[ManicMum]

Not sure what's wrong with the fence - it worked fine (mains) then it didn't work,  We tried pulling it all up & starting again (with very interested feathery supervision) but still can't get it to work.

Please could someone run through the basics to see if we've missed something obvious?

We have more fence than we nee, but don't want to cut it off, in case we extend later - how should we manage the surplus?

[daisy1990]

Hi- I use an electric fence for my girls, the main things to check are:

1.  Is the power getting through (do you have a circuit breaker/ has the fuse tripped) fences often come with a guage to see if the power is flowing through- does your have one?

2.  Is the fence shorting- often caused by long grass or uneven land.  The bottom of the mesh needs to touch the ground (to stop animals getting under) but the wires where the power passes through need to be clear of the land

3.  If your fence is too long you can use it to created two separate areas, which are useful to rest the grass and give it chance to re-grow.  To do this make the shape you require (circle/ square) and then bring the sides in effectively cutting the shape in two.  This uses up more of the fencing,

4.  Finally are you using enough supports? We bought extra to keep the fence upright and rigid, otherwise you can use tent pegs to pull it back if it is sagging

Hope this helps
Daisy

[hillfooter]

Not sure what's wrong with the fence - it worked fine (mains) then it didn't work,  We tried pulling it all up & starting again (with very interested feathery supervision) but still can't get it to work.

Please could someone run through the basics to see if we've missed something obvious?

We have more fence than we nee, but don't want to cut it off, in case we extend later - how should we manage the surplus?

Hi  ManicMum,

A perenial question.  See the following links they are roughly in order of relevance to your problem.

You can cater for the excess by folding it but make sure it's off the ground otherwise it will short.  Use tree stakes at each corner to attach the plastic insulated posts to  (they mustn't touch so guy them off with plastic/ nylon cord baler twine is fine.  Tension the net tightly and have STRAIGHT runs between corners and ensure each corner is supported with a tree stake.  The surplus can be loosly folded and helg off the ground, or insulated from it by laying it on a polythene sheet, or large poly bag, or in a plastic tub or anything which is plastic or rubber so it's insulated from vegitation and the ground.

These topics are mostly covered in the second link below.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=68573.msg784480#msg784480

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=56897.msg670192#msg670192

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=25998.msg307988#msg307988

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=32823.msg392728#msg392728

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=43809.msg514210#msg514210

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=42658.msg502557#msg502557

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=51867.msg616566#msg616566

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=59656.0

The right way to rig a net.  Note the net sides are taut and can be tightened by shortening the guys to the posts





Below the wrong way to do it .  Note the net is arranged as a ring so the posts aren't in straight runs so the net pulls in and sags causing it to short to ground.



Best of Luck
HF

[daisy1990]

Great pictures- I wished I had seen them before doing mine it took many goes to get it right!  We have now built a gate in ours which makes life much easier too (attached a section of net to a wooden 'gate' and attached the gate to a post so it swings in to open and closes by clipping the clips on the net together)

[ANHBUC]

Great pictures- I wished I had seen them before doing mine it took many goes to get it right!  We have now built a gate in ours which makes life much easier too (attached a section of net to a wooden 'gate' and attached the gate to a post so it swings in to open and closes by clipping the clips on the net together)

Any chance of some photos of your gate system.  Would like to do the same with my elec fencing.

[hillfooter]

Personally I don't bother with a specific gate I just use the end of the net (See the figure of 8 net layout in my post on one of the links and below).  I tie the end to another support with a double bow which is easily undone and just bending the insulator to one side and step through.  obviously the energiser is switched off first.  I have had gates but they aren't worth the trouble when you can simply part the end of the net so easily to step through and if I need a barrow entrance I simple pull up the spiked post at the end of the net and move it to one side.

HF

[daisy1990]

Will get my daughter to take photos and post on here (I am in Portugal and the gate is in Scarborough!) It does work well, the only disadvantage is that the entrance into the enclosure has to be in the same position (as we concreted the gate post in).  The advantages are that it is much easier to get in and out and swinging the electric fence in and out as we had to do was damaging the grass underneath (and possibly damaging the mesh of the fence!)

[ManicMum]

Thanks everyone - at least I know what we were doing wrong (all of the above errors!).

Can now get the fence sorted to ensure dogs remember that chickens aren't very interesting.

All we have to do now is explain to the 6 new POL brown pullets that they are supposed to stay in the run...... wing clipping has had little effect.  The ring leader has been named Hendini.

[ANHBUC]

Will get my daughter to take photos and post on here (I am in Portugal and the gate is in Scarborough!) It does work well, the only disadvantage is that the entrance into the enclosure has to be in the same position (as we concreted the gate post in).  The advantages are that it is much easier to get in and out and swinging the electric fence in and out as we had to do was damaging the grass underneath (and possibly damaging the mesh of the fence!)

  Will look forward to that.  Thanks

[daisy1990]

be careful with the dogs- we presumed our hens were safe behind the electric fence (especially since the dogs were two gardens away and behind two five bar gates) Disaster struck two weeks ago when the dogs managed to open the five bar gates (still no idea how) and two of them pushed under the electric fence.  We thought all our small animals and hens were dead, but luckily they all survived (minus very many feathers).  The five bar gates are now double locked and we bring the dogs in the house when we go out!