The lovely Leslie from Electric Fencing Direct has sent us this wonderful piece all about their fabulous Hot Gates. Read on to discover why they’re a must have product for poultry keepers.

The Hot Gate

Hello sunshine in East Lothian and its welcomed by the singing of the birds and clucking of hens. After what feels like a long wet windy winter how is the your ground around your poultry netting gate? Churned up like a Clydesdale has ploughed through?? I bet it is and for those of you thinking no my ground is fine is it because you already have the lovely convenient HOT GATE?

What can a Hot Gate do for you?

Well let me tell you a wee bit about the HOT GATE and why I think it is a good investment; and can be added at any time.

The hot gate can be attached to any of our poultry nets it simply ties onto the existing netting and provides easy access into your netting enclosure without having to turn off the power or get zapped.

If you have a bucket of water in one hand and feed in the other you have trudged across the paddock/garden and realised that you have left the electric on……do not fear you can open the hot gate with one hand and in you go. All because the hot gate has an insulated handle.  It makes it quicker and easier to get on with your day to day job of collecting eggs and cleaning out.

Video

Check out the video showing how easy it is to use.

Video

Hot Gate Components

When you buy the HOTGATE you will receive the following ;

Meriel Younger, from Electric Fencing Direct, joins us again on the blog and continues her guide to electric poultry netting kits.

Your battery electric netting kit has arrived, you have never seen an electric fence before, and have no idea how to put it up… here are some pointers and useful tips.

Battery Operated Kit Contains:

Electric netting including posts
Guys and pegs (for bottom line) and netting repair kit
Battery Powered Energiser and Earth Stake (the energiser spec depends on the number of nets)
Electric Fence Warning Sign
12v Battery (Leisure/Agri battery preferably as will hold power longer)

Preparing the Area:

Clear the area of any debris – i.e. sticks and large stones and ensure there are no branches or plants that could touch the netting and short it.
Mow or lay dpc or spray the grass where the netting is going to stand.

Setting Up Your Battery Operated Kit:

Locate the Energiser close to the net (this can be at the end or middle of a net) and push its stand and earth into the ground. Please keep the energiser off the ground to prevent it getting damp. (For Solar Units ensure the solar panel is facing south and out of shade so it receives the maximum amount of sunshine)

Link the earth cable on the Energiser to the supplied earth stake using the green crocodile clip. For a multiple earth system, locate earths 1m away from each other and link via lead out cable.

Link the live cable on the energiser to the metal clip on the net or the top line of the netting with the red crocodile clip. DO NOT attach the crocodile clip to a vertical line in the net (as these are not electrified).

Link up the two battery leads, (black EARTH first, then red LIVE). When switching the energiser on you will see the Energiser flashing indicating it is sending pulses. To disconnect the Energiser from the battery, switch off, take red LIVE off first then black EARTH.

Solar Assist: attach the solar panels clips on to the appropriate battery terminal and then attach energiser clips on to battery terminals.

To Set Up The Netting:

Lay out the net in roughly in the position you want the net to be.

Put the first/start post in to the ground.

Go around the netting putting the posts into the ground – use your foot to pull the bottom of the post to ensure tension in the netting.

Position your hot gate if you have one – connect by using the metal clips on the netting.

Your netting doesn’t have be in a circle… it can be in a straight line if required.

Once your netting is up tweak its position and use your guy ropes (half way up the post) to put tension in corners or on long straight sections. Use netting clips to lift any sagging sections or reposition the posts with your foot to get better tension. Wooden corner posts can be used to give extra tension to netting but the netting must NOT touch the wooden post or it will short. Peg down the bottom line – it is not electrified.

Testing:

Once all is connected you should ideally test your net with an Electric Fence Tester. It must be greater than 3000v to be effective.

If below 3000v you have:

You have too much earthing (listen for a clicking sound) reposition net posts so that live lines do not touch the ground, slightly leaning the posts outwards sometimes helps, otherwise add netting clips or more posts.

Poor connection between the Energiser and net (you may even see it sparking at night).

