The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: darkbrowneggs on August 24, 2012, 02:13:04 pm
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Hi - I wondered what everyones experiences with electrified poultry netting is? How fox proof is it? Is there a difference in problems between mains or battery powered netting?
Do foxes jump over and if so do they jump over both types?
I may post a similar type of question on other "poultry" type forums, as currently (ha ha) I am relying on mains electrified poultry netting, but as always worry about foxes getting over, especially as the other evening when doing a last check I could hear a vixen barking as she trotted up the lane calling to her cubs :o And in the snows the last couple of years each night there were fox tracks round the poultry houses, fields and garden
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each night there were fox tracks round the poultry houses, fields and garden
Are the houses inside the netting though?
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I had battery operated flexinet, fox jumped over it and killed my Guinea Fowl in their house by lifting up the pop-hole.
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each night there were fox tracks round the poultry houses, fields and garden
Are the houses inside the netting though?
No - the houses are in a barn, with electric netting round runs. In the snow I switched off the electric netting, but the fox still didn't go in the pens, but you could see footprints round the field by the pens and all through the gardens.
Mine is mains, and the energizer is strong enough for 20 poultry nets, so I would suspect give a fair jolt, judging by the click when it shorts out which it does often.
I did have a fox get in the electric pen once, but the sheep had knocked the corner straining post down on the very far side, and I didnt notice. The fox jumped in (but thank you God) had obviously been shot previously - I expect it was desperate, but all the pop holes were shut. The hens found it dead next morning when I let them out and set off the alarm, but the cockerels stayed by the pop holes :D
For about 10 years I ran a pen with electric fencing round and never closed the pop holes the entire time, but now my stock are far more valuable to me as I have worked so hard on my lines, so I get more worried, hence the post/poll
Should I rephrase the questions? It is the first poll I have done
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Never lost any hens INSIDE the poultry netting but the little s*ds fly over it, wander round the garden and have twice given mr fox a meal that way.
I've caught the fox longingly looking into the enclosure but when I chased him away (in my pj's shouting and swearing) he legged it.
we do have horse tape electric fencing outside the chicken run too as that's where the goats live and I don' think the fox is too keen on going in there so maybe the goats are our deterrant?
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I've had netting for 4 years, leisure battery source.
Lost all hens one year to a fox, but I think that I had a mole hill loosen the soil under the netting and the fox went under (it was pegged down, but pegs loosened by mole).
Just lost one hen in the past 2 weeks to a buzzard or sparrow hawk or similar.
Am just about to give up on it actually, due to the hawk, and the fact that it's a pain in the bottom to maintain (i.e. keep grass short, even though I do run a strip of damp proof course under the netting too), and to move.
And yes, some hens jump over it.
Oh and mine has killed two hedgehogs so far, even though I have un-electrified the bottom rung for them. And some frogs have been fried too.
So, in summary, nice idea but ... it makes you go "grrrr" a lot!
This weekend is being spent constructing a hoop-shaped run on wheels, with 12g galvanised mesh and skirt :).
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I must add though ... our local gun has shot over 20 foxes in the next door field this year since March (and he only goes out occasionally), so that gives you an idea of how many foxes are about in my area - and I've not had any fox attacks when the fence has been in good order.
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I'm going to wait until cubbing starts next month and let the cubs scatter a bit, then get someone to come and shoot over our land and our neighbours.
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Hi,I have been keeping geese,and some drakes in an orchard since April.I have a ring of standard sheep electric fencing around the perimeter of the field.The fence is the standard plastic posts with three lines of electric string.
They are set 20cm,45cm and 100cm from the ground approx.
Inside this I have a 25m X 25m pen made from electric poultry netting that I move around the orchard with the geese in.
There is fox muck outside the perimeter fence and any tracks also end at this,so touch wood I don't think they come through this.
Below is a pic I took from my phone.
Graham.
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc431/graham68j/Photo0041-1.jpg)
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Hi,at the advice of others I have made up wooden straining posts that I hammer into the ground outside each corner of the net,Each post has a metal spike fitted to it for ease of hammering into the ground.
I then use these to pull the net up really tight.I am led to believe its where the net droops down that the fox jumps over.
Graham.
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Mains Electric Fencing Energiser 3.5 Joules/230 Volt (http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=joules%20in%20electric%20fence&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcveighparker.com%2Fmcvp_store%2Findex.php%3F_a%3DviewProd%26productId%3D461&ei=Hpg4UPbfB6W10QWE-YHYAw&usg=AFQjCNGyOFF6lRTOU20omip5laEEsFfp8g) is not strong enough ,you need 5 joules 3 is not enough to give a rap.And its the cost of power to run this. i dont think you would have a problem iff it was a high joules .
