Potter co notill
5 year old buck +
What deer fence do I want to buy for 1acre. Point me in the right direction on what I need and what it will cost
E Deer Fence
- Thread starter Potter co notill
- Start date
Tap
5 year old buck +
I've been using a Gallagher fence for about 5 years now. We have very high DPSM and my E fence has worked very well. Deer have jumped it only a couple times as far as I can tell. I've used it to mostly grow Sunflowers (to maturity), but I also added some cow peas last year. If there were ever 2 forages that deer would jump a fence for, those are the 2. If deer do jump your inner course of 2 strands of wire, you can always run a 3rd strand a little higher. I think the outer course of a single run of turbo tape will work fine.
Gallagher is not the cheapest way to go, though. Are you planning to do a solar fence or direct wire? I think there's more affordable chargers than Gallagher. I have no experience with other brands, but I've heard guys are happy with Parmak and Zebra. I don't know.
Gallagher's posts are quite expensive but they are convenient. Since they are fiberglass (1") they self insulate so you don't need to install insulators like with metal T posts. I think that Gallagher's recommendation for post spacing is okay, but IMO, you don't need the expensive 1" posts all the way around the perimeter. You could most likely space the 1" posts about 60 or even 80 feet and then use lighter-duty (and cheaper) push-in post in between to hold the wires in place. That would probably save a couple hundred dollars. You may want to buy the longer posts (for the inner course) in case you decide you want a 3rd strand of wire.
Wires and turbo tape can't sag and touch the ground or they ground-out. I've found that if the wire touches light foliage, it'll usually singe the plant and continue charging the wire. But you won't want heavy weed growth touching the wires so you'll with spray herbicide or trim weeds and grass.
I don't own a fence post pounder, but I think one would make pounding posts easier. I take down my entire system, posts and all, each fall, so I have to reinstall posts each spring, which is a little more labor.
I've heard others say that Gallagher does make the best wire, but it's all I've owned so I can't compare to another brand.
Huge tip...GET REELS FOR TAKING THE FENCE DOWN! The 2nd spring that I owned the fence and I went to string the wire back up, it was a tangled nightmare. I was a cheap skate when I took it down the previous fall and just wrapped the wire around my arm like clothesline. Enormous mistake! For about $10 each at Lowes you can buy 3 reels for electric extension cords that each hold an acre. It's less than $40 that's well spent.
Don't bother with buying the Gallagher fence tighteners, either. You can easily adjust fence tension by wrapping fence around the little cotter pin retainers. Doing it that way allows you to fine-tune where you tighten the fence. With the Gallagher tighteners, it pulls the entire run tight. My way tightens only when it's needed most, and it's free.
One last tip. If you do go the Gallagher route, DON'T run the wires through the cotter pins. Doing so makes removal and reinstallation a lot more tedious. There's a couple easy ways to secure the fence on the cotter pins. Either wrap around it, or loop through it and slip the loop over the cotter pin. That way, when you remove the fence, you don't have to pull the wire through the small hole of the cotter pin, and the same with putting it back up. It goes WAY faster if you just install the cotter pin retainers and never run the wire thru them. That also allows you to leave the pins in the post...no need to ever remove them.
I love having an E fence. I can grow certain forages that I never could before I had the fence.
Gallagher is not the cheapest way to go, though. Are you planning to do a solar fence or direct wire? I think there's more affordable chargers than Gallagher. I have no experience with other brands, but I've heard guys are happy with Parmak and Zebra. I don't know.
Gallagher's posts are quite expensive but they are convenient. Since they are fiberglass (1") they self insulate so you don't need to install insulators like with metal T posts. I think that Gallagher's recommendation for post spacing is okay, but IMO, you don't need the expensive 1" posts all the way around the perimeter. You could most likely space the 1" posts about 60 or even 80 feet and then use lighter-duty (and cheaper) push-in post in between to hold the wires in place. That would probably save a couple hundred dollars. You may want to buy the longer posts (for the inner course) in case you decide you want a 3rd strand of wire.
Wires and turbo tape can't sag and touch the ground or they ground-out. I've found that if the wire touches light foliage, it'll usually singe the plant and continue charging the wire. But you won't want heavy weed growth touching the wires so you'll with spray herbicide or trim weeds and grass.
I don't own a fence post pounder, but I think one would make pounding posts easier. I take down my entire system, posts and all, each fall, so I have to reinstall posts each spring, which is a little more labor.
I've heard others say that Gallagher does make the best wire, but it's all I've owned so I can't compare to another brand.
Huge tip...GET REELS FOR TAKING THE FENCE DOWN! The 2nd spring that I owned the fence and I went to string the wire back up, it was a tangled nightmare. I was a cheap skate when I took it down the previous fall and just wrapped the wire around my arm like clothesline. Enormous mistake! For about $10 each at Lowes you can buy 3 reels for electric extension cords that each hold an acre. It's less than $40 that's well spent.
