How to Use an Electric Dog Fence to Protect Your Chickens
When you own more than one type of
animal, the trick is getting
them to coexist peacefully.
Chickens are excellent animals to raise, and they
can contribute so much to your homestead. If you also have
dogs, however, it’s
important that your dogs are taught not to treat your chickens like playthings
or prey.
Some dogs’ hunting instincts will cause them to hunt your
chickens, and other dogs might chase your chickens for fun, which can lead to
accidental harm or death. If your chickens are bothered by your dogs, their egg
laying patterns will be disrupted. In order to protect your flock of chickens
from your dogs, you have many different options. An electric dog fence is one
way to separate your animals, and there are various uses for it, as well as a
few things to consider before taking that route.
Divide Your Yard
If you have one large area that all of your animals use, an
electronic dog fence can be used to divide your yard and keep your animals
separate. If you already have a traditional fence around your yard, it’s easy
to install one boundary wire in between sides to separate your chickens from
your dogs. For example, you can cut your yard in half (or in whatever
percentages you choose) with one underground wire. Your dogs can be kept on the
side closer to your home, while your chickens can occupy the further section
(since they don’t need to come inside).
With an electronic dog fence, you have lots of options for dividing your property. If you don’t have a traditional fence
already installed, you can use an electric dog fence to create a “dog zone”
that’s any size or shape. Creating custom zones with an invisible fence is easy
to do yourself. A wire gives a lot more flexibility for custom boundaries than
a rigid, traditional fence.
Enclose Your Coop
You can also take another approach to separating your dogs and
chickens: creating a perimeter around your chicken coop. An electric fence can
be placed around your chickens’ coop and run so that your dogs are kept out.
This allows your dogs to have free use of all the space in your yard except for
the chicken coop area. An underground dog fence will warn your dogs with a beep
first, and then a mild shock, when they’re getting too close to your
chickens.
Another option is to use a wireless dog fence to enclose
your coop and run. Wireless systems are even easier to install
because they don’t involve digging and burying a wire. They’re great for
chicken coops, too, because they often use circular perimeters, which fit
nicely with the size and shape of most coops.
Add Extra Protection
It’s important to remember than an electric fence alone isn’t
enough to separate your dogs and chickens. While an e-collar will keep your dog
in its own zone, it will not stop your chickens from crossing over the
boundaries. Because of this, an invisible fence is best used as an extra layer of
protection in addition to other safety measures. A tall fence may be
required to keep your chickens inside their own safe zone. An electric fence
along a traditional fence will stop your dogs from digging under, jumping over,
or going through the other fencing.
An electric dog fence also will not stop outside animals from
entering your chicken coop. Foxes, bobcats, raccoons, and foreign dogs can
still cross over underground dog wire. Other tactics like raising your coop,
installing motion lights, and using bird netting may be necessary.
Choosing a Fence
There are many different types of electric dog fences that can
be used to separate dogs and chickens. If you have electricity for warmth or
light in your chicken coop, an electric dog fence can use the same power
source. If you do not have a nearby power source, you can purchase a solar
panel for as low as $100 in order to power your electric fence.
Installing a Fence
Just about anyone can install a DIY electric fence over the course of a weekend. The total cost of a self-installed wired
fence can be as little as $300. If you hire a company to install your electric
fence, you’ll spend more than $1200, and most traditional fences cost more than
$2000. If you’re on a tight budget, a DIY electric dog fence allows you to
still afford quality, reliable fencing to keep your chickens safe from your
dogs. The process is easy for even a beginner to do, and installing your own
fence will give you intimate knowledge of how the system works. Although
electric fences don’t typically break, you would also be able to do your own
repairs.
After you’ve installed your fence, the most important factor is
training your dog. You must be consistent with training, and you must follow
the training instructions to the letter. It typically takes 15 minutes twice
per day over the course of two weeks to train your dog on an electric fence.
After they learn the boundaries and lose interest in your chickens, they won’t
feel the corrective shock of the e-collar again.
If you need to protect your chickens from your dogs, a DIY
electric fence is an excellent option to consider. It can help you keep your
chickens safe and create harmony between all the animals on your property.
