Question about Emu Fence

[Avie]

I may not get any chicks at all this spring, but in the mean time I can do some research!

The guy I originally bought eggs from said that he would like to buy back any tame chicks whenever we're ready to. But of course now I'm thinking about having a long-term emu relationship...

We currently have 4' fence, this kind, vinyl over metal.


What about adding 6' tall "deer fence" to that? Either a few inches in front of the 4' fence, or behind it?



The poles are metal, and the fence mesh is connected to a horizontal support wire at the top and has ground staples at the bottom. You can get either tough plastic mesh, or a vinyl-coated hex mesh.

We have an acre, a long skinny lot (100 x 400) and about 200 feet of that is fenced now.

Thoughts?

 

[casuarius]

I dont think alot of people realize how stong Emus are, but they will easily come through any type of plastic or vinyl mesh/netting. Emus fight continuously when adults. Which ever ones establish themselves as the dominant will chase the others, and they love to run into fences. Your wire should be at least 5 foot high if you are planning on keeping 2 or more emus. Females are always dominant and one will be the boss of all the other females, and males. My fence is 5 foot, and i've only ever had one jump over because of a low spot running down a hill, but I moved it up the hill and it hasnt happened since. The more room they have to run, the less chance there is they will corner one another and jump out. Your 4 foot will work, but I would keep them separated once they get to the age that you notice them starting to fight. So you may want to run a dividing fence down the middle for future use. They only jump over a fence when pushed or scared, so if they arent chasing one another, or being chased by a person/predator, etc you wont have anything to worry about.

 

[Nicophorus]

I was going to make a thread just on this very topic. I need to create a new one acre pen and am trying to decide on what type of fence. I always hear that "chain link" is better for emus/ratites but what is so much better about chain link compared to say a stretched no climb horse fence? The kind with solid knott locks like bekaert makes.

For all the times I hear "chain link is best" it seems everyone is keeping their emus behind field fence.

I also hear that the posts and fixtures need to be on the outside, but why is that? The emus going to bump into the posts as they fence walk or what? The rest of my acerage is four foot no climb horse fence and seems to work out well,but I just would not trust my emus in it, need something taller for them I think. Just once them jumping out and it could cause a car accident.

So I guess I just need to hear from others: Chain link, or more of a stretched horse fence?

 

[Ellamumu]

I use 12 foot sections of panel fencing for horses, they are 5.5 feet high, they stand on there own, you can move them where ever you want and all sides and tops and bottoms are smooth and rounded so no one gets hurt. I had one pen made of chainlink and in one corner of a gate the chain link pulled away from the frame and wouldn't you know that was the one section my emu stuck her head and got a very bad corneal abbrasion. Panel fencing is about 50.00 bucks a section, but I think its worth it and you can start with a small area and keep adding on. So far I have about 1.5 acres of it but eventually I'll have all 6 acres done so Ella can really run.

 

[casuarius]

I was going to make a thread just on this very topic. I need to create a new one acre pen and am trying to decide on what type of fence. I always hear that "chain link" is better for emus/ratites but what is so much better about chain link compared to say a stretched no climb horse fence? The kind with solid knott locks like bekaert makes.

For all the times I hear "chain link is best" it seems everyone is keeping their emus behind field fence.

I also hear that the posts and fixtures need to be on the outside, but why is that? The emus going to bump into the posts as they fence walk or what? The rest of my acerage is four foot no climb horse fence and seems to work out well,but I just would not trust my emus in it, need something taller for them I think. Just once them jumping out and it could cause a car accident.

So I guess I just need to hear from others: Chain link, or more of a stretched horse fence?

Absolutely no need for chain link. Welded or woven wire works just fine. Also it does not matter if the posts are on the inside or out. The woven horse fencing you are referring to is nearly as strong as chain link, and will easily hold a even a Ostrich.

 

[Kiril749]

I'm going to use pressure treated posts and then put 3 rails of rough sawn pine.......almost like a horse coral.......then put chicken wire between the rails. It's the cheapest way. It's going to cost about $12 per 8 foot section. Plus it will look really nice and by using pressure treated wood you can make it any height you want.......

 

[Nicophorus]

I just want to build this enclosure right the first time, and build it strong enough and tall enough that I can have the option of putting ostrich or cassowary in there one day if it happens. (of course would move the emus/rheas out of it if that happened, into another area). Six foot would be my min. hight, and im trying to decide if I need 8 foot. I've been held mental hostage to the GD bobcat that killed a yearling emu once, but maybe im fooling myself in thinking even 8 foot would keep a bobcat OUT. Have had no predation losses in a good year and a half so maybe I just need to let go of that concern.

Only final question I need to figure out before building this enclosure is Florida regulation in regards to class 2 animals (that cassowary fall under). Would double fence on the property (6 foot enclosure, 4 foot boundry fence) suffice? Or would they require min. 8 foot enclosure like they require of class 2 carnivores? Can't get that questioned answered on their website and may need to call them.

Its going to be between 6 and 8 foot green coated chain link, or high tension 6 or 8 foot no climb horse/game fence. Need word from florida fish and game, and need to price out the two types of fence. But I will say I know for a fact that emus can scale 4 foot fence np at all. Only reason I keep my emus behind it now is that by the time I notice them out of their 4 foot pen, I have plenty of time to get them back into it before they think about scaleing the additional 4 foot perimiter fence.

edit: Got of the phone with florida fish and wildlife just now, and I think they answered the two questions I had (so ill share). Emu need four foot fence and ostrich need six foot. Cassowary, IF used for farming, do not require the class 2 permit and are grouped in with the other ratites. No fenceing specific but she/I both kind of assumed the same 6 foot fence requirement as ostrich.

You best believe though i'd want to get that in writing from their department, since it does sound kind of rediculous, but i've heard stranger things... Still, the term "ratite" is the only term giving under animals that do not require any permits if used in a farming operation, so maybe she is right. /shrug

Regardless, I think six foot maybe the way to go as far as max height. Does anyone keep their ratites behind 8 foot or taller? And if so, why? (the only reason im thinking of 8 foot is predators, but that might not be a good enough reason and just a lot of extra expense for nothing)

 

[ES Emus]

All of our enclosures consists of 6' tall welded wire, framed at the top and bottom with 2 x 4's to ensure that the fence remains rigid. The added 2x4's raise the total fence height to about 6'6". Our posts consists of 8' garden ties, buried about two feet into the ground. I have seen wire fencing that wasn't properly taut/framed and the emus could get a running start and literally climb over the fence where it sagged at the top. We have found that this construction (so far) has produced no escapes and more importantly, no entry from predators, including packs of maurading feral dogs which we have had trouble with in the past. Take a look at some of the photos on our profile and you should be able to see some of the fence and framing.

 

[Avie]

Thank you all for the input!

 

[flyweed]

I started out with 5 foot fence for our 5 emu's and one decided she could scale it and get out whenever she wanted...so we now have 8 foot fence...NOT a single escape anymore. I'd go as high as you can afford. anything less than 6 ft they can and WILL go over.

Dan