an electric fence....

[itsmecindi]

....is one of the best things ever invented. Until it quits working. Which ours seems to do about once every two months. A fact that Fred and I were lamenting last night from six thirty to nine o'clock as we walked every square inch of it looking for the short in the rain and the dark.

We checked corners and we checked connections. We found out it wasn't working when Lily walked right through the cattle panel fence on the west side. We knew if we didn't get it back up she would do it again and there was a possibility we would wake up this morning and find all the animals out.

Finally just when we were prepared to give up and go in the house we realized that while digging a ditch a few weeks ago we nicked an underground wire just enough to let in the moisture and it had the whole fence shorted out. We dug it up and taped it and whallah, you could hear the surprised grunts and squeals from every different direction. Music to our ears. Surprising to know it had been down several weeks and it took the pigs so long to discover it.

 

[chrisjbell]

<font color="blue"> Surprising to know it had been down several weeks and it took the pigs so long to discover it. </font>

It might not have shorted out right away - if it wasn't too bad of a nick it may have taken a while to short out.

Finding shorts in just about anything can be pretty frustrating and time consuming... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[pruntyc]

A pig can be smarter than we give him credit for. They probably had been hit a lot of times before and just didn't want to be shocked anymore. I always remember the story, my stepdad told. It seems there was an old man back home that had pet hog, that went with him everywhere he went, just like a pet dog. A man asked him one time how he trained that hog to do that. His answer was, first you have to be smarter than the hog. I always liked that, it kind of made sense. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[rockinmywaypa]

Galligher company makes a gadget now that will lead you to the spot that is shorted out. works on current flow. really great for people that have no time for finding faults of their own. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif pricey though.

 

[rozett]

For $15 or $20 you can buy a device that hangs on the fence and has a visual indicator to show that it is energized. Leave it near the gate where you take the animals to/from the pasture and you can glance at it and feel assured that the fence is energized. Of course, if you can't afford the $20, you can just grab the fence every morning to check it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[pruntyc]

Yes I know about grabing the fence. I have one of those ones that you use flash light batterys in. I knew it didn't have the power of the other one I have with a chopper. So I took ahold of it one day. And I want to say I have been careful not to do that again. I don't see much difference in them for bite. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[Slamfire]

Aw it only hurts when you grab it, and again when you let go. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[dieselsmoke1]

I learned a long time ago.......slap it with the back of your hand.

 

[itsmecindi]

It pulses. Depending on your timing it may or may not slap back. I reckon I'll just bait the pigs close with goodies an wait for one of them to bump it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[heehaw]

i had a part time business one time, repairing electric fence chargers....you would be surprised at what folks will do..the local farmers co-op asked me to go to a guys place once..they had sold him a solar unit, and he kept bringing it back, saying it didn't work...he had it under the biggest cedar tree i have ever seen...he was afraid someone would see it and steal it...i never found any solar or battery units that would keep calves, that had not been trained to an electric fence, under control...the best unit for the money is made by parmak....(my opinion)...they take storms a lot better than most units..now if you have the $$$$ gallager or however its spelled is a great unit...also...if you have a decent ac fence charger, it will shock right thru the buried wire, unless you use the high voltage stuff...even putting #12 wire inside plastic pipe and the burying it will fail with a strong charger...moisture gets in the pipe and then it arcs and you lose a lot of voltage...
heehaw