Please recommend an electric fence

[Shezadandy]

Since the steel poles of the fence are usually buried quite deep, and there are lots of them, the whole fence acts as one huge ground rod array. .

Will this work with steel mesh and t-posts with wood posts or is it only chain link?

 

[EggWalrus]

Will this work with steel mesh and t-posts with wood posts or is it only chain link?

Any metal fence if it's grounded. And its pretty dang hard to have a metal fence and it not be grounded. Tposts works good. Even wooden posts if the metal connected to it is bury on the bottom or a ground rod connected to the metal mesh.

 

[EggWalrus]

I haven't had an issue with polywire not shocking. A well-done true wire fence is of course better- but can be harder to accomplish and make look nice without the right tools/experience. After we tore down the "fence" at our last property (if I find a picture of it, I'll post it) and dealt with regular wire ... vowed never again!

Steel wire can be a little more difficult to bend and a lot heavier. The aluminum wire is really easy to deal with and is super light weight.
Polyrope can be a total PITA to repair if those little wires break or you have to splice it.
I used to be worried about livestock and people (me) not seeing regular wire and getting shocked, but that only happens once and they learn where is at.

But I know some people just think poly rope looks better. Whatever works best in your application is what you should use.

 

[CindyinSD]

For your application I would go with a solar energizer—just a farm store one will do. I have a premier one energizer for my cattle, but that’s a much longer fence. I use Patriot brand for my poultry netting. I’ve had the energizers for over a year and so far, no problems. There’s no doubt at all that Premier one is way better, but you don’t need it.

I would buy the plastic temp stakes with a number of options for wire placement. I’m pretty sure you can drive them through your 1/2” hardware cloth skirt. If you want to, you could instead install insulated wire holders on your fence, but the temporary stakes are cheap and will give you latitude to experiment until you find out what set-up you like best.

Put the stakes just far enough out that you run no risk of the metal fencing contacting your charged wire. (If they don’t go in easily, a rubber mallet has been helpful to me.) Electrifying your run fencing is dangerous, so be careful to bend down/away any stray wire that might brush against your charged wire. Occasional touches won’t hurt but you need to avoid any significant period of contact between your charged wire and your metal fencing.

Run one wire approximately two inches off the ground (keep grass/weeds out of it or they will steal your spark) and the second wire about ten inches above the ground. Choose “wire” that is highly visible so predators will see it. The reason electric fencing works so well is that it creates a psychological barrier, so it’s helpful if the animal can easily see it. I use equine rope, but woven tape would work well, too.

The predator will lead with its nose and most likely touch the lower wire first. Its first instinct is to run forward, but it encounters your run fence and also likely gets another shock from the higher wire. The end. This baddie will not be back. Chickens one:Coyote zero.

You do need to ground your fence. Three ground rods driven into the earth as far as you can drive them are typically recommended. You may need more, or you might do fine with only one. Clip your green (or black) energizer connector to the first one and use jumpers to connect them to one another in a chain. If you’re having a dry spell you may need to pour a bucket or two of water into your grounding area. I move my fences constantly so I use t-shaped aluminum ground rods. Copper-clad ones make a better ground if you need that advantage.

The drier or sandier your soil is, the more grounding you will need. Making an electric fence that works in sand is a whole other subject that you’ll want to research if you have that challenge. It’s not impossible, and for such a small fence not terribly hard, but not something I’ve needed to learn much about.

Get a couple of insulated handles to break your fence at the gate/door into your run. You unhook them and I just toss them aside until I come out again. I don’t turn off the fence. I simply make sure I don’t get ahold of the wrong part when I go to put the fence back together.

Good luck with your project!

 

[Shezadandy]

Steel wire can be a little more difficult to bend and a lot heavier. The aluminum wire is really easy to deal with and is super light weight.
Polyrope can be a total PITA to repair if those little wires break or you have to splice it.
I used to be worried about livestock and people (me) not seeing regular wire and getting shocked, but that only happens once and they learn where is at.

But I know some people just think poly rope looks better. Whatever works best in your application is what you should use.

True! The weight was a factor- (even the aluminum, for me anyway) so was the ability to pull it tight enough. I was about as close to tears as any project has ever brought me the first time I did electric on the inside of the goat pen. Did my homework, got it all set up … and it barely registered. Went over every last foot, couldn't find the problem... because there was no problem.

