What type of electric fence are you using

[Hambone]

What type of electric fence are you using around your coop/tractor. I need advise on which to buy.

 

[twentynine]

Currently using a small plug in pet charger you can buy for $20.

Next step up is a solar powered charger.

 

[cmom]

My main fencing is chicken wire. I have electric wire going around the outside of my coop, run and my bird's yard. One night I was outside on my back patio which faces my chickens. I heard a really good "OUCH" scream like sound. Something came into contact with the electric wire. It's putting out 6000 volts. The amount of current also depends on how damp your ground is. A while back it was so dry and we were in such a drought that my voltage was around 2000 volts, but since we have had quite a bit of rain and pretty much no more drought it's at 6000 volts. I have gotten quite shocked by it myself so I imagine an animal who weighs far less than I really gets a good zap. I doubt it will be back. Some of these pictures are older pictures. I put the electric wire up initially because I believe it was a dog by the tracks, dug under my fence and killed one of my hens.

Make sure to keep the grass and weeds off the wires. I use my weedeater under my wires. Also make sure you got a big enough power supply. My ground rod is around 6+ ft under ground. I think it is a 10' or 12ft rod. I bought some splices so I can add wire if I want to. Originally as in the pictures I had two strands. Now I have 3 strands. TSC sells the power supplies, ground rods, posts for the wire, the wire.

 

[patandchickens]

Solar powered units are almost never worth the $$ -- they are MUCH MUCH more expensive per how strong a charger you get, and despite what you might think, you still have to buy a new battery for them every couple-few years. (Those of you with solar units who say 'no, I'm still using the same battery that came with the charger when I bought it 10 yrs ago and it works fine', go out at 4 a.m. before the sun comes up and test the fence -- betcha ANYthing it is dead as a doornail, is working only during daytime hours anymore).

So, if it is near an outlet, consider plug-in units (less expensive, and power goes out when the grid is down, but you don't have to worry about power loss due to battery going dead); or if the location is remote from electrical service, or if you want a guarantee of safety vs electrical fires started by lightning strikes, then buy a battery-powered unit, which is a little more expensive, especially over time. You can get either units with non-rechargable or rechargeable batteries -- these are all fairly pricey batteries, so make sure you consider the cost over time.

Get *good quality* insulators, install a good ground rod, make sure all your connections are good 'n' tight 'n' proper, and buy a fence tester (digital is really worth the $, the neon-light ones are horribly inaccurate) and USE that fence tester frequently to make sure you have enough charge on the fence.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[bja105]

When we brought our horses home, I bought one of the cheapest plug in fencers Tractor Supply had. It didn't work well, the horse got out, we got to meet the neighbors. I went to the other extreme, and bought one of the most expensive units. It has enough power that it makes the shorts SNAP loudly, so they are easy to fix.

The horses learned after getting zapped once. My wife and daughter got zapped most days, so I never bought the tester.

 

[beak]

We had a solar for the horse fence. Never worked well. Have 3 grounding rods. Now we have a plug in 550 unit and it works well. It has a steady charge instead of alternating. I mounted it on a fence post and put a 5 gallon bucket over it to keep it dry.

 

[HBuehler]

Our animals are all in a weed burning electric fencer.We have a large horse/donkey pasture and keeping it weed free isn't an option.It is very powerful which is a plus.Our chickens have chicken wire fencing with an electric wire down low on the outside and one up above it about 4" so nothing can get over the top if they somehow get into the middle of the wire.My JRT got on the bottom wire twice by accident and will not go near the chickens for any amount of begging now.
Cheap fencers only work if you didn't need one to start with..you know if all of your animals are made out of stuffing or concrete but you want to impress your neighbors with a fence for them!

 

[beak]

Quote:
That's funny.

 

[cmom]

I bought my electric fence online after a lot of research. I agree with patandchickens.

Here is a picture of my power supply, switch and you can see the top of the ground rod of which part is about 8 ft under ground.