What's eating my electric fence?

[greatbritishhoney]

Hi,
I've noticed quite a few holes have appeared in my electric poultry fence over the last day or so and can't for the life of me work out what is doing it and why?
Must be either fox, rabbit or badger - can't think of anything else capable of doing it.

Seems likely to be fox but the fence has been on all the time and I have never seen them do this before.


Any ideas

Regards
Andy

 

[barratt_sab]

Is it a top to bottom electrified net? Ours has had a hole chewed in it on the bottom strand. Going through you choices, I'd say rabbit for ours because it's right at the bottom; also it's inside a fence with no badger-sized holes in it and all our chickens are still alive!

I must thank you for your post as it reminded me that I promised my wife I'd shut the chickens up. I've never seen this sort of damage before either, but we've just moved the fence and I think there's a rabbit hole inside it. The fence is still working (I just tested it with my hand, hence wonky typing), so it must have been an unpleasant exercise for whatever chewed it through.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Yep, electrified poultry netting.
My first thought was rabbit, due to their gnawing tendencies, but some of the holes are a bit higher up (say about 2 ft off the ground), I know rabbits can reach that high up but why would they?

We did lose a couple of hens to a fox a few weeks ago so that's why I'm a bit paranoid about this new development.
Anyway, yes, must go and shut them in for the night.....

 

[barratt_sab]

Hmm - two feet up an electrified net sounds a bit high for a rabbit - they'd have to put their tender little feet on 7kV of fence and that would hurt (it stung me a bit, and I've had a couple of pints of cider already).

Our (inside) fence only went up again because we lost a layer to a fox, so I really understand the paranoia.

I cannot imagine a badger bothering with it, which just leaves Fantastic Mr F - who is about to eat our one remaining Guinea Fowl which won't go in the house for some reason.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

I think you are right. Can't see why rabbits would bother putting themselves through the shock just to get at some half-dead grass. There are hardly any badgers around here these days, so foxy loxy it must be.

Must be a very hungry fox to risk the shock of the fence.
Unless, perhaps, the energiser cut out one night or something.

 

[Foxylad]

Deer or Hares?

 

[For want of a better word]

The Beast of the Beacons.. the one with sharp pointy teeth?

I should lock your doors!

 

[psafloyd]

Hi,
I've noticed quite a few holes have appeared in my electric poultry fence over the last day or so and can't for the life of me work out what is doing it and why?
Must be either fox, rabbit or badger - can't think of anything else capable of doing it.

Seems likely to be fox but the fence has been on all the time and I have never seen them do this before.


Any ideas

Regards
Andy

Lazy mink?

 

[greatbritishhoney]

The Beast of the Beacons.. the one with sharp pointy teeth?

I should lock your doors!

Funny you shoud say that - a "big cat" was spotted a few miles away recently. But the "Beast of Penybont Llanerch Emrys" doesn't have the same ring to it.

 

[susbees]

I cannot imagine a badger bothering with it, which just leaves Fantastic Mr F - who is about to eat our one remaining Guinea Fowl which won't go in the house for some reason.

Which is what saved our last remaining guinea fowl (she's still laying and alive four years after the second last one...). She duly troops into the barn with the chooks now and, more amazingly, lays there too.

Finding two of her eggs under a ten year old light sussex the other day was a bit sad. Explaining to the old girl that nothing noisy could become of it...