someone please tell me what to buy

ok update-
feeling accomplished, I decided I was going to change my fence. I went back to Tractor Supply and bought 60 screw in insulators and redid the hot wires around the pen, eliminating the need for the white posts. I have a line at the very bottom- not even a mouse is getting through, in the middle, and across the top. Used a jumper wire to connect all three lines to the box...my hands are hamburger meat. ( yep you were correct, never be able to pull it tight enough by hand....well, you CAN, but your hands will be hamburger)..
I reused the wire from the first fence for the first line. By the second I said screw this, and balled all that wire up in to a heap and used fresh wire.
And then I ran around the coop and pulled all the grass and weeds from the bottom wire. I reused the white stakes to hold the chicken wire from the hot wire on the second go around.

Then- I plugged it in ( this took hours because every time I looked one of my girls or my littles were sitting against the bottom wire instead of free ranging. ). And it didnt work.
So, I pounded the ground post in about three more feet. Still didnt work.
Frustrated beyond belief I checked and rechecked my connections. Didnt work. Put my hand on the ground to push myself up to standing from sitting next to the groun post and felt pulsing not quite shocks.... so I went hunting. Yep, the chicken fence was touching the wire in the back of the pen. Pushed that back-
and tada!!!! It works!
You are all amazing thank you for all your help! Me and mine appreciate it so much!
 
ok update-
feeling accomplished, I decided I was going to change my fence. I went back to Tractor Supply and bought 60 screw in insulators and redid the hot wires around the pen, eliminating the need for the white posts. I have a line at the very bottom- not even a mouse is getting through, in the middle, and across the top. Used a jumper wire to connect all three lines to the box...my hands are hamburger meat. ( yep you were correct, never be able to pull it tight enough by hand....well, you CAN, but your hands will be hamburger)..
I reused the wire from the first fence for the first line. By the second I said screw this, and balled all that wire up in to a heap and used fresh wire.
And then I ran around the coop and pulled all the grass and weeds from the bottom wire. I reused the white stakes to hold the chicken wire from the hot wire on the second go around.

Then- I plugged it in ( this took hours because every time I looked one of my girls or my littles were sitting against the bottom wire instead of free ranging. ). And it didnt work.
So, I pounded the ground post in about three more feet. Still didnt work.
Frustrated beyond belief I checked and rechecked my connections. Didnt work. Put my hand on the ground to push myself up to standing from sitting next to the groun post and felt pulsing not quite shocks.... so I went hunting. Yep, the chicken fence was touching the wire in the back of the pen. Pushed that back-
and tada!!!! It works!
You are all amazing thank you for all your help! Me and mine appreciate it so much!
Yaaay!!!, getting it set up is really hard work...especially learning as you go and figuring out if you have the right equipment. I got mine up and running and everyone touched it and it really didn't work, until I contacted @HowardE and he told me to touch it barefoot. Then I knew it worked!

Anyway it's so worth it, when you know your chickens are protected at nighttime while you are sleeping.
 
A poor man's tester.....the one I used before the real deal was available.....was to use a medium sized PLASTIC (meaning insulated) handled screwdriver. Hold the screwdriver by the handle, then touch the side or shaft to something grounded......like a steel T post.....to connect to the earth ground. Then move the tip....or more precisely, the edge of the tip of the screwdriver near the HOT wire. Just before it touches.......fractions of an inch......if the fence is hot, a spark will jump across the gap. Like a very nasty static electric shock. You will see and hear it*. The hotter the fence, the louder the "snap".

* Be careful with the screwdriver handle, or you will also feel it.
 
I thought I’d come back to say I want a stronger charger- I haven’t had any problems since this one but I’m not convinced this would ward off the neighborhood dogs. This one had a chicken on the picture so I picked it in my panic.
what size do you all use? This one says it’s 0.1 joules - adding pics of my guinea and what’s left of “her” babies - out yesterday enjoying themselves.
 

Attachments

  • 7086CBCD-BCFE-4CB0-8FC3-5DDD222295DE.jpeg
    7086CBCD-BCFE-4CB0-8FC3-5DDD222295DE.jpeg
    844.5 KB · Views: 8
I thought I’d come back to say I want a stronger charger- I haven’t had any problems since this one but I’m not convinced this would ward off the neighborhood dogs. This one had a chicken on the picture so I picked it in my panic.
what size do you all use? This one says it’s 0.1 joules - adding pics of my guinea and what’s left of “her” babies - out yesterday enjoying themselves.
Is it solar or electric? I have a .4 joules hooked up to a 100 ft fence but mine is solar. I bought mine cause the Premier fence needed .25 joules. HowardE uses a battery as a power source but I felt it was easier to go with solar.
 
My fence charger is AC 1.2 joules. Anything that touches it will know it. My pens total area is 60' x 200'. I have heavy duty netting covering the pens, concrete under the gates and electric wire around the coops and pens all due to losses from predators in the past. I use the poly rope wire. In some places I have the fence insulators and in other places I have used the step in posts.
IMG_20200315_191822.jpg
IMG_20180503_094047.jpg
2014-11-18 17.08.29.jpg

My fence charger and ground rod are on the coop on the right. I put a cut-off switch under the charger. When it's on it will make my heart skip a few beats and predators know it's there. Most of the time it is on unless I'm working around the coops. Every evening when I collect the eggs I test the wire.
IMG_20180220_165446.jpg
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom