[funkyduck]

Hi everyone,
 
Do any of you use electric poultry netting? Is it any good?
When I am around I like the chickens to free range but there are times that I go out and would still like them to have plenty of space to roam but be safe.

Thank for any advice

Ruth

[lindy]

Yes I have used it for years  and it is good but you must make sure you never let the battery go flat.

[moors]

Is this expensive to buy and does it also help keep the foxes/cats out?

[carl]

it is expensive, also you need an energiser, mains or battery powered, and maybe earthing rods, power leads and earthing leads. once zapped cats will not go near it again. foxes are cunning and it might be that they work out how to jump the fence, especially if it has low points.

[doganjo]

Got any sources for this - I looked on the internet and the prices are huge.  I'd like to give my birds more space - and grass instead of mud, but don't want my little darlings to be retrieving every minute.

[harry]

Work out the price of rearing and feading chicks then feeding them to POL then then feeding them to lay, the time you put in to have healthy hens, then think about going out there one day and they are all laying their with their heads bitten off..............then restocking and starting all over again......... expensive or what, an energiser will last 20 years. if you put trip wires up, 1, 2 and 3feet from the fence nothing will jump that except a jaguar, hope theres none in your area,  you dont need a big energiser a small/ med will do 100s of yards of fence.......... harry

[Ross]

Around here everyone who keeps hens seriously uses hotline electric netting. Those who rely on chicken wire don't keep their hens long and consequently give up.
An energiser, batteries(get 2, have one on charge, the other in use)and 200 meters of fence will set you back £300 ish, but thats only the cost of 50 hens, and you have to pay only once, whereas once a fox finds a soft target they tend to keep coming back.
Someone pointed out to me that foxes will jump up, but they won't jump over things. Police dogs have to be specially trained to jump over obstacles, so they might be right.

[Helen]

Our electric fence seems to be keeping out the fox so far, he has been seen pacing along the perimeter.  I've not seen any dogs or cats try to get over it either.   At first we had problems with the battery draining too quickly as the fence shorted out on the grass.  We now lay a strip of damp proof course plastic down first and put the fence on top of that, it has done the trick and savesd us from having to move the fence to mow every week.

[dixie]

have alook at Mole Valley Farmers online, we bought sheep netting and it was much cheaper than anywhere else! have since bought lots of stuff from them

[harry]

foxes will always dig under before going over thats why you need 2 or 3 electric trips wires so the fox cant get within 2 feet of the main fence..... kept poultry for years, no problem.... got slack, didnt connect the fence  1 year.... lost 12 ducks, 9 goslings and various hens... learnt my lesson... always connected now... no more problems..ALWAYS USE LEISURE BATTERYS THEY ARE DESIGNED TO CONSTANTLY RUN LOW THEN HAVE REGULAR FULL RECHARGES, a car battery is not designed to do that......harry

[mab]

I hope this isn't a silly question but I was planning on using the same (electric) fence to keep in chickens and sheep.  Looking at supplier websites (such as mole valley farmers) they have a specific nettings for each species, even though the height of the nettings are similar and the holes in the sheep (cheap) netting look small enough to keep chickens in.

I suppose the question I'm asking is which netting should I go for?

Thx
mab

[harry]

A HEN CAN JUMP UP AND SORT Of BALANCE ON THE TOP OF THE NET  so if they want to get out the can jump any electric net...i use it to keep unwanted visitors out, not to keep hens in.....harry

[doganjo]

Absolutely right, Harry.  I have four LS - a cockerel and three hens.  One of the hens insists on jumping either onto and over the wire netting separating the ducks and chickens (I think she thinks she's a duck), or onto the paling gate and onto the ground.  I don't mind her being fully free range but I have to shoo her in if I want to take the dogs outside.

[funkyduck]

Thanks for all the advice, have bought some netting and am loving it, can finally relax when the chickens are out. The damp proof course sounds a great idea, I know I have a whole roll of it somewhere, now where did I put it.........!

Ruth