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rachels.haven
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I think all six strands used to be hot, but horse people have changed it over the years.
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farmerjan
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If your goats stay in it, that is great. We have beef cattle staying in a 2 strand electric fence at the nurse cow pasture... to keep the "stinky disgusting cow manure" off the driveway so the DIL doesn't get her car tires dirty....1 strand just smooth, not high tensile, and the 2nd strand is poly wire that is several pieces tied together... but I check it regularly and as long as it is showing lights on the meter... I don't worry about it. BUT, it is interior fence so not the end of the world.... and they learn to respect it young and that's it... We got a couple cows elsewhere that will go through it.... whenever... no respect and must not have any "feeling" either... so we don't keep them where there is electric.
For your sake I am glad they respect it...
For your sake I am glad they respect it...
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rachels.haven
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Yikes, that's going on my worry list. I kind of wondered. It's only 4.8-5k volts. The fence I trained them on before maxed out the 9k volt checker. They still bounce off the wires at this charge, bucks included and are thoroughly afraid, but I'd prefer hotter if I could pull it off. I guess I'll see what our options are when the time comes. Thanks for the heads up.
Mini Horses
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I use a box that has 13 showing!!! The lower ones didn't work. This one leaves you tingling for about 10 min after a hit...trust me, I've hit it !! 
Goats have hollow hair -- not good transmission. But with good memory, goats DO remember it hurts. So a lesser charge isn't often tested. Solar are great but waaay less hot. Ok for temp.
Goats have hollow hair -- not good transmission. But with good memory, goats DO remember it hurts. So a lesser charge isn't often tested. Solar are great but waaay less hot. Ok for temp.
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Baymule
Herd Master
I have to have a woven wire outer parameter fence. I just don’t trust anything else. I’m ok with sectioning off pastures inside a strong outer parameter fence with hot wire, but would not use hot wire for parameter fence.
Mini Horses
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All my perimeter fence is woven. Hot wire added on most.
farmerjan
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Joules is what you need to worry about... the higher the joules, the more the "jolt"... pay no attention to the " xx # of miles" and all that stuff... Remember back when @canesisters was despairing of keeping her heifer in? Besides needing to rework some fence, the joules were just too low... she got a new charger with more joules and the heifer STAYED PUT.... more joules will also power a longer fence... and/or more strands...
With the weather being so DRY.... make sure there is enough of a "ground"... That could be why yours is showing lower... not enough ground for the fence... Try pouring some water around the grounding rods... keep the ground "wetter" , damp there for good contact. It is a wonder our electric is even showing with the ground being so dry, it does not conduct the electricity to make the circuit which is how they get the jolt... Luckily, the cows and the calves are all pretty well trained to stay off it so even with it not showing as much as it was, it is still okay. The ground rod is at the house (it is a plug in electric charger) AND... the grounding rod is right near the gutter downspout.... so if anywhere is going to have good conductivity, it's there... did that on purpose pretty much. The plug in charger is under the deck hanging on the wall right there, protected pretty good from the weather... and runs down to the ground rod drove in the ground right there by the downspout from the gutter....
With the weather being so DRY.... make sure there is enough of a "ground"... That could be why yours is showing lower... not enough ground for the fence... Try pouring some water around the grounding rods... keep the ground "wetter" , damp there for good contact. It is a wonder our electric is even showing with the ground being so dry, it does not conduct the electricity to make the circuit which is how they get the jolt... Luckily, the cows and the calves are all pretty well trained to stay off it so even with it not showing as much as it was, it is still okay. The ground rod is at the house (it is a plug in electric charger) AND... the grounding rod is right near the gutter downspout.... so if anywhere is going to have good conductivity, it's there... did that on purpose pretty much. The plug in charger is under the deck hanging on the wall right there, protected pretty good from the weather... and runs down to the ground rod drove in the ground right there by the downspout from the gutter....
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rachels.haven
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Does any tool measure in Joules?
I've shocked myself and watched the goats and dog(s) shock themselves but other than that all I have is a fence tester.
*Energizer is a plug in model, probably from tsc
I've shocked myself and watched the goats and dog(s) shock themselves but other than that all I have is a fence tester.
*Energizer is a plug in model, probably from tsc
farmerjan
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There are no testers that measure the joules, it is listed on the charger on the front panel probably. The actual output is measured in volts. Many chargers are only .5 or so in joules... which just is not enough for "larger mammals... or escape determined ones"... I like a charger of at least 1 joule and more than that is better.
If it is a plug in one, and you are feeling a shock, I would bet a dollar to donuts that it is the ground rod is not giving enough "ground" to it....your bare skin and dogs' noses are more sensitive than the goats unless they actually reach out with their noses to test it...
