Recommendations for electric fencing?

[jennibluis]

I am looking to cross fence my pasture. I would like opinions on what type of wire, brands etc. and what brand/size of charger to use. I would like to use solar power if they were reliable but I can use a hardwired unit running from the barn if necessary. The barn and automatic waterer are in the NE corner of a 3 acre field. There's an additional 15 acres +/- adjacent to the west that's kind of a semi circle because of a creek. I have an additional 20 acres on the other side of the creek, but I don't want to mess with that yet. I only have 2 calves right now but will be renting the land again in the spring to a friend. This past year he had 17 head including 1 very nice but huge Charolais bull. The bull won't be back. Slaughter bulls were only going for $.50/lb so they're gonna butcher him themselves.

 

[frenchie]

I would not use a solar outfit.If you have electricity, available.
Setting up a solar outfit can get pretty expensive.

 

[dj]

I would throw away all my "hard" wire and switch to poly wire if I could afford it. Buying for the first time, poly would be my choice. And a spool roller is a must have if you move the fence much. I'm on my second solar charger and really like them.
Get down to the extension office and USDA and look at the their examples of fencing supplies. You can cost share alot of it if you want to do the paperwork.

 

[jennibluis]

How long did your charger last? And how many lines do you run and at what height?

 

[dj]

The first solar charger lasted 4 yrs with one trip to the shop during warrenty. The feed store services the chargers they sell and that's a big + come buying time.
I run 1 hot wire at shoulder height to the shortest animals I'm containing. my box turtle pen is only two inchs high, but the flamingo pen is 42 inchs

 

[dun]

If you use hi-tensile use a good qulaity 12 ga.
We use a backbone of hi-tensile and the outsides of the pastures are also in hi-tensile. All divisions are down with polywire and are powered off of the backbone. We have a couple of smaller paddocks that aren; convenient or used enough to make it worh the effort to run hi-tensile so we use a solar and poly wire for those fences.
We use pretty much all Gallagher products, good quality and they stand behind them. Plus the only place in town that will service your charger if you need it, we haven't yet, sells Gallagher.
Insure that all plastic insulators are UV stabilized. For high strain corners or places where the fence is around a sharp corner we use ceramic insulators.
First and formost insure you have a good ground system. More complaints about electric fence can be traced back to inadequate gorunding as everything else combined.

dun

 

[jkwilson]

I'd steer clear of solar and poly. When we bought the land where we live now, I put up high-tensile around two sides and part of the third, but the rest of the third and all of the fourth side were a grown-up mess. I bought a solar charger (Parmak, S-12) and used poly tape (thinking it would be easier for the deer to avoid) to enclose part of the place so I could get cows out onto the poorly harvested corn field ASAP. Worked fine for a while, but the solar couldn't keep up in the winter, so I had to top off the battery with a motorcycle charger once a month.

I left the poly in place as a dividing fence after the rest was finished, but after a few years, it started getting broken wires here and there, so I replaced it with regular wire.

I used aluminum wire for some other cross fences, and it was completely worthless. It had to have been defective because it broke constantly, and it would break again when you tried to twist it together to fix it.

As to the fencer size, a 2 joule unit will work for cattle as long as you don't have a bull on either side. Depends somewhat on how clean you keep the fences and how good your ground system is.

 

[susie]

i think solar with a battery back-up would be ok- I'd get a good name like Gallagher, or another new Zealand type energizer. Not Parmak . I'd look on e-bay. Be sure and get a unit that has enough power (Joules)You can find info on line look up gallagher fencing. Would NOT do poly-tape- if the tiny wires get broken it's very difficult to find the problem I use just plain wire, not aluminum too fragile.
Get a good grounding rod and clamp ( or two), and a fence tester with a meter to see how much juice is on the fence.
Make sure when you first introduce your cows to the fence that they are in an area that has fencing outside the electric wire. Some cows just barrel through it then don't want to come back after they've been shocked. That's why you get a strong energizer, so they will NOT want to test that fence again.
I think it'll work fine.


Susie

 

[Dusty Britches]

I bought a Gallagher with a solar charger and I already like it lots more than my Parmark with a battery. You have to make sure it gets enough sunlight to keep charged. I think Gallagher recommends 6 hours of sunlight.

I cannot run power to my pastures, so I have to use a solar or battery powered.

Gallagher's book advised not using poly for cattle. It does not put out enough of a shock for containing cows.

 

[dun]

Gallagher's book advised not using poly for cattle. It does not put out enough of a shock for containing cows.