Poor connection between Energiser and earth stake.

Battery needs re-charging (take live line off the net and test voltage output of wire).

An equipment failure.

Further Notes:

The Nets: Keep vegetation away from the net (i.e. by mowing or if in a semi-permanent position by spraying or lay down a strip of heavy material e.g. damp course under the net).

Additional nets: are linked by slotting the end clips together and then tie together with the green cord provided.
Gates: Hotgate is an easy way to access an enclosure. It has an insulated handle and a foot plate for the moving post to slot into.

Set Up Tips: Do not try to pull the net too taught during set up. Once the net is up, re-position individual posts until the net stands up right. If you have undulating land or are very exposed you may need more posts and/or net tensioners, which will minimize sag. (To insert follow instructions for adding the ‘Gate Post’) Setting the posts at a slight angle outwards can also help improve tension.

12v Battery: For best results use a ‘Deep Cycle’ battery (e.g. a fencing/agri battery) with a minimum output of 30 amp hours for the smaller Energisers, or a minimum of 60amp hours for larger Energisers. These should last approx. 4-12 weeks between charges. Car batteries are not recommended, they are not designed to be discharged and will let you down.

We love talking electric fencing… so if you need to contact us: call 01620 860058 or email info@electricfencing.co.uk

www.electricfencing.co.uk

In part three of our guide to electric poultry netting, Meriel Younger, from Electric Fencing Direct, gives you detailed instructions to your mains powered electric poultry netting kit.

You can read part two and part one here.

Your mains electric netting kit has arrived…so how do you set it up?

Of course there are instructions, but here are some pointers you might want to think about and some concise instructions too.

Mains Operated Kit Contains:

Electric netting including posts
Guys and pegs (for bottom line) and netting repair kit
Mains powered and earth stake (the energiser spec depends on the number of nets)
Electric fence warning sign

Please note: Lead out cable (10m, 25m, 50m or 100m) is required and must be added to the kit

Preparing the Area:

Clear the area of any debris – ie sticks and large stones and ensure there are no branches or plants that could touch the netting and short it
Mow or lay dpc or spray the grass where the netting is going to stand
Check distances from mains socket to fence to ensure you have enough lead out cable

Setting Up Your Mains Operated Kit:

Locate the adapter plug of the energiser in a waterproof location (i.e. inside next to a plug socket or protected from the elements outside). The energiser is waterproof BUT the adaptor is not.

Position the earth stake close to the building containing the Energiser. Insert the earth stake into the ground until 6” or so is showing (note: the earth stake must beat least 8 mtrs away from a house earth and away from tree roots and foundations).

Link to Earth: Cut a length of cable to fit the distance from Energiser to Earth. Bare the cable back at either end to show the metal core and connect one end to the green Earth terminal on the Energiser and the other to the earth screw onto or connect to the earth rod. (Locate additional 1m away from each other and link either via lead out cable or wire if required).

Connect to Net (via outdoor switch):- With re remaining lead out cable bare both ends of the cable to attach it to firstly the live terminal on the energiser and secondly the other end to the net (insert cable into piping if going underground). Insert bare end of lead out cable into crocodile clips and clip to net.

If you would like to use a cut out switch to enable you to turn off the fence at the fence… then here’s how. Connect the bared back lead out cable coming from the energiser to the cut out switch, attach cut out switch to a wooden post, attach a further section of lead out cable to switch and connect this last section with a crocodile clip to the fence.

To put lead out cable into crocodile clips…. Bare off ½ ” (1 cm) of cable and push into the ‘spade’. Crimp tight (with pliers). The ‘spade’ pushes into flat metal clip positioned inside the crocodile clip. Connect the crocodile clip to the metal net clamp; or another solution is to bare 1” of cable and wrap around the metal net clamp. DO NOT attach the lead out cable to a vertical line in the net (as these are not electrified), or to just one of the horizontal lines as this will not electrify the net efficiently, it will only electrify that one individual line.
Switch on: the Energiser will flash indicating it is sending pulses.

