Need a help with electric fence design

[McChooky]

I like it .... I assume that ever other wire is hot and the ones in between are ground?

You would be correct yes!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

@aart I beleive, is also a good resource for this.

Many electric fences fail because of bad grounding - that you are grounding an area so small helps immensely. I have sandy clay soils, well above the water line (hard to believe, living in FL, I know). When it hasn't rained in a while, I could casually touch the fence, and though it pushes 2 joules, it was merely annoying. After a rain, when the soil conducts well? I can hear it arcing up to 1/2" or so to any available path.

So I ran (from the earth up) hot, ground, hot, ground, hot and then added additional grounding bars essentially every 150' or so. That way, instead of the furthest point being 1/4 mile from completing the circuit, its not more than 75'. I no longer casually touch the fence to test it. Even dry season, I do so with trepidation.

If you have dry rocky soil, adding another ground at the furthest corner, connected to your ground wire will help - or grounding a secondary fence to ensure a short path. After that, its a matter of number of wires and spacing between them, such that any likely predator has to make contact with a hot wire and some source to ground at the same time.

 

[cmom]

A good place to put a ground rod is in a drip line if you can. My wires are around a foot away from my fence. So far so good. My wires average 10,000+ volts. It will hurt.

 

[cmom]

My fences are 5' tall. I do have good heavy duty netting covering all of my pens. I haven't had anything try to jump over the fence since I put up the netting. Prior I had a coyote go over a fence. Here are a few pictures I have previously posted.

 

[cmom]

You need a ground. You could put a piece of metal grounded along the top and a hot wire barely above it so the critters would have to touch the grounded metal and the hot wire. Years ago we had a serious issue with gray squirrels. As soon as we filled the bird feeders here would come the squirrels. My DH ran a hot wire on the perch wrapped with tin foil and grounded a metal feeder so when the squirrels got on the perch then reached across to the bird feeder they were zapped. Most learned their lesson. I do have electric wires around my coops and pens and the predators seem to be aware. I know some have tested them and once is enough. Good luck...
I don't know if this will help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-treatise-on-electric-fencing.1117877/

 

[KatieMacDC]

I strongly advise you to run a series of wires extending outward from the fence on top .It will keep foxes and cats out.

Are all these wires hot? or alternating earth & hot?

 

[McChooky]

My fence is connected to my ground so anything that touches the fence and the hot wires will get zapped. I also used metal fence posts.

3 strands of hot near the bottom and lay chicken wire on the ground .Don't forget to ground the fence wire.Repeat at the top.

 

[Rodrad]

3 strands of hot near the bottom and lay chicken wire on the ground .Don't forget to ground the fence wire.Repeat at the top.

Thank you,
my fence is vertical, 4 ft chicken wire, and is grounded. Not sure I understand “lay chicken wire on the ground”. We need vertical fence to prevent chickens for free foraging and possibly going deep in the bordering woods. Our run is 50x50 ft, so it almost as a mini free range!

 

[Krugerrand]

I posted a couple of links above that may help you. I have electric wires around my coops and pens, good heavy duty netting covering all of my pens and concrete under the gates all due to losses from predators in the past. So far nothing has gotten past the hot wires. Make sure your fence charger packs a good wallop as the predator won't be phased by a tickle. You want the predator to know the hot wires are there and hurts. I use the poly rope wires. Good luck...
View attachment 2768211
This is the fence charger I have on at my outer coops and anything that touches the wires will hurt. I think the adult predators teach their young that a bird isn't worth getting zapped for.
View attachment 2768218

cmom, does that bottom wire keep out the little things ... weasels/rats?

 

[lizo97]

I strongly advise you to run a series of wires extending outward from the fence on top .It will keep foxes and cats out.

@ChickensComeHome2Roost How does the animal get shocked? Is the wall considered "ground?" Is this a product or something you put together?