Trial and Error...or shall I say SHOCK!

Many of you already knew we were preparing to install an electric fence around the coop.  The main reason is to keep the chickens from destroying the garden.  The second reason was to deter predators around the coop so the chickens can come in and out a bit more freely.  After rain, work, more rain, two trips to the hardware store, and four calls to Kencove we finally managed to completely install the electric poultry netting that we got from Kencove.com.  I am giving them a shout out because every time I have called and had questions they were extremely helpful.  

In the end I ordered:

• 165' of electric poultry netting
• Kencove 1 joule Dual Purpose energizer
• Quick Ground Rod
• Insulated Cable (to run from fence to building)
• 4 Extra Net Post - for additional support
• 3 packs of anchor stakes
• 1 Jumper lead clip to connect underground wire to fence
• 1 Ground rod clamp to connect wire to ground rod
• Voltage tester

This fence went up so easy for it to be our first time.  AND if we knew more about electrical work it probably would not have taken more than an hour to complete the assembly from start to finish!! We wanted to bury the cable from the coop to the building that was housing the energizer which added a little more work.  You can just hook up a battery to the energizer as well but we preferred an outlet.

After all was said and done we were quite happy!! We opened the coop and let the chickens out into their new fenced territory to see what happened.  At first they were just happy to get out of the coop and get some treats. Then they decided to flutter around and get all worked up and one Hen did manage to fly out.  Once they all calmed back down it was exploration time.  They would creep close to the fence and peck around and then get curious about the fence and peck at it... only to realize OUCH that was not cool!! 

In this video the white Hen touches the fence with her comb and runs in to opposite direction and shakes it off!!

Long story short it is working. I think over the next few days they will realize the amount of respect they should have for the fence.  My one and only concern is when they get spooked they do attempt to fly to safety/cover. Hopefully they will learn to go back into the coop instead.  I guess it is a waiting game at this point.