Don't bother with buying the Gallagher fence tighteners, either. You can easily adjust fence tension by wrapping fence around the little cotter pin retainers. Doing it that way allows you to fine-tune where you tighten the fence. With the Gallagher tighteners, it pulls the entire run tight. My way tightens only when it's needed most, and it's free.
One last tip. If you do go the Gallagher route, DON'T run the wires through the cotter pins. Doing so makes removal and reinstallation a lot more tedious. There's a couple easy ways to secure the fence on the cotter pins. Either wrap around it, or loop through it and slip the loop over the cotter pin. That way, when you remove the fence, you don't have to pull the wire through the small hole of the cotter pin, and the same with putting it back up. It goes WAY faster if you just install the cotter pin retainers and never run the wire thru them. That also allows you to leave the pins in the post...no need to ever remove them.
I love having an E fence. I can grow certain forages that I never could before I had the fence.
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
Excellent post by Tap and I very much agree with it.
I have been using E-Fence in a high deer density area for probably 6-7 years now and have successfully fenced deer out of my sugar beets, soybeans and pumpkins. I use the Parmak 6 V Solar charger and like them so much that I now have 3 of them. Direct wiring isn't an option for me but the solar chargers work just fine albeit they are more expensive than the electric chargers. I think I paid around $175 each for the chargers. All of the other supplies for the most part I have been able to purchase at Tractor Supply.
I posted a thread with a lot of photos on it on another forum a few years ago but the photos got "Photobucketed" so I won't post a link but here are a few photos which may be helpful:
I have always erected the 2-fence system with 3' between the fences. I have used several different configurations of poly tape and poly rope but have pretty much settled on 1 strand of poly tape on the outside fence about 25" above ground level and 1 strand of poly tape on the top strand about 36" above ground level and then 1 strand of poly rope about 15" up for the second strand on the inside fence. To me - the poly tape provides a very visible form of "optical confusion" to the deer in addition to the obvious shock they receive by sniffing the tape. You could use poly tape for the second strand as well but I find that poly rope works just as well and it is somewhat easier to manage when putting the fence up and down.
I use 2 ground stakes 10' apart and it has always worked fine. I use a short piece of 4X4 post to hold the charger. I have been using steel T-Posts for the corners and the fiberglas E-Fence stakes sold at TSC for line posts - 30' apart.
Electrical cord caddies for storing the wire are a wise choice as mentioned above by Tap.
I take the fence down in late summer early fall as well. Although the batteries are almost always fully charged when I take them down, I go ahead and give them a full charge on trickle chargers and store them in my insulated barn. I put the chargers back in the box and store them in the barn as well.
I have been using E-Fence in a high deer density area for probably 6-7 years now and have successfully fenced deer out of my sugar beets, soybeans and pumpkins. I use the Parmak 6 V Solar charger and like them so much that I now have 3 of them. Direct wiring isn't an option for me but the solar chargers work just fine albeit they are more expensive than the electric chargers. I think I paid around $175 each for the chargers. All of the other supplies for the most part I have been able to purchase at Tractor Supply.
I posted a thread with a lot of photos on it on another forum a few years ago but the photos got "Photobucketed" so I won't post a link but here are a few photos which may be helpful:
I have always erected the 2-fence system with 3' between the fences. I have used several different configurations of poly tape and poly rope but have pretty much settled on 1 strand of poly tape on the outside fence about 25" above ground level and 1 strand of poly tape on the top strand about 36" above ground level and then 1 strand of poly rope about 15" up for the second strand on the inside fence. To me - the poly tape provides a very visible form of "optical confusion" to the deer in addition to the obvious shock they receive by sniffing the tape. You could use poly tape for the second strand as well but I find that poly rope works just as well and it is somewhat easier to manage when putting the fence up and down.
I use 2 ground stakes 10' apart and it has always worked fine. I use a short piece of 4X4 post to hold the charger. I have been using steel T-Posts for the corners and the fiberglas E-Fence stakes sold at TSC for line posts - 30' apart.
Electrical cord caddies for storing the wire are a wise choice as mentioned above by Tap.
I take the fence down in late summer early fall as well. Although the batteries are almost always fully charged when I take them down, I go ahead and give them a full charge on trickle chargers and store them in my insulated barn. I put the chargers back in the box and store them in the barn as well.
chickenlittle
5 year old buck +
We use this style fencing. We use plain wire rather than tape. It does not keep the deer out completely but it is the difference between having corn ears or not. Inside fence - corn has ears. Outside fence - no ears. Keeps deer coming through hunting season.
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
I'm not saying it won't happen some day....but as far as I know I have never had a deer inside my E-Fence. Keeping fingers crossed.
Tap
5 year old buck +
I'm curious about something. I see that your tape is twisted as the instructions say to do in order to create an optical illusion as it flutters in the breeze, but I notice in your pic with the tape on reels that the tape is not twisted. Do you purposely untwist it as you reel it in? I just reel mine with the twists still in it. The 1st fall I had reels, I tried being careful and attempted to undo all the twists as I reeled it in. That was time consuming! I found it easier to just leave the twists in. Then the following spring, the tape can be pulled straight off the reel and the tape will have the same amount of twists. If you need more twists, then pull the tape off the side of the reel, and if you need less twists, then flip the reel over and pull off the other side of the reel. When pulling off the side of the reel, each revolution of the tape either adds one twist or removes one twist...just depends on which side of the reel the tape is removed from.
