Someone PLEASE talk to me about electric fence and kids!!!

[Chickerdoodle13]

I was probably about three when I ran up to see some cows and grabbed an electric fence with both hands. It didn't hurt, but I never did THAT again! Didn't kill me though.

As long as you supervise your children while they are out, they should be ok. Chances are, if they touch it once, they never will again. The shock is so mild that it is more of an actual scary "shock" rather than a physical one.

Have you thought about wire fencing? Set up right, it can be a nice alternative. I believe we have four or five strand wire going across our top field with wooden posts holding it all up. As long as you make it nice and tight and high enough off the ground, the horses will not go through it or get tangled in it. In fact, it is the only type of fencing our horses have not knocked down or gone though!

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

LOL
I used to test the electric fencing in NC by pushing a friend into it.

"Hey is this working?" PUSH

ZAP ZAP ZAP "HEY!!!!"

"Yup guess it is"

No one ever got hurt. Not even me
But those were Marines.. so.

 

[MagsC]

We grew up around electric fences, seven of us. No harm done though it can really be a jolt, especially when you are not expecting it!
That said, I would think that with smaller children around, take the "better safe than sorry" approach and use a bit less voltage.

 

[crtrlovr]

Quote:
*wondering how in the world a person can accidentally pee on an electric fence*

 

[the1much]

the electric from your plug in is converted to DC electric,,, you would need a jolt at least 100 times greater then what you have to do any harm to even a baby,,,,but it WILL make em pay CLOSE attention to it after the first zap.


EDIT , peeing on it wont shock you,,, you need a steady stream of liquid to do that,, and ya cant get a teady stream from peeing,,,,,, ask the mythbusters

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

It is a rite of passage at our house.. I have ran into one right across the cheek, left a red line for a week. Our kids have both ended up touching our fence. Our son thought is was funny when his sister got shocked because he happened to touch it at just the right moment (not a continuous current) and did not get shocked, then he thought it must not be on and did it again and zapped the heck out of him. We all just about peed our pants that's all that happened (he weighed about 45 pounds at the time) They will only do it once but I would definitely start out with a week charger.

 

[the1much]

word of advice : when showing your dog the fence, its not a good idea to pick your dog up and touch him to the fence,, im not sure what hurt more, the shock, or the dog jumping on me,,haha

 

[coffeemama]

I was shocked a few times as a young child. The worst was when I got zapped in the eye (yes the eye) by a cattle strength fence. After I got shocked once before that by grabbing on, I never touched one (intentionally) again!

 

[Chick_a_dee]

It won't kill your kid, or really even hurt them, It should work the same way it does with the horses, teach them not to touch it!

Also as a note, we have a 10 mile SOLAR fencer, which we're using on a much smaller than 10 mile field for our sheep.

 

[FlockEweFarm]

I have 4 kids, including one with Downs Syndrome, and I have a seizure disorder that makes me hyper-reactive to things like electrical shock, and I have more hot wire around this place than they do at the state pen. I have grabbed it when my boots were wet and I had a pair of metal shears in my hand,(not reccommended!!) and I survived, though all my kids learned some really interesting new swear words that were previously only known to law enforcement. My son with Downs has actually even sat on the one that goes around the chicken pen, and though he squawked, he lived and his parts are still intact and he still can go pee. My big fence has 5 ground rods, and stays in an area that is perpetually damp, so it packs a wallop, but everyone stays away from it. Its good to educate them, tell them,"HOT" and be prepared to deal with a few run ins, though it only took my kids once to know that they did not want to fool with the fence they do sometimes forget where it is located. Mine is NOT a steady current, it is a pulse, I wanted to make sure I made that clear, I did once have a steady current fence fry a goats brain to the point it had to be euthenized, but that was close to 20 years ago and they have made them much safer since them.