Invisible Fence - 2 years now!

[mdbokc]

We wanted a fence to keep chickens in (7' high), not trying to keep predators out. The arrangement is visually pleasing as the fence is basically not seen once you are about 15 feet away from it. It is easy to put together and relocate as necessary.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=35063-fences-visible-invisible

Summer heat and sun, winter snow and ice, winds in excess of 60 mph. Everything is still as originally put in place...no wear and tear requiring repair/replacement yet.

Hope this helps those, especially in towns, that are concerned about chickens going over fences.

 

[HappyChickenLover]

be careful with that plastic neting, all it takes is a chicken to tear it, not hard to do, and they can get out

 

[happyhensny]

Wow, that looks nice. I have predators, cant use it- LOTS! Racoons, skunks, Coyotes, Fishers, dogs, fox.....

 

[teach1rusl]

We used that around our garden last year to keep the chickens out while the plants were small. You're right, you can barely see it from a few yards away. Ours suffered some wear and tear though, as is was so invisible that our dog ran through it and tore a section down.

 

[mdbokc]

I run electric fence. Only predator problem since installation of electric fence has been hawk attack a few times. We had raccoons, bobcat, fox, skunk and opossum before that. Actually, we still have them but they leave this area completely alone now...knock on wood.

Comments are correct in that IF I ran the deer netting all the way to the ground, it would not last long or be nearly as effective. The girls are well trained by it and make no attempts to go over or under.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Wow thats awesome. I understand why they recommend a top wire as you indicated with your pictures. Now that two years have gone by have you done a little test on a non essential part to see how easy it would be to tear? UV is a great disolver of plastic. You say you use electric fence as well. Is this outside the deer fence?

I am asking these questions because the last flock I had was taken in thirty days one by one by a bobcats, coyotes and mountain lions. We had a big fire that year here in San Diego and where my house is up in the mountans suddenly had an influx of predators. Its been five years since i had anything up there and I want to make it as secure as I can for when I start building a coop again. Its high desert and we get lots of wind generally and on the windy days we get big gusts like you. WE dont get the same snow though. only about a total of 72 hours worth.
I have a beautiful view at my place and I dont want it to look like a concentration camp from inside or from outside. I'm thinking doing something outside of the line of sight.

Thank you for giving me some ideas.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Great idea! We've done similar in the areas that we're not concerned about predators and it has worked great. So easy to work with compared to other materials and easy to move around!

 

[mdbokc]

perchie.girl I have not attempted to tear it to see how brittle the deer netting is. I am just letting nature take its course and see how long it goes. I can say that it blows and flexes in the Oklahoma winds without any problem. If I had attached the netting to the posts, the wind would have torn the netting away from the posts and it would no longer be functional. I believe that allowing the netting to "flow with the wind" has enabled a very good result.

My electric fence is outside the chain link fence and along the run on all sides. I have a small orchard outside the chain link and run some random electric fence lines there as well. There was some screaming initially as certain critters made contact at night beside the run and coop. I know the orchard electric has stopped that traffic as well. So they are seen no more but I know they are out there. The wild critters learned about electric fence long before I put this up.

 

[Rowtag]

I have been using the deer netting too. I have a dog kennel panels up to 6ft, and then I have a further 6ft of deer netting above that. I do have to replace/repair mine every once in a while when big branches fall on it. I just strung it over a top wire and loosely zip tied the bottom to the run so that there is enough slack in the wind, works great. Since it is up high, you can't really see it until you are entering the run.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Sounds good. I have people traffic too, being so close to the border. And the hotwire should help with that. Um er Electric tape. More visible in the middle of the night. When i do it I will be putting up photovoltaic lights on each post. We are so dry here I have to use the non grounded kind. The electric tape has both positive an negative charges in it a strand at the top and a strand at the bottom of the tape.