fence and caught a large opossum and my neighbor saw the hen at his house later that day so she probably flew over.

I cleaned leaves from the fence line even though it was working when I tested it. I also managed to straighten up the sag. I checked it later and it was not working. Someone on here told me it might be because it was so dry.

I want to know how others like or dislike their electric net fences. I am sure some others would like to know also.

Mine is the shorter (42in?) from Premier.

 

[SallyF]

Had one. Never worked. Not worth the money.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Mine works great, even with the leaves. THough, I keep goats in mine. Check with me again after the first snow!!

 

[panner123]

Tried the net around a small yard, it didn't work as well as I thought it would. I now only use a souped up hot wire. Had a neighbor's bull touch it once, he refuses to go near it again. In order for the fence to work properly, the ground below the fence should be damp. I have a drip sprikler system that covers the outside of the fence. Now all I have to do is keep the weeds down. Make sure your hot wires are not touching any of your fencing. This happens from time to time. At night when the DW and I are sitting on the deck we can hear it snap. When this happens we look along the fence line and can see where it sparks.

 

[emarble]

I have never used the elec netting but have elec fence up and have found that a lot of the viability of the fence is in the Charger! The small $20 chargers work great on small animals as long as the lines are clear but when something grounds the fence(Grass, Weeds , Leaves Etc.) then you no longer have a charge going thru the the fence! The price goes up to about $40 small animals and will shock thru some small coverage and it goes up from there to the $100 for Large animals and will shock thru heavier coverage even small fingerling trees (they will cut thru small trees trying to grow into the fence) These are called weed burners or brush burners and Pulse @ 1 shock intervals in .5 to 1 second intervals 50 plus pulses per minute (Warning you touch one of these grounded out and you will definetly know it. You will probabely wet yourself )

Ernie


Also the ground on these fences very sofiscated you need shielded wire for connecting grounds and from charger to fence! Grounding should be 3 poles 6 foot deep (Copper) 10 feet apart! Start at the charger go 10 foot and put a stake, then 10 foot and 10 foot (You can go parallel with the fence this is the best way) You dont have to worry about wetting the area around the fence all the time! You gotta remember that most chargers are rated for 2 miles of fence Minumum and go up from there to 100 miles contunuous. The grounding diagrams are included with the fence and will show you how to set up grounds (Following this your fence should always work barring power outage)

 

[Carolyn]

I really appreciate the replies. I have my fence around the coop and run so they have a larger area that is safe to explore. I normally move it from time to time to include some new ground for them to work on. When they free range they are in the yard and edge of the woods and we do have a high number of predators but I haven't had a lot of problems when I am home.

Your replies and my recent experience is making me think I will have to put a post and wire fence, preferably covered and then hot wire around it. Maybe I can let them free range a few hours when I am home and can be out with them. Your tips about hot wire/regular electric fences are most helpful.

 

[LaurelRidgeDreams]

Mine is working great right now. We have electric rope fencing for our horse pastures. When the ground is very dry, frozen, or covered in snow, the fence does not work well. Grounding the fence properly is very important.

 

[CMV]

I love my fences. I have the poultry netting and have only had a few foreseeable issues with them. I've been using them for years, so I know when there is going to be a problem and resolve it before it becomes an issue. I have only had one unforeseeable problem with them and that was a charger issue and not a fence issue per se. I lost sunlight for a week and a half a couple years ago because of poor weather and my batteries went flat in my solar charger. I didn't see that one coming! Not really the fence's fault, though. Just bad luck and worse weather. My pigs figured out the fences were down and made their grand escape. There's nothing quite like chasing two ornery 400 lb. sows through the neighborhood.