Is a bear fence safe for use around chickens and cats?

[Kazzandra]

I was wanting to protect my chickens and bees in one fell swoop with a bear fence. Tested, it runs between 6k-8k volts, and is DC, with a marine battery. I haven't had the guts to turn it on and leave it, though-- I'm very scared about the chickens getting trapped in it or the cats (it is a mesh bear fence). I've left it up unpowered for about 2 months, and just the mesh and the bees being in it alone has stopped most cat/chicken interaction with it, but once my oldest chicken got tangled up in it. I'm worried that if it had been on I'd had an 11 year old dead chicken, which is worse than the threat of bears. Has anyone had any experience using bear fence with these two animals? Is it life threatening? What can I do to prevent it from being as much of a risk as the bears?

 

[Howard E]

If you can, post a picture of this "bear fence". If it is like most poultry netting fences, it is safe around birds and cats. By definition, poultry netting is designed to be used with birds.

They may touch it, but once shocked will quickly learn to avoid sticking their head through.

FWIW, I have both netting and metal wire and/or poly tape fences. I prefer one of the latter for several reasons, including the chance they could get tangled up in it.....but that is the least of my concerns.

 

[BreanneRN]

Well, I can think of several options, but after considering them, I think this one is best... Wire it up to a secondary unit with less voltage (but still effective) and leave it that way until all your animals learn to stay away from it, maybe a month. Then, switch it back to "bear voltage" and leave it that way... If you are handy, you might be able to set it up so it can be easily switched from bear to regular voltage at anytime. Otherwise: You can take the fence down and replace the wire with something that won't entrap anything. You can build a secondary fence on the inside perimeter that will protect your animals from the fence. You can see why I'm going with the 1st option...

 

[Folly's place]

Having any electric fencing on intermittently is often more dangerous, as critters (including us!) get complacent and more likely to have those close encounters that are so unpleasant. Our fencing is on all the time unless we are working on it.
I agree that now that it's been out there without power, having it on must be carefully done.
Mary

 

[Kazzandra]

Thank you all for your time and consideration! This is the fence I purchased for usage with my bees: https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/permanet-10-48-6-electric-netting

Sitting on the table was a big hit with the cats this spring until the bees and fence came up. I'm not sure which deters them more. Regardless, I knew they were hanging out there and I thought electryfying it would actually be more dangerous at the beginning (as they were used to the area without fence or bees-- the bees, I had hoped, would teach lesson one).

I, too, had thought about stepping up the voltage-- perhaps buying a 30 dollar charger from Lowe's to start with to teach anyone else to stay away. I have the premier charger for bear fences, as well, and as I said, pushes it up to sheep/bear resistance. When I used this fence at the old bee reering site for years (which did not have cats or chickens near it), nothing bad ever happened to anyone-- except I clearly remember a toad that had hopped onto it getting fried. That image is staying in my mind as I think about electryfying this with dear loved ones so near.

 

[EggWalrus]

You need to turn it on and leave it in. Master of fact, 8k volts would only tickle a bear. Get a 13k+ unit, don't worry about the chickens or bees. Any chicken touching it will only touch it once and never touch it again or get tangled. The bees aren't grounded so they're safe. Even a frog (or any other thing) has to touch a hot wire in the net and the ground at the same time to get shocked or nothing happens.
The frog you saw probably got tangled, never shocked (unless it was raining), and died of thirst.
Leaving it up without it being on teaches the chickens they can "play" with it all they want and not get shocked. I've had biddies touch my 13k volt and not get shocked or hurt them. Once they get a little heavier and make a "good ground", they learn fast and won't go near it.
Make sure to get at least a 20+ mile charger since you have "Bird/Bear Netting", it's equivalent to about 10-15 strands of regular solid fence wire. Even running a 30 mile charger thru all that wire around an acre would only tickle a bear or coyote. For that much, running a 30 mile charger thru that netting around a campsite would just tickle the bear if he wanted you (or your chickens) for dinner.

Your birds may be your babies but they are still Dumb Animals. You can coddle them and them get eaten by a predator or you can let them learn not to shock themselves and keep them protected to the best of your ability.
The choice is yours.
Good luck!

 

[EggWalrus]

PS
A thirty dollar charger from lowes or any where else won't teach them a thing. Unless they are wet, the grass wet, and you have a good ground system, a chicken won't even feel a $30 charger.
The only thing that will "learn" from a $30 charger is a bald wet sqirrel, puppy or kitten. You might want to do some more research on electric fencing, how it works, and what it offers protection from. When you think you have it right, you need to just lay your bare leg on it. Most of the time it won't shock you for jack, because most people either don't ground it properly or wind up with a short in it the first couple of attempts. But eventually, everyone gets it right. You want it to knock the jack out of you, if it doesn't, then you don't really have protection.

 

[Folly's place]

Premier1supplies.com, and Howard E on this site, are both resources worth consulting. Our electric fencing is at about 9k, for our horses and cattle, and we don't have bears! It needs to smack hard to be worth anything.
Mary

 

[cmom]

We have bears but I have never seen any as well a deer. There is hunting seasons with quotas. If the quotas are met before the end of the season they shut down the hunting. We do have a lot of coyotes and other predators. I don't have the electric fencing but I do have electric wires around my coops and pens. I do have welded wire and chicken wire for my fences. The electric wire runs about the same voltage as Mary's. It makes my heart skip a few beats when I touch it and I only have 2 feet on the ground. A predator with 4 feet on the ground should get a good shock.

 

[Howard E]

To the OP, you have the Premier 1 poultry netting, so do not worry about using it. As others have suggested, turn the fence charger you already have on and let it run 24/7.

Your main concern will be to keep it taut, upright and off the ground. If any of those black and white fence strands that have the wire in them touch the ground, it will short out and kill your battery. Since you already have the netting, go ahead and work with it.

If keeping it from sagging and touching the ground proves to be a problem, consider using wires or the poly tape or poly rope systems instead. That gets installed on the white step in posts you already have. Also effective for bears and varmints and none of the concern about getting tangled up and dying.