cute-chickens Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Having lost our precious Penny to a fox, the other two girls are now kept in the run (although it does have a converter). We have the Omlet netting around their area but now think we should electrify it. Does anyone know the best way of getting this done? Is there a firm we can call in - or is it a DIY job? Any advice would be very gratefully received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnieP Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 You may need to buy a leisure battery, a fencer unit and connectors. Have you got a horsey store near you? If not, do a search on the net for electric fencing and see what you come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen & co. Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Hi there , Electrifying the fence is a DIY job, you need to find a farm supplier, or web search. The electricty unit is a little like an upturned plantpot with 2 crocodile clips like a car battery charger. One clip goes to the fence and the other needs earthing, we use a big metal tent peg type of thing hammered into the ground near to the unit. Ours runs on 2 D cell batteries and gives enough of a shock to stop the pup or dog going near The chooks have only once or twice been zapped but I think they can sense the current and stay a couple of inches away. Good luck getting your fence up and running, and let me know if there is anything I need to explain. karen x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodhamd Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 Sorry about your chicken. I've looked at the Energisers on the web, and there seems to be a large number of variations out there. Solar Dry cell (normal household) Wet cell (Leisure/Car) Mains Storage Joules ratings vary, so what rating would be suitable for Omlet 25/50 fencing lengths. They seem very straight forward to set up, but my concern would be to get the correct one. If you are going fork out £100-200 for one which a fox will just get a tickle out of, you'd have wasted your money. What set ups have others opted for? Are rechargable units any good? How good are the Solar units, and which ones are people using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cute-chickens Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 Thank you for your advice Karen & AnnieP. We did some more research and visited the local farm supplier where we buy our layers mash, etc. They were a great help - we bought a battery-powered energiser and a leisure battery. Apparently the reason a leisure battery is better than a car battery is because a leisure battery can run right down and when charged will go back to full strength, whereas a car battery, if run right down, never will. There are two power settings - half-power and full-power - the latter being quite pokey (although still safe for the chooks & pussycats). However, we set it to half-power during the day and when the chooks went to bed we turned up the wick. A fox visited at around 5 a.m. - it was drizzling so the OH said that because it was wet the shock would have been worse. We heard the scream! Hope it was the fox who killed Penny. Susie x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen & co. Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Hopefully that will be one fox that learns a lesson will be keeping my fingers crossed for you karen x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Glad to hear it's working for you! Don't forget it's on though will you, or you might be the one screaming!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cute-chickens Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 Glad to hear it's working for you! Don't forget it's on though will you, or you might be the one screaming!! The guy who sold it to us said that you only forget to turn it off once! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Lesley has batteries on her electric fencing and it seems to work, so well in fact that Carl zapped himself when stepping over it I'm not sure, but I think they found that the solar battery was less effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodhamd Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 So that'll be the fox with the punk hairstyle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 Do you build it all the way round (turn off) and step over as adding a doorway would create a weak spot Ours has been in progress for many weeks but seems very high to step over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley-Jean Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 They do a gate here if you want one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cute-chickens Posted September 5, 2006 Author Share Posted September 5, 2006 We made a "kissing gate" by overlapping the last section of the netting with the first. We put the spike in the ground about two feet beyond the "first" post and then hooked the fencing over the first post to take up the slack. We clip the wiring to the other post half-way down with an ordinary clothes peg. To get in the run we (turn off the power first!!) and unhook the netting from over the top of the first post, pull the "loose" post out - off pops the peg and we lay the whole lot on the ground. We can then all get in the run - pussycats too! If it's not clear let me know and I'll post a couple of photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 A picture would help, my poor brain is getting befuddled Thanks for all the info, will help when can persuade OH into action again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen & co. Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 I must be very lazy We just make a complete circuit with ours and then put the first and last posts close together, then put a hair bobble looped between the tops of them, the children then turn off the current and undo the bobble and step through the gap, as the posts are flexible, I just step over. There are some advantages of being tall karen x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodhamd Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 We haven't electrified the fence, but we do the same as previously mentioned. First and last posts together, but with a big bulldog clip holding them together. I suspect the bulldog clip may complete a ring if touching the netting. The clip is the one that is triangular from the side profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cute-chickens Posted September 7, 2006 Author Share Posted September 7, 2006 We have looked at this and think that Karen's method is even better (and easier) than ours. We will be moving our posts to work it the same way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
