Aunty e Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 So our current thoughts, following foxmageddon, are that we either stop keeping chickens or we find a better way of keeping the persistent and aggressive foxes out. I don't really want to have a walk in run, but I have plenty of room and outdoor power points for electric fencing, so I'd really like to hear about anyone else's experience of it, advantages, disadvantages, does it work etc etc. Also things like how far away it needs to be from fences, etc. And are overhanging trees an issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 we have an electric fence, and although it's not 100% fox proof it works pretty well for us. pros: reasonable security, doesnt look too bad. cons: remembering to switch it off and on again!! things to consider: the ground needs to be reasonably level where you are going to run the fence, and you need to keep the grass here very short, and remove leaves etc on a regular basis. it will probably need to be pegged down between the posts to prevent burrowing out/in. so buy extra pegs (camping store type shop) and a peg remover tool ours seems to need to 'retensioned' quite regularly, I guess the weather affects the tautness of it. overhanging trees are probably best avoided in case of kamikaze foxes climbing up - although this has never happened to us and we have trees pretty near. in very dry weather, chuck a bucket of water over the ground/earth pole or whatever it's called - our last fox attack was because it had been so dry the earth had shrunk around the pole so it wasnt giving off a good enough force to deter foxy. I'm sure there's more - cant think at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 The more I look into it, the more I'm leaning towards a WIR and OH agrees with me (thought he wouldn't). Off to look at the WIR thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 ah well, in that case!!! how about a WIR AND an electric fence, which is what we are doing?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken bark Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 My hens and ducks are kept behind a 75m length of electric fence. It is the best solution for me - I dread to think what a WIR that size would cost It is a bit of a faff keeping the grass short under the fence but even in the Summer months this only meant cutting it once a week on rare occasions . I've had no problems with them trying to burrow out so don't have any extra pegs in it. Most of the time once the fence is up I only need to move it every fortnight for mowing and it stays taught. Now it is Autumn I go round every now and then and remove leaves and feathers that have blown into it. I've not used it in Winter yet so will have to see how well it holds up then. My biggest problem with it is that when I roll it up and move it, it has an annoying tendency to get tangles on the side buckle of my wellies. Oh and carrying the battery in to charge - those batteries can be really heavy. I'm looking at powering it from the mains next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
