Cost of electric fencing

johngalway

Hi folks,

Bit of a "how long is a piece of string?" question here.

I want to cost what it would take to, for want of a better word, "fortify" an area I can put the ewes and lambs into over night.

The length would be approximately 411 meters. I'd want:

5 strands of good wire
insulators
a (probably mains) fencer unit
a connection off an ESB pole (I think this is possible just for a fence?)

I would likely make my own gates so that can be discounted.

I have costed five foot stakes at €1.75 a piece, would need 50 of them so that can be discounted as it's a known.

Rough idea of what the above would cost me? What else am I missing?

blue5000

johngalway wrote: »

Hi folks,

Bit of a "how long is a piece of string?" question here.

I want to cost what it would take to, for want of a better word, "fortify" an area I can put the ewes and lambs into over night.

The length would be approximately 411 meters. I'd want:

5 strands of good wire
insulators
a (probably mains) fencer unit
a connection off an ESB pole (I think this is possible just for a fence?)

I would likely make my own gates so that can be discounted.

I have costed five foot stakes at €1.75 a piece, would need 50 of them so that can be discounted as it's a known.

Rough idea of what the above would cost me? What else am I missing?

Good creoseoted strainers are around 20e each, your land looks hilly so you probably need 10-12.
Approx 650 metres on a roll of hi-tensile wire, ballpark 60-70e each, you need at least 3, possibly 4.
Insulators and staples roughly 1e per stake, you probably need a stake every 7m, 60-70 stakes?
Egg insulators and gate handles 20?



240+280+70+20=610 + your stakes, I'm sorry John but unless you want to be putting in new stakes every 4-5 years you'll have to spend 5e a pop on decent creseoted stakes. Possibly another 150e on a good chetah fencer to keep fox out and lamb in.

Thats just my ballpark costs off the top of my head, maybe some other ppl on here can be more accurate. +Labour, hire post driver?

johngalway

Most of the stakes will be going in walls, so they're kept dry. I've fenced half of the boundary of the farm about 8 years ago and the stakes are still perfect, they'd be the same as I've costed so I'm not bothered about using more expensive ones TBH.

I may need some strainers alright!

I'll look into the cheetah fencer.

I usually put a stake in every three paces - very scientific

Need some educating on insulators & staples and egg insulators Insulators I get, do you use the staples to fix them to the stakes? What's an egg insulator?

I will have two gates which I'll make myself. The problem for me will come in how do I get the wires around these gates?

I'll need to ground the fence well too, want a good bang off it for the red lads, wet spots aren't hard to find mind you.

Labour + post driver = me so no problem there.

johngalway

There doesn't seem to be much in it between electric fence and putting two overlapping sheep net fences around the area which I costed earlier, came out around €600.

That's having left the ESB out of it which will add to the cost.

rancher

johngalway wrote: »

There doesn't seem to be much in it between electric fence and putting two overlapping sheep net fences around the area which I costed earlier, came out around €600.

That's having left the ESB out of it which will add to the cost.

What do you mean by overlapping sheep fence, do you mean electified sheep net or have you thought of it, very quick to move around and your own stakes every 50 mtrs, cost around 100 to120 euro for 50 mtrs
Some information I copied, and I posted a pic in livestock photos

Ovinet Electric Sheep Netting. Good quality sheep net 90cm/35 inches high length 50 mts
Easy to erect, includes integral plastic posts with metal spike.
9 horizontal strands, 8 electrified plus bottom strand.
Vertical spacing from top strand to bottom strand (in cm's) 15,13,13,9,9,9,9 & 13.
Moulded net joints for security.
Each electrified strand has 3 conductors of 0.2mm stainless steel.

Please note that for sheep nets, a minimum of 3500 volts is advised. Suitable 12 volt energizers'

fodda

johngalway wrote: »

Hi folks,



I want to cost what it would take to, for want of a better word, "fortify" an area I can put the ewes and lambs into over night.

