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Sheep In, Coyotes Out: High Tensile Electric Fencing

© Gloria Morris

All livestock farms need fencing, at least if one does not live on the open range. For the shepherd, that fencing must serve two purposes: keeping livestock in, and keeping predators out. Our new farm has some tumbledown barbed wire fencing, which we are removing, bit by bit. While we have been ripping out the old fencing, we have been debating what sort of fencing to put up in its place. Given the high cost of many types of fencing, and the ease that predators have of penetrating most types of fencing, this has not been an easy search. I was at somewhat of a loss what fencing we should erect until I spoke with some sheep farmers in our region who convinced me that we need to erect a New Zealand style high tensile electric fence. After going to look at several installations closely, I am convinced that this is the most effective and cost-effective system we could install.

The all-electric high tensile fence is quite different from the common "hot wire" that is strung around the top of a pasture fence to help keep livestock from leaning on the fence. As its name suggests, the high tensile fence is erected under high tension. The wires are of a larger gauge than the standard "hot wire" electric fence. Normally, the fence consists of between five and seven wires, which alternate between "hot" and grounded. These fences may also be run from solar powered chargers.

One supplier of high tensile fence materials is: http://www.premier1supplies.com/ Premier Sheep Supplies, Ltd. has a very good catalog that is quite informative about how high tensile fences are constructed. Unfortunately, they do not yet have an online version of their catalog. They sent us a paper catalog quickly upon request, however.

What most impresses me about these fences is what I have heard from talking with sheep farmers in my region. They have repeatedly told me that since erecting these fences their losses to predation have ceased. I have spoken with several farmers who have gone from many lambs lost to coyotes each year to no lambs lost. That is an impressive reduction. From the reports I have heard from farmers who have installed this fencing, coyotes will not cross under the fence due to the stopping power of the shock. They will, of course, go under many other types of fencing, including wire mesh.

Another benefit to these fences is that they require less out-of-pocket expense to build than woven wire fences. Less raw materials are required to build them: less wire and fewer posts. This translates into a lower environmental cost as well. While the solar powered chargers for an all-electric fence are not inexpensive, installing a solar powered high tensile system is still far cheaper than installing a standard fence. Not using grid power is, of course, an added bonus from many angles: there is no added monthly cost to run the fence; there is no added pollution associated with generating this power; and the fence will still work during those times when the rural cooperative's grid goes down from time to time. In our area, power outages after storms are not uncommon.