Goat joules

Buster

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Okay, I have read that the kick for an electric fence needs to be stronger for goats than for many other critters and that solar just won't cut it (I have a solar energizer that just went down). I have also read that kick is measured in joules.

So, the question is, how many joules should I be looking for in an energizer for an electric fence meant for goats? I have an electric fence currently surrounding most of my property with no working energizer and need to pick one up ASAP.
 

cmjust0

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I use a 50mi Zareba charger from TSC...I think it's 2 joules. Puts out 5000+ volts across a few miles worth of hot wire. Grounding is the key...even the best of chargers won't perform well unless they're grounded properly. I buried four 8' rods and connected them to the cold wires on the fence, then connected the cold wires back to the charger. That way, they can either go soil to hot wire or ground wire to hot wire and complete the circuit. Doing it this way also allows you to put the rods wherever's best along the fence line...mine, for instance, are buried in perpetually-moist soil at the mouth of a little draw about 1/4mi from the charger.
 

Buster

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Thanks for the quick reply. The way you suggest doing the ground, does that make the wire hot whether you are grounded or not? I'm interested in that because it seems it would keep my turkeys off it, as well.

And 2 joules keeps your goats in, I guess? And you are sure it is 2?
 

cmjust0

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You still have to complete the circuit, but you can either complete it through the soil or through the 'cold' wire. It's especially helpful if the soil's too dry to conduct well, because if the animal touches the hot wire, doesn't get a shock, and decides to try and go through...it'll eventually get between a hot and a cold and have its mind changed. :lol:

Yeah, it's 2j, and it keeps the goats in.. It's hi-tensile, so it's not a physical boundary at all...very, very occasionally someone will get pushed through a fence or something like that, but rarely do we have anyone brave enough to go through it willingly. We actually lost power for 6 days around this time last year, and only on the morning of day 6 did someone decide to test the fence.

I spun off a little run for the chickens using some polystrand off the hi-tensile.. Chickens, for the most part, will walk right through it -- even at 5,000+V. The 'run' is mostly there to keep goats and predators away from the pop door...but mostly goats.

Our LGD keeps the predators away. :D
 

lupinfarm

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You MUST have a ground for your system to work. I have a 50 mile plug-in fencer rated for sheep. I'm using this with a my horse right now but's going on my goat fence too (although I have a double fenceline... wood and electric.)
 

helmstead

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Mine hit our 1.5 joule and didn't even flinch...at which point we nixed the idea of electric for the goaties.
 

jlbpooh

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I have this energizer:

http://www.fleetfarm.com/catalog/pr...armak-30-mile-battery-operated-fencer-12-volt

It is 2 joules, 30 mile capacity, is low impedance and is battery operated. My husband got me a solar trickle charger to keep the deep cycle marine battery charged up. It is a 30 mile fencer and has a 9500 volt output. We have 3-8 foot ground rods put in 10 feet apart each. This thing can kick butt if you accidentally touch it. The goats don't like it either, lol.
 

currycomb

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electric fence can be deadly for poultry. have a little honey bee charger i got at tractor supply, a continous current. lost a guiena and a goose when they touched it. now have a pulsating one where the fowl might wander.
 

cmjust0

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helmstead said:
Mine hit our 1.5 joule and didn't even flinch...at which point we nixed the idea of electric for the goaties.
How many volts was it putting out?
 

Buster

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lupinfarm said:
You MUST have a ground for your system to work.
I knew that. I was talking about whether or not the critter touching it needed to be in contact with the ground. I have read of a way to set up a fence so that it shocks whether there is ground contact or not.

I bought a low impedance 30 mile Parmak Mark7. It' has a capacity of up to 3 joules and up to 14,000 volts. Let's see if that does the trick.

Thanks for all the help.
 

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