[gracie]

Now we have a small grandchild running around when she visits, having chickens in the garden isn't practical. (Can't keep on top of poo picking and nervous of letting her run with them) so we have decided to extend an area at the side of the house where there coop and run is, completely 6ft fence on 3 sides, house wall on the other. As I won't be able to see them from the house I feel I need to add an electric fence, but I know nothing about them. I read a post about earthing ( fox would need to touch ground as well for it to work, is this right, sorry totally ignorant about what I can achieve with electric). Any advice in looking after the girls safety is greatly appreciated.

[Prod]

A decent electric fence kit will cost you upwards of £180.  You need the netting (usually min 25mtrs) and an energiser, this can be mains or batteries or both.  If you go for a battery operated one you will need 2 batteries & a charger so you can swop them over without losing power. The netting comes with poles which you can set at what ever distance and you can form any shape. One wire goes from the energiser to the fence and the other wire goes to a copper earth rod that you push into the ground. Once in situ if it touched and you (or the chickens or fox) are standing on the ground you get a sharp shock.  The chickens soon learn not to go near it.  A wild bird landing on the top of the wire would not get a shock as it would not be earthed.  You can also buy a power tester that you hang from the wire (approx. £12-20) This lights up to a) show the power is on and b) the number of lights indicates power available.  You have to make sure that the netting is as tight as possible, usually by using guy ropes, otherwise if it folds over and touches the ground, or long grass it could short out. You can usually hear a clicking sound if this happens.    Hope that helps

[grinling]

Do they freerange unsupervised now and if so adding an electric fence with grandchild might prove interesting. Could you keep within run when visits and loose when not. Mine like to dustbath either in firepit or under fir hedge, neither is in their run, which is fox/buzzard proof.

[ANHBUC]

I would personally go for a walk in run either with roof or mesh panels on top so your hens will be secure.  You can buy panels ready made online or if you are handy make your own.  Hubby did ours take a look HERE

[gracie]

Wow. Thank you for the electric info, will show it to hubby. We have pink and blue jobs in our house, he is very quick to push, pruning, hedge trimming etc to pink jobs so the fence will definitely be blue.
Can the netting be around the top of the fence area, confused now as that's what I'm hoping and after someone mentioning my grand daughter being in the vicinity of the electric!

The plan originally was to poo pick and shut them up when she comes round but sometimes they just pop in so she can't go out until I've done it and I'm sure you all know it doesn't take Long for 4 girls to poo a lot. Our garden isn't huge but quite large so it can take a while and I'm not always in poo picking suitable clothing. Also I don't want to make my daughter feel uncomfortable to just drop in.

Their new area will be 5m x 12m and they will have a lawned area and plants ( incorporating wasted part of front garden into back) so they will be just as happy as they are now. I do have a walk in run totally fox proof due to deep concrete footings and sturdy mesh that they stay in when I'm out but they do enjoy a garden.
Maybe if I drive out to a chicken supply store or whoever sells the fencing it might help, other than the animal stock type, I've never seen any electric fencing so struggling tp visualise.
Thank you for your replies

[pepsi100]

My grand daughter never had any problems with my hens, or the poo,(that just washed off) she used to put them in her dolls puch chair and wheel them around

I think both she and the hens enjoyed playing

My grand daughter was about a year old, maybe a little more (the age when she didnt want to wear clothes)

Mind you my garden is enclosed, so neither weree out of sight

Just my tuppence worth

[ANHBUC]

There are kits that you can buy in different lengths.  HERE is a selection from different suppliers.  If you find what you want it is best to then shop around as prices vary a lot.   

[gracie]

Pepsi I agree I think we are all too clean nowadays and that's why there are so many bugs around as we generally have rubbish immune systems, but my daughter is of a generation that has been processed to be so clean she struggles with the thought so I don't want to make her uncomfortable to come round.
Primarily that s the main reason, but for some reason, even though I have had the girls 2 years they have only just started really scratching at the grass, last year it survived perfectly, if not better than pre girls, not sure that would be the case this year if I left them.

[gracie]

There are kits that you can buy in different lengths.  HERE is a selection from different suppliers.  If you find what you want it is best to then shop around as prices vary a lot.   

Thank you for that, will peruse this afternoon.

[pepsi100]

Tis better to be safe than sorry 

I would do exactly the same 

Kids can always wheel hens around when they have a bit of immunity, good hens dont mind waiting

Just hope they dont brush up against the fence (foxes can hurl themselves at all day, in my opinion )

[Dawnuss]

I know what you mean I am fine with my little one getting coverd in the stuff lol only thing I am cautious with is the dog poop and touch wood hes never ill. My sister or brother comes round with their children and moan for a bit of dog hair on them although the kids love our house lol. Funny thing is im the youngest only 23  I just tell em you come to my house u know what to expect so wear wellies lol oh and funnily their kids get ill a lot. I hope you can come to compromise of some sort maybe you could do some persauding of how benefitial animals are to children 

[pepsi100]

Ah, thats the point of being too clean, (domestos has a lot to answer for) the kids never get any bugs to build up an immunity, a home should be that, not a show house, yes dog poo is completely different from hen poo, it has to be picked up, cant be washed away (that is the same with all meat eaters though)

What is a few dog hairs ?

Let the kids hold a few hens, even better, get them to adopt one, have it as a favourite when they come over, let em watch a chick hatch (that will be good for them, then they can watch it grow up, if they dont come over often, take photos)

I have found that kids that grow up with animals grow up to be decent people and have a bit of respect for others (and sometimes get animals of their own )

[Sassy]

I used electric poultry netting to very good effect for years and would recommend it. My poultry were kept away from the house and in open countryside. A good tip on here is once you have erected the fence bait it with a sausage at night so the fox learns very quickly about the shock he will get. You will need to be careful if the fence is on when your grandchild is around. However, you can turn it off at the flick of a switch, literally, when she is in the garden