Poultry fences, poultry netting and electric fences for hens

By using these items that have been carefully selected for you,   you can safely protect your hens and geese with poultry fences and poultry netting or build an electric fence for hens, geese and poultry.

Poultry fences, poultry netting and electric fences for hens

Poultry are some of the more challenging animals to keep. Their thin legs and insulating beak and feathers mean that powerful electric fence systems are necessary.

Only you can decide whether you need poultry netting or a complete kit with polywire: – Both poultry netting and poultry fences are effective.

With our selection you can put together a complete electric fence system. If you have individual requirements such as long-shaft insulators, you can find these in the special categories on the left-hand side.

We have put together some detailed information on poultry fences for you.

Chickens and geese are amongst the more difficult animals to keep.

A powerful energiser with a high output voltage and powerful discharge is required . If it’s not possible for you to use a mains powered device, we recommend a powerful 9 V battery device or even better – a powerful 12 V battery unit with high voltage and pulse energy.

Ordinary fences require several rows of wire.  Special plastic posts and high-conductance wires are also available for this type of fence.

When using poultry netting such as the 50-m poultry net, 112 cm, extremely powerful energisers are required.

Electric fence posts:

Four rows should be arranged on electric fences at heights of approx. 20?cm, 40?cm, 60?cm and 85?cm.

The following posts have proven particularly effective: the poultry fence, plastic posts, 105 cm, single tip

Here is a guide to erecting poultry fences, poultry netting. You can, of course, use any other posts that have the required fence height and necessary eyelets for connecting the conductors. These electric fence posts provide the poultry netting with additional support.

Electric fence polywire:

The quality of the wire used should match the length of the poultry fence. The quality of the polywire should correspond to at least, e.g. the poultry fence polywire, 200 m. Longer fences require high-quality wire to ensure that there is still sufficient voltage at the far end of the fence. For example, the electric fence polywire 400, 3 x 0.25 copper + 3 x 0.20 stainless steel, white/green 4****

A 5**** marking on the wire indicates top quality. The conductance of this wire is significantly better than those indicated with ** markings. This means considerably longer fences can be built.

Operation with a 230 V electric fence mains energiser:

For normal fencing, we recommend, for instance, our great value 230 V electric fence mains energiser: 230 V electric fence mains energiser, Helos 4.. Larger fences and fences with disturbances and surrounding vegetation will need the extra-powerful 230 V electric fence mains energiser, Nvi 9000.

Operation with 12 V battery-powered energiser:

Operation with a 9 V battery-powered energiser:

For shorter fencing, an energiser such as the VOSS.farming "NOVAS 6" Electric Fence Battery Energiser will suffice. Even better is this energiser (equipped with battery): VOSS.farming "TERRA 3" Electric Fence Battery Energiser - 9V, 12V & 230V

Grounding on the electric fence:

The electric fence mains energiser requires extremely good grounding to ensure that it will operate without any disruption. The number of grounding posts required is specified in the technical data for the energiser.

Electric fence testing devices:

Various testing devices exist for checking the operational status of the fence. For simple measurements, a device like the "8-step" fence tester (Item no. 44700) is sufficient.

One of the best devices available is the digital iFence Inspektor fence tester. This features a directional indicator to guide you straight to the faulty point on the fence. Anyone who's ever had to look for a fault on a fence system will appreciate just how much time this device saves.

A fence switch is extremely handy in situations in which the fence requires any repair work. This allows portions of the fence to be turned off so that the faulty part can be repaired without danger.

Electric fence switch:

This allows the current to be turned off so that you can work safely on the fence without having to take a long walk to the mains energiser. e.g. item no. 44767 fence switch, green with a red turning knob.

Electric fence lightning protection:

This is a legal requirement for 230 V mains energisers. For reasons of technical safety and in order to protect the energiser, we recommend the use of lightning protection. e.g. item no. 44732 protection mechanism with spark gap.

This prevents the energiser from being destroyed and any further damage from occurring if lightning strikes the electric fence.

Electric fence warning signs:

As the operator of an electric fence system, you must make sure that the electric fence is well indicated with warning signs. Therefore, we recommend mounting sufficient warning signs at regular distances.

Electric fences for chickens

Chickens, geese and turkeys look very nice in the garden. In order to keep these animals inside the electric fence, their wings are often clipped. In this way, hens can be safely fenced in even with a relatively low fence. However, by doing this, you prevent the hens from escaping, if, for example, an enemy such as a fox, marten, polecat or rat comes to attack them. As they can no longer fly, the animals try to escape by running away. However, running is not exactly their strong point. So they become easy prey.

Reasons for buying an electric fence  for chickens

Therefore, the role of an electric fence for chickens is not primarily to keep the hens in, but rather to keep foxes, martens and similar animals out. Therefore it is advisable to electrify the fence for chickens, as versions exist with and without electric conductors. This is also one of the reasons why poultry nets have particularly fine mesh in the lower 40 cm section. It is hoped that this is sufficient to prevent any intruders from getting through the fence. However, we at Voss.farming always recommend the use of electric fences. Only in this way can it be ensured that the intruders cannot get through the fence. The addition of electricity enhances the effectiveness of the mechanical barrier or the electric fence for hens. Various different types of poultry nets exist and are primarily used as an electric fence for hens and geese. For example, electric fences for hens exist in yellow, green and black versions. 112 cm has become the standard height for chicken fences over recent years. Different manufacturers exist such as Euro Netz or Ovinet. Certain quality characteristics have become standard. At Voss.farming, in addition to traditional chicken fences, we also develop fences with special finishes. The mesh width on these fences is even narrower, or additional support posts are integrated into the structure to provide a firmer hold and therefore greater safety. Therefore, we combine the high-quality products of well-known manufacturers with our knowledge of the animals to further enhance the products.

Electric fences for chickens – including customised solutions

In addition to offering popular electric fences for chickens, we also offer advice, for example, on how to safeguard pre-existing fences against martens or foxes. Benefit from our many years of experience. Our team will be delighted to help you on 01452 346 204.