Fencing Tools

Since there was so much interest in the electric fencing post from yesterday I thought I'd give a quick list. Once you get the charger set up this really is a quick project.

Respect the fence. No foolin'.

This is the charger we have - it's the 50 mile charger. Oh yeah. It's a big one. We have no where near 50 miles of fence. That charger will leave a burn on your arm and a twitch in your eye for 3 days. In fact, I'm pretty sure I gave myself some kind of cardiac event the day I stepped in a puddle, holding a metal tpost in each hand - and I put one of the tposts down ON the hot wire. My life flashed before my eyes and my jaw ached for 2 days. So be careful this this charger - it means business.

Why did we get such a big charger? Pigs. Pigs are the reason. Because pigs are big, mean, and dangerous, and we had some who were climbing the field fence like monkeys.  We tried everything but could not keep them behind field fence alone. By the end of the day we were exhausted and mad.

 Get about a dozen of these on account of how someone always leaves them laying out in the yard.

The only reason those pigs weren't dead before the sun went down that day was because the local butcher had closed and we didn't have anywhere to hang the carcasses.  But the next morning we got this charger and that fixed their wagons alright. This charger put the hurt on 'em real good and so ended their days of terrorizing the countryside.

This is about what we have. Go for 17 gauge.

Another benefit of having a superduper charger is that it will keep the varmints out. For sure. Remember that fencing is not only to keep your animals IN it's to keep predators OUT. Also this charger does well if you have a lot of brambles. It won't ground out if a piece of grass is touching it.

What about those poor widdle-nosey-whooses of the piggly-wigglies? Won't it hurt them? Yep. But not grievously. You probably won't have anyone laid low by an electric fence but it will definitely get their attention. Your barnyard will figure out the fence right quick and then they will avoid it. However, be warned - your animals can either hear or smell the electric fence so they can tell if it's on or not. So don't think that you can run it for a while and then turn it off. Nope. It's always has to be  on.

 Get a tester also so you don't have to guess if the hotwire is working or not.

Word to the wise. Buy the biggest, baddest charger that you can afford.  You'll be tempted to buy a cheaper one. Don't. Take all your foldin' money and just buy the strongest charger you can afford.

 These step in posts are really easy to use. Just step!

Does this seem like a pretty big financial hit? Yep. But what you are really buying is peace of mind...and protection for your flocks, of course. Every time we hear of someone who has lost some or all of their flocks we keep pinching ourselves. To date we have not had extraordinary losses.

Maybe we are just lucky but mostly we think that because we have good fencing we've been able to keep most of the varmints at bay. Not that one scoundrel tho. We still haven't been able to shake the weasel. I'll get him tho, don't you worry. Maybe one night I'll hear his tiny little shrieks as our superduper charger shocks the tarnation right out of him.

Happy Fencing everyone! Do you have all the tools you need?

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