Could you electrify chicken wire when using livestock electric wire?

[Weeg]

Asking for a friend who recently lost her ducks to a coyote attack. Trying to think of a quick fix to predator proof the area, since a lot of the run is chicken wire. I thought we could use Premier 1 netting, but its a bit to expensive to cover her whole run area in that netting, it is an expensive set. So I was wondering, would it be possible to use electric wire (straight wire not tape) and a charger to run a few strips of wire, and then light up the chicken wire as well? It would be metal on metal, so I was wondering if this would work. It would be much cheeper than Premier 1, and pretty instant until she can get ahold of Hardware cloth which she's waiting for at TSC.
Thanks for the help!

 

[jher77]

As long as you are not grounding out the 'hot' wire, it will work. If the chicken wire is touching or electrically connected to earth, it is grounded.

 

[Weeg]

As long as you are not grounding out the 'hot' wire, it will work. If the chicken wire is touching or electrically connected to earth, it is grounded.

So as long as the chicken wire isn't grounded, it will work? Or the other way around. Sorry if this is an obvious question.
I believe the wire is touching the ground, but we could always move it up if thats necessary. Its attached to wooden posts, so no worries there. Thank you!
@clbarnar

 

[jher77]

The '-' wire on the charger goes in the ground. The "+" wire on the charger just hangs loose waiting for a chance to touch the ground basically. If you or metal touches the hot wire, it completes the circuit and you get shocked or it shorts out the charger.

So the '-' wire goes in the ground with a ground rod. The '+' wire does not touch the ground electrically in any way through a metal fence or fence post or physically touching the ground.

Weeds can grow up into a '+' fence wire and short it out making the shock less effective but still depending on the power of the fence charger, deliver a shock.

Wood is an insulator so no electricity passes through it.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes, you can use the chicken wire as your ground and set your hot wires off of it (not in contact, separated by plastic or nylon insulators most likely, such that a creature in contact with the hot wire and the chicken wire or the hot wire and the physical ground, will get a shock.

You just need to ensure the chicken wire is in contact with the ground (or is wired to yoru grounding rod), and that your hot wires are properly postioned.

 

[Weeg]

Yes, you can use the chicken wire as your ground and set your hot wires off of it (not in contact, separated by plastic or nylon insulators most likely, such that a creature in contact with the hot wire and the chicken wire or the hot wire and the physical ground, will get a shock.

You just need to ensure the chicken wire is in contact with the ground (or is wired to yoru grounding rod), and that your hot wires are properly postioned.

Perfect, thank you! I'm pretty sure its touching the ground, but when we add a ground rod we could probably connect it to be certain.

 

[avjudge]

Wood is an insulator so no electricity passes through it.

Dry wood is an insulator. Wet, not so much. I would not electrify an existing chicken-wire fence as insulating it from the ground would probably prove impossible without rebuilding it.

@U_Stormcrow’s solution of using the chicken wire as part of the grounding surface, and standing charged wires off from it (using fence insulators attached to those wooden posts), is how I would go.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Dry wood is an insulator. Wet, not so much. I would not electrify an existing chicken-wire fence as insulating it from the ground would probably prove impossible without rebuilding it.

@U_Stormcrow’s solution of using the chicken wire as part of the grounding surface, and standing charged wires off from it (using fence insulators attached to those wooden posts), is how I would go.

I can't claim credit for it - another BYC poster has a big run that's built like Fort Knox - they set electrified fence wires off their chain link? walls as a way of discouraging critters from climbing them. I'm simply repeating a description of what they did.

 

[cmom]

I use electric wires and my fences are chicken wire. I had a couple of snakes try to go through it and were electrocuted. Most critters would just get a shock.

 

[BroK]

Yes, you can use the chicken wire as your ground and set your hot wires off of it (not in contact, separated by plastic or nylon insulators most likely, such that a creature in contact with the hot wire and the chicken wire or the hot wire and the physical ground, will get a shock.

You just need to ensure the chicken wire is in contact with the ground (or is wired to yoru grounding rod), and that your hot wires are properly postioned.

My hot wire is set off and only in contact with insulators.
My chicken wire is thoroughly grounded all around the garden.
I only ran the ground to the ground rod--should I continue the wire from the ground rod to the chicken wire fence?
The charger light is blinking which indicates the system is functioning, so that's a good sign.
Here is a photo of charger and ground