cost of electric fencing
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rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
I have a friend who did about 1.75 acres of beans with a solar fencer and single strand of ribbon this year. Think he said somewhere between $400 - $450. So call it $260/acre...not including a couple jars of peanut butter for training purposes :)
M
MoBuckChaser
Guest
A good 12V Parmark Solar Charger is $250 alone. But will run a lot of line. $150 for posts and line, you are good for a couple acres!
tynimiller
5 year old buck +
Did he have "decent" success with a single strand approach?
Mo, would that be enough for a double wire set up? I may try some beans / sunflowers this year.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
I can tell you from our experience "no". Our single strand or double stacked strands get torn down by deer all the time. I think they walk into it, get zapped, and then bolt (taking the wire with them).
tynimiller
5 year old buck +
Only one friend has had good luck with one electric strand..but he utilized 3 other ran strands of just wire or string fencing with ties hanging off of it.
Big Snow Man
5 year old buck +
So your saying that the 3 strand 2 wire and one tape can't hold the deer out. Man those are some tough deer if they jump and walk thru that.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
So it looks like a gallagher (sp) style fence, but only one strand is electrified? Which one does he charge? The outside one?
M
MoBuckChaser
Guest
Depends how fancy of tape posts you buy, but you should be able to get a couple acres done pretty cheap. The solar charger is the spendy part up front.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
Everything is hot with the Gallagher-style fence. I was able to get a way with a 6-volt Parmak for fencing about an acre of Gallagher-style fence. It worked well for me. I'm not sure how much further I could have gone with a 6-volt Parmak. Beyond getting the distances between the fences and wire height correct, having a good deep grounding rod is important. If you skimp on the fencer, be sure to keep weeds from grounding the fence.
The reason that some wires are cold on a one dimensional electric fence is that deer try to crawly through it. The 3 dimensional fence is designed that the deer can't crawl through without getting zapped. The inner fence can be seen by deer but not well. It is hard for them to judge the depth and are very reluctant to jump it even though the physically could do it easily.
Thanks,
Jack
chickenlittle
5 year old buck +
My experience is that the Gallagher style 3-wire fence won't keep deer out. But it is not an exclusion, just a good deterrent. Deer will still get in when they feel like it but it reduces usage enough that the crop has a good chance. With fencing, this year was the first time one of our corn plots had nice ears on every stalk and pods on the beans. I'm convinced it is a winner.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
How are your deer getting in? I have heard that in some areas, guys need a third wire on the inner fence. I have not had that problem. Two on the inner fence worked fine for me.
rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
It did ok, at least his crop did decent. What was implied with the peanut butter comment was for a single ribbon he was advised to put peanut butter every so often on the ribbon and refresh the bait for a few weeks. What that did was make the initial learning with the fence having the deer almost standing still to check out the bait and than zap! Without that, the comment about running into and than tearing down the fence is more likely as they get shocked when they are on the move anyway.
chickenlittle
5 year old buck +
We used wire, no tape. Deer jumped it or pushed through. But for most of the summer, they stayed out enough to get good crop.
Bill
Administrator
I wonder if It wasn't the wire? I heard a cow farmer once say he used the white rope over wire. He claimed as the wire corroded it camaflaged itself so it was hard for the cows to see.
Don't know how valid that is but this guy believed it.
chickenlittle
5 year old buck +
Brand new wire for the food plot. Like I said, I was pleased with our results with a good crop for fall attraction. The 3 wire Gallagher fence, in our experience, is a useful deterrent but it is NOT a complete exclusion. I would expect to see some deer in your plots or at least some nibbles here and there.
I have had a similar electric fence setup around my apple orchard for 3 years now so I am pretty knowledgeable about deer getting through an electric fence and not in a good, happy way. I started out with 3 inner wire and 2 outer wires around the orchard. Added a top tape on the inside 2 falls ago. Then a 3rd outer strand and 5th inner strand last summer. With 3 outer strands and 5 inner (with the top tape at about 5ft), I cannot keep the deer out. They push through or jump it when they decide they really want to get inside. They stay out most of the year and anything very vulnerable has a small diameter cage now or protection of the central leader. The fence has been a good deterrent most of the year but it is not an exclusion.
I have had a similar electric fence setup around my apple orchard for 3 years now so I am pretty knowledgeable about deer getting through an electric fence and not in a good, happy way. I started out with 3 inner wire and 2 outer wires around the orchard. Added a top tape on the inside 2 falls ago. Then a 3rd outer strand and 5th inner strand last summer. With 3 outer strands and 5 inner (with the top tape at about 5ft), I cannot keep the deer out. They push through or jump it when they decide they really want to get inside. They stay out most of the year and anything very vulnerable has a small diameter cage now or protection of the central leader. The fence has been a good deterrent most of the year but it is not an exclusion.
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