![]() ![]() ![]() Any conductive material, such as a critter’s nose or ears, that touches the wire after it has been electrified completes the circuit and - ZAP! The critter gets a short but unpleasant shock.īut gone are the days when you had to drive big metal or wooden posts into hard, rocky ground and wrestle with heavy reels of stiff wire that always wanted to go anywhere but where you wanted them to go. The fence wire is connected to a ground rod, usually just a galvanized pipe that has been driven deep into the ground. Continuous current causes the muscles to contract, making release difficult, and potentially interfering with the function of the heart. Although the potential involved may be on the order of 2,500 to 9,000 volts, the current is limited to a safe level and the actual pulse lasts only milliseconds.Īccording to David Hart of Underwriters Laboratories, a minimal one-second duration is mandatory between pulses to allow people who inadvertently grab onto a “hot” wire the time to let go and avoid injury. “In the field,” he says, “where we are moving the fence on a continual basis, they (the rats) respect it.” How Electric Fencing WorksĮlectric fencing runs on a charger, which converts a typical 110-volt, 15-amp branch circuit, such as those you might find in a house, into a pulsed, high-voltage, low-current output. When left in place for several weeks, such as around a greenhouse-turned-brooder house, rats eventually tunnel underneath to get at the chickens. The netted fence keeps out predators as small as rats - as long as it’s moved regularly. “That pretty much took care of it,” he says. To establish secure outdoor pens for the birds, Silverman tested electric sheep netting, with mesh small enough to stop coyotes, but not weasels, “so we were still losing birds.” Next, he tried electric poultry netting with 2-by-3-inch openings and thin, rigid-plastic verticals that keep the fence upright without corner tension braces. We noticed that whenever we were close to a riparian zone, we would lose birds to raccoons, opossums and skunks, which were able to sneak under the fencing,” Silverman says. ![]() #Electric sheep netting portable“When we started with traditional pastured poultry zones, we confined the birds to the portable enclosures at all times and moved the enclosures once, maybe twice a day. “Our fields are bordered by riparian zones - a river or a creek where there are nesting marsh hawks and red-tailed hawks, bobcat runs and coyote trails. Aaron Silverman raises about 15,000 broilers a year in a small valley in Oregon. The practice allows more intensive use of pasturelands than is possible with permanent fencing of larger areas. The portability of temporary electric fencing means it can be moved about according to pre-planned grazing patterns. Moyer says he especially likes the heavy plastic step-in posts, which he just pushes into the ground with his foot (or in dry times, hammers in with a rubber mallet.) Pennsylvania farmer Brian Moyer pastures 1,400 broilers annually, using 42-inch-high electric netting with 3 1/2-inch-square openings and plastic posts. Modern temporary styles of electric fencing include the familiar rope lines, some tapelike styles and various sizes of mesh netting all can be set up or taken down in a matter of minutes. Now, effective and relatively inexpensive temporary electric fencing is available to protect everything from small animals such as barnyard chickens or pastured poultry to larger animals such as riding horses.Īlthough some electric fences are considered permanent, much like a traditionally built fence, other styles are intended for semi-permanent or temporary applications, giving users more flexibility and economy in meeting their fencing needs. In recent years, electric fence innovations have revolutionized some forms of livestock grazing and protection, and garden crop protection, too. Japhy learned his lesson and he hasn’t gone anywhere near the chickens again. But that’s the whole idea: The shock inflicts no physical damage, but it does leave a lasting impression. Getting hit with a few thousand volts, for even 1/3,000th of a second, does cause some pain. He jumped, spun clear around in mid-air and took off running in the other direction, yowling in protest and fright. The instant his big, black, wet nose touched the electrified netting that surrounds the laying hens’ pen, Japhy let out a yelp. Japhy, a pup from the city, didn’t know what a chicken was when he first moved to the farm, but he thought our Silver Laced Wyandottes looked interesting, so he ran right over to play with them. New electric fence innovations protect homestead livestock. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |