We are preparing for this summer season and since we had critter problems last year in the garden (woodchuck and racoon) we have decided to electrify the outer perimeter of the fence. At the same time we are trying to get set up for chickens so I want to string the wire around an area outside the coop to let them roam in the daytime. I am looking at buying a 12 volt solar powered system from my local Farm and Country store for $160.00. It is a brand name (the name escapes me at the moment) but I was wondering if I wired the outside perimeters of both areas about a couple of inches off the ground, then again six inches above that and then about twelve inches above that, if that would be sufficient to keep out predators? I realize that on cloudy days I may run down the battery and not have the fence electrified but I am willing to take that chance since we have a lot of sunny days here in Virginia so it should only occassionally be a problem. The chicken area will have some kind of regular wire mesh fencing first and then the electric attached to the outside of the poles. The coop area will also have fencing overhead to keep out hawks which can be a problem in this area and to keep the chickens from hopping/flying out. The garden will probably just be the electric fence. Will this be sufficient. Appreciate any advice you all can give me.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), February 23, 2001

Answers

Colleen: I used one for about 3 yrs, it wasn,t hot enough and was very easy to ground out .I have 5 strand of hi tensile . The bottom strand is 10 inches off the ground. It keeps the neighbors dogs away and my dogs at home. The charge is measured in Joules. Some battery chargers are only 1 or 2 joules. Jeffers has a 110 volt charger that is 9 joules on sale for $89. Put it at your voltage source and run a bare wire on insulators to the fence. Hook it to the fence and charger.Jeffers phone no 1 800 533 3377. No shipping charges if order is over $50. Jay NC

-- Jay Vance (jay.l.vance@worldnet.att.net), February 23, 2001.

I purchased my charger at Home Depot for 99 bucks.It has given excellent service for the past 3-4 years and is still going strong. Gives a fairly strong pulse about once per second.It will go for days with no sun so don't worry about a few cloudy days.Be sure to set up so solar panel gets the longest possible sunlight each day.Rotate it some for winter(duh).I didn't and spent some time trying to figure out what was wrong.

-- JT Sessions (gone2seed@hotmail.com), February 23, 2001.

Solar fencers in most cases are somewhat of a misnomer, What you have is a battery powered fencer witha solar battery charger. They do work and can deliver a good jolt. The problem you run into is stay discharge. Vegitation that touches the wire can provide a path to ground for the electric current and over time can discharge the battery. Solar fenncers is going to work best when strung high and now down low where vegitation can reach the fence wire.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), February 26, 2001.

Colleen,

I too have critter problems. Am in the process of elictrifying. Best answer to the problem is to contact Gallagher company. Their products are great and they will answer any questions you have. Contact them at www.gallagherusa.com

-- Nick (nikoda94@hotmail.com), March 02, 2001.

Hi,We bought our solar charger from southern states, It was around 239.00, that was 10 years ago and it is still going strong. The one I have charges through weeds. I like this one because it is so easy to set up and it has a solar panel with it. The panel must be position toward the south- east to get a good charge.

-- lexi Green (whitestone11@hotmail.com), March 02, 2001.