Electric Fence

[ihatejacknjills]

I am thinking about doing away with my weldmesh run, and buying an electric fence for my chickens and was wondering if any of you have done the same.

I would ideally like it to run off of the mains, but the place that I want the fence is on the opposite end of my garden to my garage (where I would ideally power it from). What I want to know is how I would get the power from my garage to the fence - would I have to buy some cable and bury it? Would I be better off with a battery based system, and if so how would I keep the battery dry?

Also - how do you get in and out of your enclosure?

Any advice that you guys could offer would me much appreciated.

[redd_angel55]

If you put an electric fence up, you need to have space all around, no trees, fences, outbuildings nearby, because foxes use it too assist them in jumping it. Ideally you'll need enough room to move it to fresh ground.
As for the mains operated system, they come with a long cable. the place I worked at sell 25 and 50m lead out cables with their mains operated kit. The easiest way to make an entrance to the run is to use 2 fence posts that you can attach hooks to that enable you to open and enter the run. The battery doesn't need to be kept dry, it'll stay outside next to the run entrance.

[Totally Scrambled]

Hello ihatejacknjills,
We haven't done away with the weldmesh run, but have extended it with electric poultry netting. We bought 50 meters with an energizer that runs off mains or battery. I've had it running off both and it gives more of a shock when connected to the mains and you don't have to worry about the battery running down. Also you don't have the additional expense of buying a battery if run off the mains.
So far no attention from the fox and it deters my two dogs a treat, they won't go anywhere near it after a couple of zaps. It stands 4' high, so in answer to your question "how do I get over it" just push it down a bit between two posts, straddle it and over. Do remember to turn it off first, I forgot yesterday zzzzzttttt, I didn't know I could still jump that high.
Site it well away from anything a fox could climb to jump over it and it should deter him.
I just extended my power line to next to the chicken run, built a weatherproof box, fitted a socket, put the energizer inside, plugged it in and away we went. I do plan to put the cable undergound but you have to make sure it is well protected to stop someone putting a spade through it.
If you run it off the mains you would have to take off the normal live cable and fit a lead out cable from the unit to the fence, which is an extra, but not too expensive and comes in different lengths depending on how far away from the fence your power source is. When on the mains the energiser has to be under cover, but on a battery can be in the open.
If you want to use a battery, get a good one and don't let it run down more than half so it lasts longer. They are designed to work in any weather but last longer if protected. I used to raise them off the ground and put a plastic crate over them to keep the rain off. If you line the crate with some form of insulation it gives protection from heat or cold which also makes them last longer.
Even though it is 4' high if your chickens are fliers they could still get over it, so far mine haven't.
50 meters of poultry netting with energizer cost me just under £180 and a 25 meter reel of lead out cable was about £12, so not cheap, but worth it as the girls get to free range a big area. You get to keep them away from things you don't want them to eat and as they have so much grass available they don't destroy it. I've got 8 hens, they've had their extended run for 5 weeks and the grass is still in good condition.
I've probably waffled a bit but hope it is of some use.
ps got mine from http://www.molevaleyfarmers.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; at the time they were the cheapest and delivered within two days.
Dom

[querns]

Mine do get over ours - or at least 2 out of 6 do.... This may be partly as we've not had it switched on in the day recently as kids are on school hols and are out in the garden all the time! (still resisting temptaion to let my girls out and put my 2 boys inside the fence instead...) I'm hoping once the fence is back on regularly the girls will be put off trying!

we did buy a gate- but waste of money- it's only an extra length of fence with a post at each end- we still just bend the poles back and squeeze in between once it's switched off! (you're not the only one totally scrambled...)

Other good idea someone gave me was to put wooden strip down under the fence to stop the grass coming up and shorting it out- have lots of old skirting boards under the fence now.

I believe the earthing stake needs to be positioned 10m (??) from the power source so you need to make sure you have enough cable for that too.

Ours is run off a power pack from halfords- it was cheaper than buying the leisure battery + charger. I doesn't last anything like as long though- I bring it in to charge every other night once the girls are safetly tucked up in their house. The energiser needs to be kept dry.

Only other thing I can think of is to make sure you get a few corner posts- they are much studier and give the fence more rigidity- we have 4 at the moment but are thinking of getting a couple more along the longer length of the fence (long rectangular shape)

I bought the kit from flytesofancy - they were very helpful on the phone- I had loads of questions!

Hope that helps!

[ihatejacknjills]

Thanks for your replies - you've answered nearly all of my questions.

I think I will scrap the idea of getting a gate - it seems like a waste of time. I also think that I would like to run mine off of the mains as it seems to be cheaper and better.

I still have a couple of questions about the wiring though. Firstly about the lead out cable - I am assuming this is the cable that goes from the energiser to the fence. Is this insulated? Or is it a live wire that gives you a shock? Also, is it possible to put the energiser in my garage, and then run the lead out cable from the garage to the fence (about 10 meters away)? Does this wire need to be protected/buried? Or can I run it along a wooden fence with some clips?

[Totally Scrambled]

hello again ihatejacknjills,
Yes the lead out cable is insulated and runs from the live terminal to the fence, yes you could run it along the fence. Yes you can put it in the garage and run the lead out cable to the fence, you will also have to run a lead out cable to an earth stake, which comes with the kit.
Dom

[ihatejacknjills]

Do I need to buy 2 lead out cables then? Where does the earth stake go? Near the fence or near the power supply?

[Totally Scrambled]

Hello again again ihatejacknjills,
If your fence is only 10 meters from your power then a 25m reel of lead out cable should do it for both live & earth (just cut it to length as you would any other electric cable). The earth stake can be in either place but make sure it is somewhere not too dry. If you can only put it somewhere where the ground is dry pour a couple of gallons of water on the ground by it ,once or twice a week, 'cos damp earth grounds better and you get a stronger shock from the fence.
Dom

[querns]

Hiya,

Instructions in our kit state that if being run from mains, the earthing stake must be 10m from the house- we assumed this meant 10m from whereever the house is earhted (?) but we've just put it 10m from house! I assume it could be earthed near the fence? (flytesofancy will tell you!- no I'm not on comission!) but it does need a seperate cable to the one going to the fence!

Apparently it's totally different if being run from battery....!

[Mo]

I didn't know you could get corner posts, I use guy ropes pegged down with spikes from my daughters horses' electric fence (the cob leans on them and breaks the posts whenever the battery is a bit down)

I've just looked on the weebsite, do you mean the posts that are used for the the horse fences, that you thread the tape through?

[Totally Scrambled]

Hello Mo,
The corner posts for the poultry netting I have wouldn't take horse tape, the thingys to attach it are not wide enough.
I honestly don't know if they do a corner post with two prongs for horses, they must do surely.
My wife says I might have misinterpreted your question. If it was do they do corner post for poultry netting then the answer is yes. Mine came with the kit, they are thicker and have two prongs on the bottom for more ooomph. I'm pretty sure they can be bought separately but I don't know where from, sorry.
Dom

[querns]

http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenho ... tting.html is the corner posts we have- 4 came in our kit but we want to get another couple- they make a more rigid framework and the normal flexiposts just seem to prop the net up in between- we haven't had to use guy ropes as well.

hope that helps!

[ihatejacknjills]

My fence arrived yesterday and I put it up in the garden. It is not powered yet, and not 100% in the correct place but it shouldn't be too much effort to move it.

I have to admit, I found putting it up a bit more difficult than I thought. I think this is partly because I have a lot more fencing than I need.

I am going to finish setting it up over the weekend which should be fun - I'll post a picture when I'm done...

[redd_angel55]

Good luck