# Electric Fencing



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

myFarmlife on suggestions for electric fencing for some other types of critters and varmints....and a couple of other sub-topics on electric fencing.

Regards, Mike

http://www.myfarmlife.com/farmstead/shock-therapy/


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## eam77 (Aug 4, 2013)

This article looked so familiar--- then I noticed the MF logo and realized I had read it a few weeks ago.

This article is all true--- in a general sense. What the article did not tell us is how much time and effort is required to keep brush/briers/weeds from causing problems in the spring and summer. It also did not tell us about a long series of chargers that failed, mostly due to lightning damage. I have used electric fences for years. The chargers are much, much, much better these days--especially if you will spend a little more money.

But how could anybody handle a lot of electric fences. I have somewhere around 35 quarters of fencing--- and badly need to build some more. Who could keep up with that much electric fences--- here in the sunny south, at least.

I see three uses for electric fences: (1) as a good temporary fence solution, (2) having merit in training your cattle to respect fences, and (3) for use as a supplement to a permanent fence to prevent cattle reaching through against a hay or other crop field.

I also use electric for a garden fence - with good success. I think the "3-D fence" as explained in the article is a good idea. However, my 4-wire, wide-spaced, single plane fence has been effective against both deer and *****.


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## valleyfarmsupply (Mar 14, 2015)

Heres a good information resource about electric fencing. http://gallagherelectricfencing.com/blogs/news


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Good article.

For my horses, I use two strands of polyrope to keep them from reaching through the fence and a top strand of 1 1/2" polytape on posts 25' apart. The polytape gets 2-3 twists between posts to prevent it from acting as a sail in high wind.

I will NOT use Gallagher polytape--it only lasts maybe 2 full years. I use the black and white tape from Premier1 Supply--they have 5 and 10 year--get the 10 year!

Ralph


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## Waterway64 (Dec 2, 2011)

I have a question on about electric fences maybe one of you can answer. I have used several brands of polychord and some brands seem to conduct electricity better than other, none seem to carry a good spark beyond a half mile. I use several different fencers one of which occasionally will burn a short in my poly chord near the fencer. Mel


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Waterway64 said:


> I have a question on about electric fences maybe one of you can answer. I have used several brands of polychord and some brands seem to conduct electricity better than other, none seem to carry a good spark beyond a half mile. I use several different fencers one of which occasionally will burn a short in my poly chord near the fencer. Mel


Several things you might check:

First, grounding: In your area, you probably have lower soil moisture, The standard recommendation is 3 grounding rods, 8' deep, 5-6 feet apart. If you're in a drier area, you may not have enough soil moisture to get good conductivity and may need another rod or 2.

Second, Connections: Make sure that you have good connectivity at all points. A single weak connection could cause a voltage drop because you are taking the current that would normally flow through all of the little wires and directing through 1 or 2 wires--this increases resistance and thereby causes a voltage drop.

Third, Bleeding: Look for points along the fence line where you might have arc-overs, i.e., points that are partially shorting to ground. Things like a bad insulator, weeds, moss on the line (this happens to me), etc, can cause voltage drops by directing current flow into the ground.

Fourth, Conductors. The number and type of conductors may be to small or too poor for the type of fencing that you're doing. More conductors, larger conductor wires, etc., allow better current flow.

Finally, Cross-connections: I cross connect all strands about every 4-500 feet. This makes sure that good conductivity is maintained all the around the field. I also feed the fence line from both ends at the charger so that the current only has "half" as far to travel.

Hope this helps.

Ralph


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I placed three eight foot long ground rods ten foot apart on mine, summer of 2012 in the drought I sill placed a sprinkler by them a few times and let it run a few hours.

One of my strands also acts as a ground wire, several places around the pasture I added another ground rod, frozen or dry ground is not good conducter and since doing this I've yet to have a bull try to go thru the fence to get to the cows. No more early dalliances means no more early calves born in the mud, snow or both.


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