I'm sure not going to let my cows read that book. They think that the poly has plenty of shock, of course there are times when a piece of white cotton string seems to be enough

dun

 

[JHH]

I'm sure not going to let my cows read that book. They think that the poly has plenty of shock, of course there are times when a piece of white cotton string seems to be enough

dun[/quote]

I have some of my pasture with the poly works ok.Sister tried to put cows in after they had been out and didnt know how to turn off fencer so she put cows next to corner and retained them with a green garden hose :shock: She called me and told me what she had done and I said they would be out before I got home that evening but the cows proved me wrong.They were all laying around waiting for me to get home I guess. JHH

 

[fitz]

I totally agree with dun. If your cows are home grown, raised around it, are docile cattle with plenty to eat on their side the poly works good for temporary fence. I don't think I'd go buy young feeders somewhere, put them behind it and trust it.
I'm using it right now (temp.) around some small hay fields I'm pasturing. Now the deer are another problem.

fitz

 

[dun]

I totally agree with dun. If your cows are home grown, raised around it, are docile cattle with plenty to eat on their side the poly works good for temporary fence. I don't think I'd go buy young feeders somewhere, put them behind it and trust it.
I'm using it right now (temp.) around some small hay fields I'm pasturing. Now the deer are another problem.

fitz

The operative word is temp. You can;t expect to put up plywire and leave it forever. You'ld be surprised how quick stockers get used to it if you have a good charger and a good ground system. We used to put stockers behind it with another fence a ways away to catch them if they broke out, never had one break out so never needed the additional fence. But it's better to start that way just in case.

dun

 

[frenchie]

I bought a Gallagher with a solar charger and I already like it lots more than my Parmark with a battery. You have to make sure it gets enough sunlight to keep charged. I think Gallagher recommends 6 hours of sunlight.

I cannot run power to my pastures, so I have to use a solar or battery powered.

Gallagher's book advised not using poly for cattle. It does not put out enough of a shock for containing cows.

It all depends on the poli-wire..you are using..

I use Gallagher turbo-wire..very good wire very pricey too.

However i also have a (15 Joules)1500 gallagher fencer on it too,

 

[Stocker Steve]

I use a lot of battery powered energizers and high tensile steel wire. Buying the biggest low impedance energizer in the store, a digital tester, and a couple grounding rods. They will save you in the long run. My nephews used to grab the wire and hold on with my old energizer to to show how tough they were. They then found out what a 7,000 to 9,000 volt jolt is! Parmak energizers are good value, but my main one quit and the warrenty repair is very slow. Parmak blamed the (hurricane) weather.

Twine and tape all work if you train the critters first with that big energizer. Voltage drop is an issue if you make long runs with either polywire or tape. Deer can also be an issue with polywire.

Who makes the most reliable solar powered energizer?

 

[RichieMaGoo]

I tried 2 Zereba solar (battery back-up) chargers- they were a JOKE! Wouldn't even keep the smallest calves in....and the dogs didn't even notice it (and I run 3 wires). I could work with the wire without even turning it off. (And I was only fencing a quarter of an acre holding paddock....and used 2 ground rods!)

I now use a car-battery powered unit (non-solar- I just charge the battery every two weeks or so). It keeps the calves in- but it's still no substitute for a hard-wired electric. (and it's a "25-mile charger" fencing a 1/4 of an acre!)

 

[jgn]

I have two Parmak solar units and one 110v Parmak unit. The solar chargers work great and will last for years if not hit buy lightning(parmak will cover lightning damage if still in warranty). Do not go by joules rating when selecting, go by the maximum listed voltage. I would suggest that any wire you put up around the perimeter be hi-tensile with a good wire run as crosses. The main thing to watch for is no shorts and a good ground.

 

[Crowderfarms]

I have two Parmak solar units and one 110v Parmak unit. The solar chargers work great and will last for years if not hit buy lightning(parmak will cover lightning damage if still in warranty). Do not go by joules rating when selecting, go by the maximum listed voltage. I would suggest that any wire you put up around the perimeter be hi-tensile with a good wire run as crosses. The main thing to watch for is no shorts and a good ground.

If you go with a Parmak, the Model # you want is a DFSP-L1 They will charge up to 25 miles of fence.JGN gave you some great advice.

 

[dun]

Amazing the difference in luck with the various manufacturers. The neighbor goes through at least 1 parmak a year, don;t know the model numbers but they're pricey. He uses several of them in different places.

dun

 

[Crowderfarms]

Amazing the difference in luck with the various manufacturers. The neighbor goes through at least 1 parmak a year, don;t know the model numbers but they're pricey. He uses several of them in different places.

dun

You are right Dun, Seems that the shelf life depends a lot on lightning strikes.Secondly on the quality of the charger.The Zareba's IMO, are the flawed chargers, but, TSC has a pretty much "No question asked" repacement policy.