Test with your fence tester to check the amount of power coming through the net and to make sure there are no shorts.

To Set Up The Poultry Netting:

Lay out the net in roughly in the position you want the net to be.

Put the first/start post in to the ground.

Go around the netting putting the posts into the ground – use your foot to pull the bottom of the post to ensure tension in the netting.

Position your hot gate if you have one – connect by using the metal clips on the netting.

Your netting doesn’t have be in a circle… it can be in a straight line if required.

Once your netting is up tweak its position and use your guy ropes (half way up the post) to tension in corners or on long straight sections. Use netting clips to lift any sagging sections or reposition the posts with your foot to get better tension. Wooden corner posts can be used to give extra tension to netting but the poultry netting must NOT touch the wooden post or it will short. Peg down the bottom line too.

Further Notes:

The Nets: Keep vegetation away from the poultry netting (i.e. by mowing or if in a semi-permanent position by spraying or lay down a strip of heavy material e.g. damp course under the net).

Additional nets: are linked by slotting the end clips together and then tie together with the green cord provided.

Gates: Hotgate is an easy way to access an enclosure. It has an insulated handle and a foot plate for the moving post to slot into.

Set Up Tips: Do not try to pull the net too taught during set up. Once the net is up, re-position individual posts until the net stands up right. If you have undulating land or are very exposed you may need more posts and/or net tensioners, which will minimize sag. (To insert follow instructions for adding the ‘Gate Post’) Setting the posts at a slight angel outwards can also help improve tension.

We are always on hand to help with any poultry netting set up enquiries… so if you have any questions just get in touch at info@electricfencing.co.uk or 01620 860058 or visit www.electricfencing.co.uk

Meriel Younger, from Electric Fencing Direct, joins us again on the blog and continues her guide to electric poultry netting kits.

Last week the guide covered:

Mains, Battery or Battery/Solar – which power is best for you?
Which Energiser – which energiser is best for you?
Earth Stakes – are these essential?
Netting – which one is best for your hens?
If you missed last week’s post, you can read it here.

This week we’re going to look at:

Access to the Netting Enclosure – how do you get into your netting enclosure?
Accessories for Electric Netting
Electric Fencing for a Permanent Enclosure

Access to the Netting Enclosure

For many years electric netting simply had an extra fence post placed at one end of the netting and this was used as a swivel gate – i.e. the netting swivelled around on this post as you moved the end post to access the enclosure. Last year, Hotline Electric Fencing developed a ‘hot gate‘. The hot gate comes in two heights – 1.1m and 1.2m. It can easily be added on to the end of a net and the power transfer is completed by connecting the two metal clips.

The main advantages of the ‘hot gate’ are two-fold: 1) the gate can be opened with-out having to turn the power off as the gate has an insulated handle 2) the movable gate post has no spike and so is slotted into a foot plate – meaning that in wet weather this post will not make a mess of the grass as you go in and out of the enclosure as it is not being pulled in and out of the ground all the time. There are also netting gates which constitute a couple of posts and a section of netting – nothing fancy but will do the job.

Accessories for Electric Netting
Sometimes if your ground is very windy or exposed it is advised that you should add extra posts to your kit to help prevent sagging and to create good tension in the netting. The extra strong corner posts come in two sizes 1.1m and 1.2m. They are actually slightly taller than the netting and so can tension the net too. These extra strong corner posts and any extra post can easily be fitted into the netting. The netting will come to you as it left the factory… the posts are set in specific positions… but if this doesn’t work for your set up … move the posts. They are easy to undo and replace.

The bottom line of an electric fence is not electrified and should be pegged down.

Guy ropes should be used – these come with yellow pegs. Guy ropes should be attached to posts in the corners and should be attached half way up the post and then tensioned out the way. Putting up an electric net without its guy ropes is similar to putting up a tent without guy ropes!

Fence testers – I guess you could use your finger… but it is not all that pleasant! Use your tester regularly to check for shorting (i.e. foliage growing up around the bottom of the fence) and to see if your battery needs charged.

