Another Safety Measure

Besides stronger and more durable netting, my wife, Elaine, and I offer another way to keep your flock safe. In our decadeplus of raising chickens, we’ve never lost a bird to a predator either inside or out of the coop. The major reason we have enjoyed this success is the two strands of battery-powered electric wire that run along the perimeter of our two coops and our garden that adjoins them.

We live in a rural area where the electric power system fails a number of times every winter. Sometimes the power is off for only a few hours; sometimes the system will be down for several days. When ominous weather strikes, that’s the time many predators go on the prowl for easier prey. That was the major reason we opted for a solar-powered system. We may lose electricity from the grid, but our 8-kilovolt, two-strand fence keeps on doing its thing.

Many times at night over the years, we’ve heard the anguished bawls of raccoons that tried to enter, and on many mornings, we’ve smelled the diagnostic stench of a skunk that decided it wanted to dine on chicken. The greatest accomplishment of the fence is that it once repelled a black bear that was trying to force its way in. The bruin, no doubt, would have decimated our entire flock if it had accomplished its goal.

One strand is 10 inches of the ground, and the other is 20 inches. Any creature that tries to make its way under the lower wire is likely to encounter it, especially because cinder blocks and two-by-fours, anchored with rebar, also line the perimeter. If a predator manages to avoid the lower wire and makes it to the fence, it will likely touch the top wire then.