Will a 5 strand electric fence keep out foxes?

[microchick]

In all seriousness, NO I have had young pullets and grown hens get out and make contact with the hot wire. No harm, no change in laying patterns. The only side effect I have observed is they are more leary of the wire afterwards and that is just plain good common sense on their part.

 

[Trisseh]

Not sure if it’s been touched on already or not, but the insulators may he your solution for an offset top wire. You can get them in various lengths and various styles to attach to different surfaces so that may be something to look into.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am more concerned with the trauma a good egg laying hen might suffer. Any one have this happen to one of your hens ?

No, not with my electric netting. The hen is totally over it in a very few seconds after she gets zapped. No change to egg laying, pecking order status, or anything else. She just learns to not peck within a few inches of that fence. With an electric fence instead of netting the hot wire is probably going to be on the outside of a wire mesh fence, she probably can't get to it anyway.

The current is not continuous but instead pulses, usually around 50 times per minute. That way anything that gets zapped can turn loose of it, and they will if they can. A continuous current would be a danger.

I have had three snapping turtles get caught in the netting, not a wire fence. They are too slow to turn loose. When I shut the power off and got them loose, two walked away. The other was dead. I have no idea how long it was stuck there, I suspect a long time.

A snake got caught in the netting and died. I won't go through the story on how I know but it was caught in there all night. Snakes can't back up very well.

A possum got tangled up in the netting. Every time the current pulses it would jerk but it was still alive and kind of temporarily paralyzed. The electric current is not what killed it.

Things can happen. If a hen gets caught where she is against a live wire and a ground and can't get away it could be bad. Most hens are covered with feathers, which is insulation. The only exposed parts are her feet, her comb and wattles, and her beak. It's highly unlikely your set-up will be much of a danger to her. They really are good at turning lose. On an electric fence the hot wire will be on the outside where the chickens can't get to it.

Properly installed electric fencing is extremely effective against any ground based predator. To me the odds of a chicken getting trapped so it cant get away are pretty small. When I look at the benefit of pretty much stopping ground based predators against the risk of a chicken getting hurt it's a no-brainer. Focus on the real danger, predators. But if it bothers you, don't do it.

 

[cmom]

I love my electric wires. The predators know they're there and don't mess with them. One thing I have noticed, most predators first inspect with their noses. I had a couple of snakes try to climb the wires. They were electrocuted. Their tails were on the ground so they were zapped. I have been recently seeing what I think is a young (skinny) fox. I think it tested the wires last week. I heard a yelp around midnight one night. I'm sure it won't mess with them again.

 

[Roosterbreaux]

To: Ridgerunner
As the inventor Ex-Lax was once known to say "And this to shall pass !" LOL Good 1 Ridgerunner I love it !!! ({^o^})

 

[cmom]

The only things that were electrocuted in my electric wires were a couple of snakes. Other predators know the wires are there and don't mess with them.

 

[cmom]

The only things that were electrocuted in my electric wires were a couple of snakes. Other predators know the wires are there and don't mess with them.

I realized I already posted this. I love my electric wires.