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Parrothead

One of the types of animals we wish to get in the fairly near future, are goats. (They currently run about $5.00 US / kilogram, by the way.) However, goats are known to be escape artists, from what others tell me. (Pigs too, from what I understand?) 

 

Anyway, one way to keep goats penned in, is by adding electric fencing around the perimeter of the land, where you wish them to remain.

 

It so happens that a buddy of mine out this way (about another 20 Kilometers past the farm), sells electric fence chargers made in Thailand. I believe they run about $40 US, each? (Don't hold me to that, but I believe that is the cost?) Nothing pretty to look at, from what I can tell. But, they can be powered by either 12 vdc, or 230 vac. They apparently produce one heck of a spark, as well. So, they are not lightweight models. And, you can increase or decrease the energizing cycles. Higher rates for stubborn or larger animals, I suppose? 

 

Anyway, have a look: 

 

 

High tensile strength wire could be purchased at a number of stores, I'm pretty sure. In fact, the only problem I see, would be in locating fence post insulators. But, having done of bit of searching, and very little ingenuity, we could make our own fence insulators by purchasing a couple of local parts and manufacturing them ourselves.

 

1. Buy a few kilograms of fence post nails / staples:

100_1869.jpg

 

2. Buy a roll of thick walled tubing. Cut it to 10 cm (~4") length pieces. 

Thick Wall Tube.jpg

 

3. Then, slide the cut length of tubing down the wire and fasten it to each fence post.

s-l1600.jpg

 

This idea would be much better than buying from ANY company online. You see, I found that I could buy 50 of these lengths of tubing for $30 USD online, NOT including shipping OR fence nails / staples. That's $.60¢ US, each piece! 

 

Download This Write Up

electric_fencing_idea.docx

 

 

Edited by Parrothead
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Read2Learn

looks good unless you do not make it high enough

 

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Parrothead
9 minutes ago, Read2Learn said:

looks good unless you do not make it high enough

 

Yep. Been doing our research. We already know to make the fence no less than 1.5 m to 2.0 m high.

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andy
23 hours ago, Parrothead said:

One of the types of animals we wish to get in the fairly near future, are goats. (They currently run about $5.00 US / kilogram, by the way.)

 

You know recently I was talking of buying goats. $5 per kilo I suppose you are talking live weight? What is the cost for butchered meat?

 

23 hours ago, Parrothead said:

Anyway, one way to keep goats penned in, is by adding electric fencing around the perimeter of the land, where you wish them to remain.

 

 

Mate of mine kept 2000 free-range pigs on woodland via electric fencing. The shock of that hurts, I would find out legally how you stand here. Think we have talked before on this matter.  

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Parrothead
3 hours ago, andy said:

$5 per kilo I suppose you are talking live weight? What is the cost for butchered meat?

 

Yeah, it's live weight, andy. No idea what they would cost butchered. 

 

3 hours ago, andy said:

Mate of mine kept 2000 free-range pigs on woodland via electric fencing. The shock of that hurts, I would find out legally how you stand here. Think we have talked before on this matter.

 

Well, it seems as though they are legal. To be honest, I am not that interested in legalities concerning most things here. I have yet to find laws that were actually enforced, without a bit of grease to go along with the penalties, fines, or payments. 

 

With that said, I will put up signs with graphics and text, to make sure everyone understands what they are about to get themselves into, if they touch the fence. There is a sign I can buy, energized by the fence, that can be hung near the back side of the enclosed area. It will illuminate as long as the fence is energized. So, I will know if the fence has been tampered with, or has failed in any way. 

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andy
2 hours ago, Parrothead said:

No idea what they would cost butchered. 

 

Sometimes its worth finding out what the end product will sell for. That is unless you are keeping them to keep down the grass.

I do understand you on the law. Even so it could turn out to keep in the intended, and keep out the uninvited with risk of payments.

One time we got drunk on the farm and pissed on the fence. Shocking what kids do.

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Parrothead
1 hour ago, andy said:

Sometimes its worth finding out what the end product will sell for. That is unless you are keeping them to keep down the grass.

 

Keep in mind, the primary thing I am concerned about here, is NOT making money off the farm, but for self-sustainability. As much as it pains me to say this about the little guys, our main reason for keeping them, aside from me enjoying watching them play, is to consume them down the road, or, to barter with them for other goods and services. That has been the focus of the farm since day one, for me anyway. 

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Bill H

Good ideas all, but you need to understand how these fences work.  Basically, you have a very high voltage being transmitted at a very low amperage.  It right smarts if you get a shock, but it won't kill you (low amperage).  The biggest enemy of the electric fence is grounding.  Vegetation growing near the fence will ground it in short order, so you MUST keep all plant growth far enough away that it can't make contact with the charged wire.  You also need to pay attention to your ground.  The charging box needs a very good ground, but so does the neutral wires of the fence.  I used 8' long solid metal rods driven 6' in the ground.  Due to the moisture in Cambodia, you could probably get by with a shorter rod, but your ground can never be too good and must never be too weak either. To contain our American Bison (Buffalo) we employed 6-foot electric fences with alternating charged and neutral (grounded) wires every 18" up the posts.  Our mature bulls weighed between 2,500 and 3,000 pounds, so once they decided to go somewhere it took a large charge to stop them (pun intended).

 

Every charged wire should have a tensioner on it because even high tensile wire stretches over time and for the fence to work best, the wires must be tight.  Your insulator idea is good if (and this is a big IF) they have sufficient insulating properties for the very high voltages used in electric fences.  Where I ranched in Montana there was a chain of Ag Supply stores called Big R who carry exactly what you need.  They have an online presence now, but I have no idea if they will ship internationally or what the duty might be on these things in Cambodia.

 

A final word:  Don't use DC power for your charger.  The system will work best with AC current.  With DC keeping the batteries charged is a challenge and even at full charge, they do not have the power of AC units.  Also, stick with high tensile wire, common smooth and barbed wire does not work well in electric fence applications.

 

I hope this helps.

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mollydooker

 

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andy

The dog idea is good, but only if your there to give commands to the dog. Employing a boy to walk the goats maybe an idea.

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  • Similar Content

    • Parrothead
      By Parrothead
      Back in June, I created a thread regarding the installation of an electrified perimeter fencing around the farm. The primary reason is to keep goats, and maybe some pigs, contained within a given area. A secondary reason is to keep predators (the two-legged kind) off the property.  We are going to start by fencing in an initial area for the livestock.
       
      This plan calls for 66 vertical posts, 5 strands of wire (3 hot, 2 ground), and 330 insulators. The initial plan is to run two ground wires, alternating between three hot wires, to guarantee proper conductivity of the electric signal during dry season. I will add a additional ground rods along the fence, as well.
       

       
      The initial area to fence in will be a bit over a half acre, or ~2,100 square meters.
       

       
      As time goes on, we will expand this area. Anyway, on to the main point of this post.
       
      Earlier this month, we were in the city to pay rent, bills, and to buy groceries for the month. While there, I met up with my friend Pete, who was able to get the fence charger I have been trying to locate for a while. If it isn't 20,000 volts, it's damned close. I tested it and it will create one heck of a spark. I know I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of its bite. 
       
      Anyway, thanks to Pete, for being able to locate the charger for me. We are one step closer to getting goats (and, hopefully, pigs). 
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