[HappyHippy]

I am just about ready to move my chickens from the relative safety of their garden run, to the big wide world in the field at the side of my house. There's a huge pond on one side and it backs onto woods AND we've got foxes (not many thanks to one man and his gun  - but they're still here !)
I've got tall wire fence panels (like the one's builders use) for their run at the minute, but doubt these would keep foxy out - is electric poultry netting REALLY effective against foxes or is it more to keep the chickens in ? I've got a standard electric fence (tape and battery energiser) could this be modified in any way to do the same job or am I going to have to dig deep and buy the netting ?
Any advice would be really appreiciated (especially if it involves using what I've got and saving cash  )
Thanks folks
Karen x

[starcana]

We have a fox AND badger problem here. We have the chickens in an old orchard next to the house and they were 'protected' just by a Cornish hedge around the old orchard. However, after a fox got three when we'd been to the pub quiz and shut their gate to the under coop run, but not the pophole we had to think again. It was definitely the fox that got ours as they were 'gone', not the badger, who got our neighbours' chickens and left them behind, mutilated. We got the electric poultry netting and it is very good. we know that cos on a couple of occasions we've left their food hopper out by mistake overnight, but within the turned on electric netting  and it's been undistrubed the next morning. In the past when we've made that mistake, pre netting, it was overturned. So yes,I'd recommend the outlay as worthwhile. It probably makes the unit price of our eggs about £5.99 each currently, but we do like our little girls!

[Anke]

We invested right at the start in electric netting (chooks are in the field) and also a mains connection (for our normal boudary fence too. In the last 3.5 years we have had NO chickens taken by fox/badger/cat/dog etc etc. Would say it is definitely worth the investment! (in the long run at least). When it snows we find badger and fox prints all round the chicken enclosures! so they are there!

We also had a few of our old girls free-range, as they managed to fly out all the time (despite trimmed wings feathers), and none of them got taken by fox/run over/caught by dog. But they were always in by sun-down.

I think having a dog doing her business all over the holding, especially first thing in the morning and last thing at night is also helping - nearby a vixen took all their hens in broad daylight this summer, and she could have easily been here too....

[HappyHippy]

When it snows we find badger and fox prints all round the chicken enclosures! so they are there!

This is a huge reassurance  I was worried about how the fences held up in the snow (my battery operated one is so prone to shorting even with wet grass touching it  ) Looks like it's time to invest then 

Thanks for the advice
Karen x

[DJ_Chook]

I'm moving my chickens too & looking at the electric netting idea. I'm going to have it on the mains but do I still have to watch out for it shorting on the wet long grass?  I'm looking at 400 meters of the stuff. Does it have to be clear of the grass or on a weed control membrane? I might be asking 'doh' questions... but I've absolutely no idea with this electric netting stuff.


400m is going to hurt the wallet, isn't it?

[HappyHippy]

DJ Chook - that was my worry too ! But from what Anke said about the snow I'm assuming it's not going to short out (or maybe it's because it's mains stuff  )
And OUCH ! 400m - I'm baulking at the prices for 50m - don't envy you in the slightest ! 

[faith0504]

i used the hen electric fencing it is well worth it, easy to use and move about if you need to, i got a 100m roll cost me about £100. but its worth it for peace of mind,  i did alot of research on it before i got it, and everything was positive, and i def agree. its good stuff

[plumseverywhere]

our electric poultry fencing does not keep all our girls in - in fact 2 regularly come out to tap on our back door to hint for food!! I think once they fly up and walk along the top of it, they don't complete the circuit so don't get a shock. However, we have a terrible fox/badger problem and as yet, touch wood, have not lost one bird yet. our hens are kept in a run next to a foxes den almost and thelittle toad spent the other night barking and spooking the goats but the chooks were oblivious.

[DJ_Chook]

Can I add as many 100m rolls of netting together as I wish? Does it require a larger energiser? Am I right in thinking if the energiser is in the garage I will have two lead out cables from the energiser?? 1 to the netting in the field and the other to the earth in the ground?

[faith0504]

if its main connected i think you should be ok running the lot of 1 energiser,  but double check, yes you have 2 cables one to the fence and the earth

[Helencus]

Best thing I've bought for ages. Even caught a rat on it and found it dead stuck on the fence the yesterday... Anything that protects the birds and kills rats can't be bad!

[HappyHippy]

 

[Anke]

We have three sets of 50m each, usually also have three lots of chickens/chicks/meatbirds to keep in. It means you can move their pens regularly, and yes the grass needs to strimmed in the line of the fence - a bit difficult to keep up in summer. During the last winter our fence was switched off when the snow was just too high - but then the hens didn't come out either! (and I think the fox gave up too, as even the sheep couldn't move from one end of the field to the other without us making a path for them!) Normal snow fall is not really a problem, as the bottom line is not electrified.

Unfortunately chickens ar not as stupid as we think, and once they have worked out there is a way out they will use it, and maybe teach others too. But I find only one or two can fly out once their wing feathers have been trimmed, our old girls were let out as I started to spend more time chasing them back in than they actually being inside the fence... and they were over three years old by then...

I think it is a worthwhile expense (the 50 m roll definitely), not sure about 400 m though, that is going to hurt the wallet....