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Rob Thomson

Electric fencing?

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Hello,

 

After little Milly's cat attack yesterday I'm wondering if we should invest in some electrified netting to keep the lovely little girls safe as they free range around the garden.

 

Does anyone have any experience with these?

 

I'm looking at something like this...

 

http://shop.electricfencing.co.uk/shop/electric-fencing/electric-fencing-kits-all-animals/poultry-kits/poultry-netting-kits/premium-poultry-kits/50m-mains-powered-premium-poultry-kit

 

... which could be easier to manage than a battery powered system as we have an outdoor waterproof 13A socket which I imagine we could connect the fence to. Are there any other pros/cons with mains/battery systems we should be aware of?

 

Thanks, Rob.

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I've used electric fencing for quite a few years, mainly to keep foxes out but it has certainly deterred cats as well - one of my cats touched it once and ended up upside down in a bush she jumped so high :shock: .

 

My hens also touch the fence occasionally but this only results in a lot of complaining from them - none of them has been affected by it.

 

My fencing runs from a leisure battery which means having two so one is always charged up, I've never used mains power but imagine the only problem would be with a power cut. It is essential to keep the grass trimmed short under the fence or this will reduce the current and therefore the effectiveness of the fence.

 

It will certainly give you more peace of mind but it is quite a big outlay; if you have any more questions I would be more than happy to try and answer them.

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The problem with every electric net I have ever seen is shorting to earth with the lower conductors due to the fence sagging. It has to be well supported and kept tight. We have had to double the number of supports on all our nets and tie the ends back to a wooden post. If you try to run a net in anything other than a straight line the problem gets worse and as said it is essential to keep the grass short.

 

I would just run an Omlet net around them. You could run a double or triple strand of electrified wire around the outside of that. Just the electric charge in the air frightens predators off. But when the cat touches a good line it will send it flying, as said. Our dog was leaning on a ' slow startup' fence. She only got 2000V and screamed all the way back to the house. Top voltage was 8000V.

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