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Just to say graham, that anywhere the netting "droops" the bottom electified wires will be in contact with the ground and the fence will be shorting out there (anyone who is better informed please post, as I am trying to get as much info on this as possible) :thumbsup:
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Hi,there are no droops at all now in my netting top or bottom thanks to the straining posts,that is may point.
Not quite sure what you mean by any one is better informed at the end of your reply to me.
Graham.
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Poultry netting isn't tall enough. A fox will jump over if it's hungry enough. Our fox clears a 5' 6" wall without touching it. If you haven't had a fox strike yet you are simply lucky -one is just around the corner -believe me and improve your defences. We have an electric poultry net inside the perimeter and it negotiates that as if it wasn't there. Doesn't matter if it touches it on the way over as it is in mid-air, so no ground circuit made, so no shock. Of course if the power goes down -flat battery or power cut?
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Hi,there are no droops at all now in my netting top or bottom thanks to the straining posts,that is may point.
Not quite sure what you mean by any one is better informed at the end of your reply to me.
Graham.
What I meant was if I have misunderstood about the fact that drooping fencing will short out then let me know. Hope that is clearer now. :)
Chris - that's what I am trying to check. As to how many people have suffered fox attacks even when using electric poultry netting, and whether using mains or battery powered has any different results. I know you had a bad attack, :( was your fence battery or mains?
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Poultry netting isn't tall enough. A fox will jump over if it's hungry enough. Our fox clears a 5' 6" wall without touching it. If you haven't had a fox strike yet you are simply lucky -one is just around the corner -believe me and improve your defences. We have an electric poultry net inside the perimeter and it negotiates that as if it wasn't there. Doesn't matter if it touches it on the way over as it is in mid-air, so no ground circuit made, so no shock. Of course if the power goes down -flat battery or power cut?
Hi,Chris what do you sagest as an alternative,I am putting Heras fencing with a line of electric wire around the bottom for my turkeys.But I think I would get complaints from my neighbors if I used to much of this.
My boarder terrier who hates chickens can scrabble over a 6' garden fence panel but won't go near an electric fence.It makes me wonder why they don't make a higher version of poultry netting.
DBE,yes I do relies if any live part of a fence touches the ground or anything else attached to the ground it shorts out and looses power thank you very much.I also mow under my netting and strim under perimeter fence to reduce the chance of this.
Graham.
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I used to keep my hens in at my last place with electrified netting, run off a car battery - the hen house was in the middle, I never shut the pop hole at night.
It was next to a spring and foxes would come for miles around to drink and I never lost one to hens, ever. My neighbours, who had aviary-type houses, were losing them all the time to foxes digging under etc.
I watched foxes come past lots and saw the footprints around the perimiter in the snow. I have absolutely no doubt that the second I turned it off and went inside they would have been in and taken the lot.
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Hi there,
I've had hens on electric with a secondary plastic hole fence (the kind you see on the edge of ski pistes) around it, next to pigs (on 3 strands). There are definitely foxes very near but, none have attacked anything. I got the secondary fence idea from the National Trust. I am hoping that this double layered idea will get past the jumping problem. There is about a metre gap in between the fences.
Runs on leisure battery. Been ok for about 9 mths. Hope this is of interest.....
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Heras panels with a single strand of electric round the bottom has worked for us for a long time now. We've lost the odd bird when they've been out free ranging during the day but nothing from inside the pens.
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Although we do have netting we dont use it for the poultry , we tend to use it to try and confine lambs on the lawn.
We dont have any foxes here anyway,If one did move in they dont stand a chance with the gamekeepers around here
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We bought 2 nets from mvf, the posts have double prongs which hold them securely. On the corners and gates we put in wooden strainer posts and attached the netting posts with large cable ties. on the floor we laid 2 widths of damp course to stop the net shorting out and pegged the bottom strand down. So far we have kept chickens geese and turkeys inside it with no issues apart from strimming around when the grass gets too long. The whole lot is powered by a mains energiser.
Our latest indulgence are 2 battery operated pop hole door openers, these are really great and and now save us having to hang around waiting for the chickens to go to bed. At least with the geese and turkeys you can herd them into their houses the chooks were having none of it especially as their houses are raised.
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Hi,what sort of turkeys have you got in your runs.I have some bronze turkeys I would like to put out into a large poultry net run but I was under the impression they would get out over the top.
Graham.