I'm just trying to point out a time saving tip to anyone that's new to fencing. The better your system is for installing and removing an E fence, the happier you'll be with it. There's a lot of little things that may seem anal or insignificant, but they can make a big difference in your frustration level and time savings. By developing a system, I went from a half day to completely install/remove a fence (posts and all) to doing it in just a couple hours...by myself.
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
I do try to retrieve the poly tape on the reel straight (without twists). Truthfully though - my wife and another female hunter we have in camp are who ususally retrieves the wire. Maybe women are more apt to string it on straight
. I don't actually pay much attention to it when I am stringing it. As you see in the photos above, some of it is twisted and some of it is straight. It works fine either way in my opinion, but I'm sure it would probably "flutter" more if it were twisted.
chickenlittle
5 year old buck +
I've seen a number say they've never had a deer inside their efence. Not sure how that could be possible. At least one deer is going to put its nose on the wire and decide going forward is the right thing to do. But efence doesn't have to be perfect to be effective.
For more perfect, however, Gallagher recommends much different electric fence designs, 15 wires to 8ft high or 8 wires on a slant.
For more perfect, however, Gallagher recommends much different electric fence designs, 15 wires to 8ft high or 8 wires on a slant.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
The Gallagher-style fence relies on several characteristics of deer. Deer will try to crawl through a new fence before they try jumping it. The spacing makes it pretty tough for deer to crawl through without getting zapped. Baiting the outer fence with peanut butter also helps. Once zapped, the fluttering outer fence (twisted so it blows in the wind) serves as a visual cue for deer to associate with the zap. The inner fence is white turbowire not turbotape. Deer can see it, but they can't see it well. They don't have good depth perception and generally won't jump it for something that is attractive even though they physically could do it easily. One problem that comes in is deer being chased. A deer trying to escape from danger is less concerned about the potential danger the hard to see inner fence presents than the clear and present danger chasing them. Deer learn quickly and once they figure out they can, they may even do so when not being chased. Another issue can be that a fawn can crawl through because they are smaller. A wayward fawn can be enough incentive for mom to risk jumping it.
While I have had a rare picture of a deer in the fence, there has never been enough break-ins to make the fence ineffective. There are more effective e-fence designs, but none even close in cost effectiveness. This is especially true for the food plotter who wants to keep the fence up for a short time until the crop is well established and then remove the fence.
Thanks,
Jack
While I have had a rare picture of a deer in the fence, there has never been enough break-ins to make the fence ineffective. There are more effective e-fence designs, but none even close in cost effectiveness. This is especially true for the food plotter who wants to keep the fence up for a short time until the crop is well established and then remove the fence.
Thanks,
Jack
Potter co notill
5 year old buck +
Thanks for all the info, Pretty sure I have it all figured out
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
Sorry you don't believe what I say is possible ChickenLittle, but if I have never seen a deer....seen any deer tracks....or any evidence of deer browsing inside my E-Fence, it looks pretty conclusive to me that there has never been a deer inside my fence. Not to say that maybe one hasn't gotten in somewhere, but as I said, I have never seen any evidence of it. The 3-wire, 2 fence system is working "perfect" enough for me. There is no way I'm considering going 8' high with 15 wires when it isn't necessary.
chickenlittle
5 year old buck +
Your deer may just be better behaved.
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
Ha Ha - I was going to suggest that but I didn't want you to think that maybe your deer were juvenile delinquents
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
If you need to fence off 5 contiguous acres, I'd consider planting less attractive and more browse tolerant plants and shooting lots of does. I had to get to 7 acres of forage beans before deer would let them canopy. At 5 acres, the deer kept them naked all summer but could not kill the beans. We have shot a lot of does since then. In my area, summer is a significant stress period and the battle with summer weeds combined with the browse pressure meant RR was the only option which basically means soybeans. In Connecticut, I doubt summer is a major stress period. There are lots of fall crops that can handle browse pressure.
Thanks,
Jack
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
I have to agree with Jack on this. Not to say that it can't be done but the better alternative would be to reduce the deer density if you can. I have the same issue here and we will be putting a dent in the doe population this year. I will also be fencing a little more acreage though for my sugar beets and soybeans but there will still be beans outside of the fence...which I am sure will take a beating until we can reduce deer numbers. Either way, I will broadcast brassicas and/or cereal grains into the beans so there should still be some forage there come fall.
Tap
5 year old buck +
All I can tell you is that I paid about a grand for an acre, but that was basically a Gallagher kit. I'm pretty sure you can do an acre for a few hundred less if you shop around and if you use a less expensive post system. Five acres won't cost five times as much as one acre.
We don't have hogs around here (yet) but it seems to me that I've seen Gallagher info that says E fence works on hogs but I could be wrong. The web site shows that E fence controls stock hogs, but will it keep the wild bastards out? IDK.