Finally I found something online about unbraiding the end of the polywire/poly rope, cutting out the plastic fibers for 2" at the end (which isn't hard to do) - and then wrap the metal filaments part only to the supply line (I use the underground wire from my charger to the fence as it's had to be buried every single time) - and just like that … the sweet zap of success.

One time I ran into my electric fence and I wondered what that noise was- it was me screaming involuntarily, and unaware I was making the noise.

I like the 2 post splices- they make them for polywire and polyrope- makes it pretty easy to splice without having to unbraid or anything like that. I would NOT want to splice a poly product without these, however, and naturally they are not inexpensive. As long as needle-nosed pliers or the like are used to tighten the nuts down onto the plate, they hold really well and all that needs to happen is piece 1 and piece 2 are laid in there, then the metal plate goes on, then the screws.

(not tightened down)

 

[Shezadandy]

Will this work with steel mesh and t-posts with wood posts or is it only chain link?

Thanks! I'm going to give this a try when I do the exterior portions of my animal enclosure - that is a great tip. One is chain link with mostly metal posts, the other is mesh with a mix of t-posts and wood posts.

 

[EggWalrus]

Thanks! I'm going to give this a try when I do the exterior portions of my animal enclosure - that is a great tip. One is chain link with mostly metal posts, the other is mesh with a mix of t-posts and wood posts.

Here is a link to the chainlink insulators I was describing. When using any electric fence, you don't want to over-tighten/over-stretch your wires. Just pulling them snug is fine. If they droop a little, raise them higher off the soil on the bottom wire. One thing that is nice with the way these insulators work, when the wires begin to droop a little (and even steel does), since they hold the wires 4" off the metal fence, you don't have them shorting out like if you ran the wire directly over the chainlink.
You can put one strand about 4 or 5 inches off the soil, and another close to the top. Bottom should stop digger predators, and any that step over the bottom and crawl up the fence are gonna get caught by the top wire. Zap!
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/american-farmworks-chain-link-electric-fence-insulators

 

[Paula321]

I like working with poly rope and poly wire.

They're both easy, though if cost is a concern, the 'do-dads' for poly wire (the thinner stuff) are more budget friendly. I wouldn't buy the cheap stuff in either poly wire or poly rope though- if you read carefully many say 'temporary applications' - I've had good long standing results with Powerfields.

Get the best charger you can afford, and strongly recommend the plug-in variety if you've got access.

We did a series of 3 six-foot ground rods, pounded all the way in, just 6" poking up, and they are then connected by 'underground' wire, which is the stiffer black-coated stuff. Put your ground rod(s) in a place you can keep moist - so by plants that receive regular watering in the summer, or where you empty a bucket … especially if you live somewhere getting deep into the ground might not be possible due to rocky soil, etc. We've got a soaker hose along ours.

A voltage tester is extremely handy to have and gives you peace of mind. Better than having to touch the fence and find out if it's working … lol … excellent advice on spacing given in other posts.

If you have things that will climb up and over, you'll want to have a ground wire (connected to the ground rods) up near the top border, by the top of your fence along with the hot wire. Once those feet leave the ground, they won't get much of a zap unless they're touching the ground wire and hot wire. (think: possum and other things that will climb fences, gnaw on your aviary net …)

Thank you! I live on a lake and the water table is three feet under the coop so grounding will be very easy. We have sandy soils here in Florida and I have a sprinkler system. I have power to the area so will plug in. I also have a whole house generator so even if my power goes out, the generator will kick in within 8 seconds. I have gotten great advice from this thread.

 

[Paula321]

At least a 30 mile charger. I would get the strongest charger I could afford. The smaller ones just tickle a lot of predators.
One other thing, down in central FL the ground can pretty sandy and dry, you may have to put down several 8 foot ground rods and even have a ground return wire across the soil at the bottom of the fence.

I’m lucky in that I live on a lake. The coop is only three feet above the lake water table. It has great drainage with sandy soil but there is water all the time three feet down. I’ll get an 8 foot ground and pound it in deep to be safe.

 

[cmom]

I have the poly rope wire and have had it up for over 10 years and it's still going strong. The smaller chargers will give a shock pretty equivalent to a bee sting. The larger chargers make my heart skip a few beats. I have these chargers but mine are older ones so they look different. Mine are 1.2 joules.