# ELECTRIC FENCING IN SNOW-NEWBIE winter question



## critterranch (Sep 12, 2010)

I LIVE IN NEW YORK state  wondering what kind of fence is good for winter? 
right now i have 4 hot strand electric and the top strand is 36 inches off ground. but here in the winter it is normal to get a foot of snow in a couple of hours on a normal day. my drifts normally are  at least 2 feet to 4 feet tall any day. 
will electric work if it is taller? 
i snowblow twice a day . right now i have 5 mini goats all are under 21 inches at weithers
any thoughts on your experiences
 i know this is for goats but any one else care for ducks in winter?








5 mini goats/30 plus chickens/ 6 ducks/3 cats/1 dog


----------



## freemotion (Sep 12, 2010)

I am in MA and I have a smaller pen that I keep everyone in when the weather is that snowy.  They don't go into the pasture anyways when the snow is high.  DH snowblows paths for us and for all the critters, too.

So I suggest you make a smaller pen attached to the barn/shed with a higher, sturdier, non-electric fence such as goat panels or like I use, 4' woven wire horse fencing on taller t-posts with a strand of electric on top.  If you make it so you can disconnect any wire that will be under the snow while leaving the rest live, that will make it easier.

I have my gates on pressure treated 4"x4"x8' posts and for the gate I go through all the time I put in two sets of those mounting thingie-ma-bobs, the big L-shaped screw-in thingies that you hang a tubular gate on.  I line the tubular gates with more wire fencing.  If the snow gets ridiculous, I can simply raise the gate a few inches, then lower it again when the snow melts.  In reality, we just shovel, it is easier.  But if we have one of those ice/snow/ice/snow winters, we can raise the gate.

You probably know not to use welded wire fencing because they will tear it up by climbing on it.  I learned this in one day, thanks to my goats.


----------



## freemotion (Sep 12, 2010)

Oh, and if the snow is 4' high, the goats won't be going through it anyways!   But your electric fence will be grounded and the snow will likely be lower in one area.  Probably the area with a direct line of sight to your neighbor's prize rose bushes, delicious even in winter.


----------



## glenolam (Sep 13, 2010)

I have to say that all I do in the winter (in eastern CT) is shut off the electrical fence and leave it be.  I do have the welded wire field fence (which is why I also did 2 strands of electric....they showed me how well they could climb that sucker) so it's not as if they have no fencing in the winter, but they pretty much stay away from the fenceline and closer to the barn in bad weather.

I agree with free if you have them in a large pasture....make a smaller pen for the winter months - if you have a dog kennel available or can find one for cheap somewhere, line up the panels to make a bigger area and that'd be a quick fix.

BTW -


----------



## patandchickens (Sep 13, 2010)

Small stock most certainly CAN traverse 4' snow to go over drifted fences... it is actually not-uncommon in areas like here, where you get consistant wind-packing of drifts, to have animals escape that way. Heck, we have had 5' drifts that I myself, when pregnant and nearly 200 lbs, could walk on without sinking in!

What Free says about a wooden- or pipe-fenced yard is a good idea, as long as the location will not make it an excessive snowtrap. Put hotwires on the top of it. Disconnect any lower hotwires that become covered with snow (especially ones that will be in snowpack for a long time), as they will drain charge from the fence.

It is real common, especially when there is a significant amount of fairly fluffy snow on the ground, for snow to decrease the strength of the fences' "zap" (because it is an insulator between animal and ground; also, if the soil is frozen beneath the snow, that is further poor conductance), so you want to TEST YOUR FENCES EVERY DAY OR TWO. I mean, you should do this ANYhow all year round, but seriously you gotta do it in snow season, if you want the fence to be of any use.

If you find the fence voltage dropping too low despite disconnecting any snowcovered low wires, you may need to add one or more wires to make a so-called "positive-neutral" fence rather than the conventional type electric setup. You need not alter your existing hotwires in any way. What you do, is you ADD one or more electric wires to the fence, about 4-8" below each existing hotwire that is in service (acceptible spacing depends on overall fence length), and connect these new wires to the GROUND terminal of the charger rather than the fence terminal. (Just tie them into your existing ground wire connection). These wires need not be on insulators, by the way. This way, when an animal touches the hotwire and the grounded wires at the same time, it completes the electric circuit and zaps the animal without any need for current to travel through snow or soil. In normal circumstances it is not as good a setup b/c the animal needs to be touching both wires at once to get zapped (but if he's trying to lean or climb the fence, he *will*), but when you have soil conductance problems (very dry sandy soil; or snowy/frozen soil) it makes the difference between "useless fence" and "really fairly effective fence" 

Returning to the subject of drifts and snow depth, you can always add a higher line of electric, just temporarily, in "problem" areas. Get some fiberglass or plastic step-in posts, or some pieces of 2x4 with insulators nailed to them, and tie them on real good to the upper half of your existing fenceposts, so they are well supported but stick up a foot or two higher. Then run an emergency wintertime fence extension atop them. Obviously this only works well for ELECTRIC, not for mesh or wood fencing, but can be a good 'quick fix'.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


----------