Electric Fencing for a Permanent Enclosure
Perhaps you already have a permanent enclosure in place and would like to make it doubly secure? Why not add a couple of lines of electric fencing around the enclosure?

…Last but not least here are a few set up tips:

Ensure you use a tester to check that you are getting enough zap around your fence – should be at least 3000v.
The bottom line is not electrified but the next horizontal line up is. Use guy ropes and extra posts to help lift the net and prevent sagging. If the second line up touches the ground it will cause shorting. It is possible to cut the second horizontal line at both ends to prevent it touching the ground and therefore shorting.
If you have not got enough power going through your netting (less than 3000v) please check that the netting is not touching any of the metal prongs. Please make sure you have not attached the netting to any wooden posts.

We love talking electric fencing… so if you need to contact us: call 01620 860058 or email info@electricfencing.co.uk

www.electricfencing.co.uk

Meriel Younger, from Electric Fencing Direct, joins us on the blog this week and explains what components are required when looking for an electric poultry netting kit.

Whether you have an egg producing business, or you simply have a few hens in your back garden, you may be confused as to which electric fence system would suit your hens’ needs best and most importantly keep Mr Fox out!

This week, we will look at the following:

Mains, Battery or Battery/Solar – which power is best for you?
Which Energiser – which energiser is best for you?
Earth Stakes – are these essential?
Netting – which one is best for your hens?

Next week, we’ll cover:

Access to the Netting Enclosure – how do you get into your netting enclosure?
Accessories for Electric Netting
Electric Fencing for a Permanent Enclosure

Mains, Battery or Battery & Solar?
Mains – is the easiest power source to use. It can be left running or put on a timer to come on at certain times of day. Make sure your mains energiser is kept in dry conditions – a lead out cable will run power from your energiser to your fence.

Battery – if your fencing is too far away from the mains then battery is the way forward. Make sure you use a leisure battery rather than a car battery. Leisure batteries cost more but last longer between charges as they are slow release. Keep testing your fence to see how much power is going through the fence – as soon as this drops, charge your battery.

Battery/Solar – if you want to run a solar energiser you will still need a source of power i.e. a battery. The energy from the sun is used to trickle feed the battery. So you don’t have to charge it so often. Be sure to test your fence regularly and keep an eye on the power levels when there have been a few dull days in a row.

Which Energiser?
Always consider powering up when setting up an electric netting system. Netting takes more energy and a higher powered energiser to make it an effective barrier. Think ahead… are you going to extend your enclosure? How many nets could you end up joining together? Power up and choose an energiser that is going to push plenty of zap through the netting.

Earth Stakes
Who would have thought that a piece of metal could be so important! The earth stake or earth spike is a crucial part of any electric fencing system. How dry is the ground where the netting is going to be set up? Is it very stony? Are there lots of tree roots? There are different types of earth stake – the heavy duty T Section earth stakes have a larger surface area and so ensure a better zap.

Netting
Measuring up is very important… a 50m net can take up more space than you think. It is possible however to roll the netting up at one end (always put some heavy duty plastic under the rolled up section to prevent grass growing up through the netting).

Here is a basic guide to each of our nets…

Standard Poultry Nets (25 or 50m)
1m netting – close mesh
single pronged thin posts
netting comes with posts, pegs, guy ropes, warning sign
can be clipped together to extend enclosure

Premium Poultry Nets (25 or 50m)
22m high netting – close mesh
double pronged medium weight posts throughout
netting comes with posts, pegs, guy ropes, warning sign
can be clipped together to extend enclosure
a 1.2m netting hot gate can be added (but is not included)

Professional Poultry Nets (50m)
22m high netting – close mesh
double pronged strong posts throughout
double pronged heavy duty corner posts
netting comes with posts, pegs, guy ropes, warning sign
can be clipped together to extend enclosure
a 1.2m netting hot gate can be added (but is not included)

Tune in next week for part two of the guide to electric poultry netting kits!

We love talking electric fencing… so if you need to contact us: call 01620 860058 or email info@electricfencing.co.uk

www.electricfencing.co.uk