A Guide to Electric Fencing

Electric fences provide a psychological barrier that keeps horses, pets and farm animals in and wild animals and vermin out, even over long distances. Electric fences consist of 4 components:

• An energizer which generates regular pulses of electrical current,


• One or several wires to transport the current,


• Plastic insulators to prevent the current from being branched off into the ground,


• The earthing of the energizer should be as deep as possible in the soil, where it is most moist.

Are Electric Fences Safe?

Many people ask us whether electric fences are safe, and the answer is simple, yes. When an animal touches the wire on the fence it closes the electrical circuit which allows the current to flow through the animal and soil, back to the energizer. This results in the animal experiencing a harmless shock and it will back away from the fence.

Most animals will receive a shock within a week of new fences being installed from then on they learn to avoid it. The animals will see the fence as a physical and a psychological boundary. Properly installed electric fences are the safest, most visible method to keep your animals contained.

What are the benefits?

Cost
Electric fences are more cost effective than traditional fences because they use fewer posts but cover the same distances. This means it will cost less to buy the materials necessary to install your fence. Electric fences are also quicker to install which saves you time digging holes and laying metal fencing.

Durability
Electric fences are constructed using modern materials, often poly plastic which are hard wearing materials and therefore extend the life of your fence. This can save you both time and money repairing aging fence systems especially those constructed from wood which will weaken and rot with time and exposure to weather. Electric fences therefore require much less maintenance than traditional fencing solutions.

Portability
Unlike traditional fences, electric fences are easy and quick to erect and collapse as and when required. This makes them fantastic solutions to temporary containment problems. They can be assembled to house an animal for short periods of time if for example a horse is pregnant, particularly unsociable or danger to other animals.

Safety
Barbed fences have long been the solution of choice, however, as good as barbed wire is at keeping predators out, it can also injure those animals being contained. The shock given by the fence will not harm your animals it is designed to be uncomfortable, not harmful.

What are electric fences used for?

Electric fences have many uses beyond simply keeping domestic animals or livestock contained, various other uses include:

• Keeping wild animals and vermin out
• Separating different groups of animals
• Allowing rationing of crops and pasture
• Fencing animals off from eroding areas, trees, rivers and roads

Which voltage?

Recommended minimum voltage on fence lines:

Pets: 2,000 - 3,000 Volts
Horses: 3,000 Volts
Cattle: 3,000 Volts
Pigs: 3,000 Volts
Nuisance pests: 3,000 Volts
Deer: 3,000 - 4,000 Volts
Sheep / Goats: 3,000 - 5,000 Volts
Bulls: 4,000 Volts
Foxes: 4,000 - 5,000 Volts