:rolleyes: Did someone once tell me that nobody would go to this expense and trouble? :rolleyes::D

http://www.rutland-electric-fencing.co.uk/PDFs/TipSheet-Chicken.pdf

blue5000

You use egg insulators at the end of a live wire to join it to a strainer with non live wire, I forgot to say you need a strainer to keep the wire tight, one on each wire at 4e each, they can be tightened with a spanner or even a vice grip.

johngalway

fodda wrote: »

:rolleyes: Did someone once tell me that nobody would go to this expense and trouble? :rolleyes::D

http://www.rutland-electric-fencing.co.uk/PDFs/TipSheet-Chicken.pdf

Now, now, compare like with like I think your idea was electrify entire farms, I'm looking at probably less than one twentieth just for night time

Or was it don't shoot them, I can't remember...........

johngalway

rancher wrote: »

What do you mean by overlapping sheep fence, do you mean electified sheep net or have you thought of it, very quick to move around and your own stakes every 50 mtrs, cost around 100 to120 euro for 50 mtrs
Some information I copied, and I posted a pic in livestock photos

Ovinet Electric Sheep Netting. Good quality sheep net 90cm/35 inches high length 50 mts
Easy to erect, includes integral plastic posts with metal spike.
9 horizontal strands, 8 electrified plus bottom strand.
Vertical spacing from top strand to bottom strand (in cm's) 15,13,13,9,9,9,9 & 13.
Moulded net joints for security.
Each electrified strand has 3 conductors of 0.2mm stainless steel.

Please note that for sheep nets, a minimum of 3500 volts is advised. Suitable 12 volt energizers'

In normal three foot tall sheep net, a fox will nearly always jump through the third square up from the bottom wire. I've seen them do it coming in off the hill into the neighbours. But anyway, I mean offset one sheep net over another so the squares are in effect one quarter their regular size.

Have lost, on last years prices €250 worth of lambs, cost €600 to do what I'm thinking of. Which is to make a night area safe that I can stick the sheep in at last light and let out at first light. It's not something I want to do, because they also graze at night, more so on moonlit nights than last nights pitch black.

Got some very smart foxes around this year and they're all killing on me and neighbours all over this area. I spent 6 hours out last night and I didn't budge more than 8 feet from one high rock in among the sheep. Saw one bugger in the neighbours that got up and down past me, but he won't stay still for a second. Blink and gone...

Friend saw two more near by at near the same time.

Another farmer is ringing me nearly daily about her losses.

And to cap it off the ould fella tells me it's started on his land now.

Tell ya, it'll be all fun and games until I get one of the buggers stood still

Muckit

Drive a good strainer each side or strain and at every corner.

For permanent electric fence wire, you only need an ordinary stake every 30m. For sheep perhaps you could staple three 2"X2" laths between the stakes to keep wires from spreading.

A roll of 650m HT wire cost me €41 two weeks ago.

These are 'eggs'. So called because they look like eggs:rolleyes: They insulate the 'live' wire from the straining wire attached to strainer.


You can get a pack of 50 insulttube insualtors for about a €5. Use 40mm staples.

I am not sure about esb connection. I bought a solar fencer for out farm.

rancher

johngalway wrote: »

In normal three foot tall sheep net, a fox will nearly always jump through the third square up from the bottom wire. I've seen them do it coming in off the hill into the neighbours. But anyway, I mean offset one sheep net over another so the squares are in effect one quarter their regular size.

Have lost, on last years prices €250 worth of lambs, cost €600 to do what I'm thinking of. Which is to make a night area safe that I can stick the sheep in at last light and let out at first light. It's not something I want to do, because they also graze at night, more so on moonlit nights than last nights pitch black.

Got some very smart foxes around this year and they're all killing on me and neighbours all over this area. I spent 6 hours out last night and I didn't budge more than 8 feet from one high rock in among the sheep. Saw one bugger in the neighbours that got up and down past me, but he won't stay still for a second. Blink and gone...

Friend saw two more near by at near the same time.

Another farmer is ringing me nearly daily about her losses.

And to cap it off the ould fella tells me it's started on his land now.

Tell ya, it'll be all fun and games until I get one of the buggers stood still

Any time foxes are taken my lambs I put the electrified sheep wire around the boundaries even though there's high tensile sheep wire there and it seems to stop them taking them. Once the lambs are five to six days old they're safe so I just ''fortify'' a two or three acre paddock