Try taking out a bucket of water or 2, and pouring it on the ground, around the ground rod that you attach the ground wire from the charger post to. Also... make sure that the wire that goes from the charger to the ground rod is well attached. Use a hose clamp and where the wire goes from the charger to the ground rod, we wrap the wire around the ground rod a couple turns, then put a hose clamp over it and tighten it so it is making good contact. If you have a new piece of wire, switch it out for the ground wire... no rhyme or reason, just sometimes some wire does not do as good a job of conducting the electric. Copper wire is the best, the thin aluminum wire, that is flexible that they advertise for running for fence is good for a ground wire also. That wire does not work well for a length of fence, breaks too easy.
Also, you said the fence there is old... some wire loses it's ability to carry a charge good... don't know what kind of wire it is but you said low tensile... It could be your wire...
Make sure there are no weeds grounding it out along the fence... that will pull the volts down too... and that might be near impossible if there is alot of old growth and junk along the fence.
I know that many animals will get shocked and learn to respect it... my cows are that way at the nurse cow pasture.. but you all talk about goats constantly "trying" or testing the fence. SOOOOOO........
If it is a plug in one, and you are feeling a shock, I would bet a dollar to donuts that it is the ground rod is not giving enough "ground" to it....your bare skin and dogs' noses are more sensitive than the goats unless they actually reach out with their noses to test it...
Try taking out a bucket of water or 2, and pouring it on the ground, around the ground rod that you attach the ground wire from the charger post to. Also... make sure that the wire that goes from the charger to the ground rod is well attached. Use a hose clamp and where the wire goes from the charger to the ground rod, we wrap the wire around the ground rod a couple turns, then put a hose clamp over it and tighten it so it is making good contact. If you have a new piece of wire, switch it out for the ground wire... no rhyme or reason, just sometimes some wire does not do as good a job of conducting the electric. Copper wire is the best, the thin aluminum wire, that is flexible that they advertise for running for fence is good for a ground wire also. That wire does not work well for a length of fence, breaks too easy.
Also, you said the fence there is old... some wire loses it's ability to carry a charge good... don't know what kind of wire it is but you said low tensile... It could be your wire...
Make sure there are no weeds grounding it out along the fence... that will pull the volts down too... and that might be near impossible if there is alot of old growth and junk along the fence.
I know that many animals will get shocked and learn to respect it... my cows are that way at the nurse cow pasture.. but you all talk about goats constantly "trying" or testing the fence. SOOOOOO........
canesisters
Herd Master
@farmerjan is WAY more expert about these things than I am, but here is what I've learned since the heifer drama.
The joules available will be printed on the charger. In the case of my old one, I had to Google it to find out.
If you have several fence lines, you only need two to be 'hot' - the top & bottom - bottom being more important. With my girls, it was the reaching under that got them in trouble. They would reach under for the taller grass, push a little more, once her head was under the bottom line she had NO trouble lifting/snapping the entire section & walking out. My pastures are surrounded by woods so they reach over for tree limbs. I make sure the top line is hot to keep them from doing the same thing while reaching up.
As far as I know, a fence tester does not show joules. But if you have a tool like this it might??? I have 2 in the barn but don't know how to use them. Guess I should Google that too.
I had never realized that the shock did not come from the fence, not exactly. It's the charge passing from the fence, through the animal & into the soil, then through the soil back to your ground line. If your 'ground' is not good, your animal is almost as safe from a shock as a bird that is sitting on the wire. I have 3 ground rods along 45-50' of buried line. 2 of those are under leaky barn gutters, so they get a GOOD deep soaking every time it rains & that makes it easier somehow for the charge in the ground to get back & complete the circuit = Zap!
The joules available will be printed on the charger. In the case of my old one, I had to Google it to find out.
If you have several fence lines, you only need two to be 'hot' - the top & bottom - bottom being more important. With my girls, it was the reaching under that got them in trouble. They would reach under for the taller grass, push a little more, once her head was under the bottom line she had NO trouble lifting/snapping the entire section & walking out. My pastures are surrounded by woods so they reach over for tree limbs. I make sure the top line is hot to keep them from doing the same thing while reaching up.
As far as I know, a fence tester does not show joules. But if you have a tool like this it might??? I have 2 in the barn but don't know how to use them. Guess I should Google that too.
I had never realized that the shock did not come from the fence, not exactly. It's the charge passing from the fence, through the animal & into the soil, then through the soil back to your ground line. If your 'ground' is not good, your animal is almost as safe from a shock as a bird that is sitting on the wire. I have 3 ground rods along 45-50' of buried line. 2 of those are under leaky barn gutters, so they get a GOOD deep soaking every time it rains & that makes it easier somehow for the charge in the ground to get back & complete the circuit = Zap!
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