Electric fencing conundrum

[jambi1214]

I'm sorry I don't have wool sheep but meat sheep have some sort of wool but they are thin coat.

 

[Mini Horses]

I use sheep & goat woven wire fence on all perimeter and most of the cross fences. 5 strand hot only on some temp areas & most perimeters have hot wire along with the woven wire fence.

Steel wire on mine mostly, some alum. Any poly is strictly visual, even if hot. I don't trust it for goats as sole containment. Works fine for horses, tho.

 

[Baymule]

My mistake. I’ve used net hot wire from Premiere 1, and the sheep touched it with their nose. They ran.

How far apart are the strands of poly wire? Maybe put them closer together?

@blessedfarmgirl uses hot wire with her sheep. She trains them to the hot wire first, using the netting from Premiere1. After a month or two, she moves them to the regular poly wire.

Here is a link to the last 2 pages of her journal. It shows the netting hot wire.

Blessedfarmgirl's Journal

Houdini skills need a higher % :lol: :lol::lol: Exactly what I was thinking!! 🤣

www.backyardherds.com

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

I use a 5 joule plugin charger and the fence is always smoking hot, more than 10k volts. Do you have something to measure the volts? I've tried the same charger you are using and never got more than 6k, even with 3 ground rods, and if I touched it I barely felt it. Now if I touch the fence I feel like I got hit by a baseball bat. Gives me a lot more peace of mind.

I have 3 wires like you are describing, and they never get out now. I have used polybraid from Gallagher and Powerflex and it works great. I train them to net fence first as Baymule said, and I have always done it successfully with sheep who have never been in hot wire before.

It's a little strange that they were contained in it before but are getting out now. I had two sheep that were getting out of the three wires consistently, so I went back to ground zero and put them back in the netting for a couple weeks. That cured them, and they have stayed in ever since. Netting is invaluable to have around for me.

 

[jambi1214]

I will have to say that they are not all getting out, some lambs are (75# lambs). Most seem to get it. The dog part is also weird. Even now I looked and this lamb is laying against the wire. Nothing is touching wire. Meter says 10k. The dog is weird too. She was absolutely petrified of it before. Even here I walked it with her to do some training.

 

[jambi1214]

So does anyone think it's a bad idea to do the bottom aluminum and rest poly? The strands are very close too. Or I can connect the 2 chargers/fences together?

 

[Baymule]

I don’t know the answer to that.

 

[gurock244]

Hi all!
We just moved to a new farm and it is not going smoothly! We have about 3 acres right now split. I have sheep and a dog I am containing. I have a Parmak 6 solar charger connected to each, so 2. At previous farm did 3 strand poly wire and had.no problem with containment. Moved here and have setup the same (actually have new chargers, was prev on some low cost electric charger), and animals are.getting out left and right. I have a ground near each charger. All 3 strands hot. 1 low as low as they go and top strand above shoulders or so. Dog and lamb have gone under. Checked.wires all hot. I don't understand. Had electrician we know look and says it should be hitting hard. I was thinking of doing a galvanized wire on bottom row as may be better conductor. Wasn't sure if I can leave 2 tops strands poly wire or would that be a problem. Ground is also copper post several feet down. How else can I make this more powerful? Any other ideas? We are on a busy road and have 5 strand barbed wire behind it so no help. Also would turbo wire or a different wire be better? Is poly wire my problem? I was about to go change out bottom wire but wanted to ask someone first. Lastly I am using some tpost but mainly step ins so should and could that hold more wires? Alternating? I don't even know how to alternate ground and hot but also know them going under is the #1 problem .Animals are contained in back but have been having to get them out of road daily so urgent

@Mike CHS @Baymule @Ridgetop

• Switch Bottom Wire: Use galvanized wire for better conductivity.
• Increase Strands: Add more wires, especially a lower one to prevent going under.
• Turbo Wire: Consider using turbo wire for better shock delivery.
• Check Grounding: Ensure copper rods are deep (6-8 feet) and soil is moist.
• Voltage Check: Use a fence tester to ensure consistent voltage (4,000-5,000 volts).
• Insulators: Use good quality insulators on T-posts.
• Remove Vegetation: Keep the fence line clear of any plants touching the wires.

 

[canesisters]

Suggestions
Add a grounding line. Low line connected to the grounding side only but only a few inches below a 'hot'. The idea - as it was explained to me (I didn't implement it - couldn't afford the wire at the time) is that it increases the chance of a good solid grounding if an animal pushes against the bottom trying to go under.

Also, consider maybe only having 2 metal hot lines (high & low) and leave the poly in between as visual deterrent. That way the charge isn't traveling extra miles?

 

[Baymule]

@gurock244 what is a turbo wire? I’m about to embark on the hot wire journey to divide a field for more controlled grazing. I have a Parmak solar pak 12, poly wire, step in posts, assorted T-post insulators and a couple of grounding rods. I’ve assembled the toys, but it has rained continuously and I haven’t been able to go outside to play with them yet. Will have to let the ground dry up some to even be able to mow a clear path to set it up in.