# Solar powered movable E fencing problem



## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I dont think I ever introduced our new sheep 

We don't have names yet , only for the ram who we call Arnie.
He is forever getting out of our electric fencing. It's been so dry here only the main pole has a charge of 8000 volts , but the fence itself is barely registering 2500 volts :shrug:
This is my first time with the sheep , my husband grew up having sheep but this fencing is all new to us , hence the problems. Having these sheep is a adventure for me , so is keeping Arnie in , lol. He is so funny , he knows he shouldn't be out and puts himself back in when he sees us coming , lolol.
He is very cute and interested in the goats , especially Lil Bill for some reason. They are like BFFs and hang out regularly together 

Any suggestions on keeping this fence charged would be greatly appreciated.
We purchased it from Premier. They have been very helpful with any questions we have and really try to make you happy . But I would like to hear from you guys if you have had any experience with this type of fence and the problem we are having with it. 

Here are a few of Arnie . I will take a few of the girls and post later , I really thought I had more pictures then I actually have , lol.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Arnie seems to enjoy Lil Bill's company


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## enchantedgoats (Jun 2, 2013)

are you sure your fence isnt grounded out?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Cute sheep!


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## Used2bmimi (Oct 3, 2012)

Usually the problem is the grounding system. With a regular electric fence anyway. You need to have a minimum of one galvanized 6 foot pole driven in the ground at your charger. In my dry ground we need three and we still need to bring water to the ground rods sometimes. We have been told that one solution to that is to put grounded wires into the fence as well so that the electricity does not have to go so far to get grounded when they hit it. They just have to hit one charged wire and one grounded one to get zapped. I am pretty sure your fencing system has that covered though. Another problem that can happen is that people sell copper ground rods but the newer chargers have steel fittings. You can't combine the two metals without some electrolysis that causes corrosion interfering with the charge. That is why you should use the galvanized rods. How is your sheep getting out? Over or under? Is his wool too thick to carry the zap?


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## LuvmyGoaties (Mar 9, 2010)

Used2bmimi said:


> Usually the problem is the grounding system.


Grounding is especially a problem in dry areas. We live in the high desert so this is a problem we are familiar with. What we did was put 2 6' ground poles and they are by the water trough - when I fill the trough I let it overflow so it keeps the area around the ground poles wet.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Thanks everyone for the replies  One thing I can answer is that their wool isnt too thick that they dont feel the zap , or at least I dont think it is.
I will ask my husband about the grounding poles and wether or not they are galvanized. I will take note on how the ram is getting out too. Are the rams usually more bold and brave then the ewes ? It's always the ram who is out and about visiting with the goats


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## Used2bmimi (Oct 3, 2012)

Arnie is pretty cute. That would crack me up to see him put himself away when I was coming.  silly boy! Probably however he puts himself in is the same way he is getting out.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Ok , they are getting out under the fencing. All were out this morning .

But it looked more like a panicked situation. I have no idea what's going on.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

They may have panicked that they were out of their proper place, even though they did it themselves. :laugh:

I sadly have no advice on the fencing situation, but I just love that Little Bill is BFFs with the ram. That is adorable!


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Yeah , it is cute  Arnie is always right with Bill hanging out, lol.
For some reason they have formed a "pack" , it Bill , Arnie and sometimes Pebbles.
ROFL , I find it so entertaining how they pick their friends , lol. 
Claire for some reason isnt thrilled with Arnie , she totally ignores him. But Bill will walk right over to him , they go nose to nose and there they hang till Arnie sees my husband coming , then he puts himself away , ROFL.
But now when I come out I ignore the fact that Arnie is out and he just tries to blend in , lolol. I can rake the pens , sit in the grass and play with the goats and he will stand right next to me and let me reach out and touch him  That's a big deal considering you couldnt get within 10 feet of them before they would bolt.
I love the sheep , especially Arnie . But I considered having them right up there with goldfish. You can't touch them , or groom them or get near them , just enjoy them from afar. But now , they are really getting used to us and the activity around the property and they are warming up  Im so happy to see that !
I have grown fond of Arnie  The girls crack me up how they will "boogie" on down to you when you have a basket of alfalfa , lolol. Just the way they move is adorable , with their ears a flapping , lolol. 
We have to build a run in shed for them . The place where we got them keeps them out all year long , all weather , except if they lamb during the cold weather , then they are kept in the barn. What is everybody's thoughts on this ?
I couldnt be comfortable looking out the window during a snow storm seeing these animals standing on the field ! That's crazy !


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

A run in shed works very nicely for my bucks out front all year.


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## LGFarm (May 30, 2013)

First off, how many rolls of mesh fencing are you dealing with? Secondly, what charger do you have? Thirdly, is the mesh fencing installed per Premier's recommendations. The bottom line on our mesh fence isn't hot, but the next one up is, so if you have a lot of brush that will short it out. Next, yes, you need to look at your grounding system. We love Premier's stuff, on average, cheaper then Kencove and Premier uses their equipment, so you know it will work once you get it set up, but Premier does have an issue with believing that the entire East Coast has no problems with their ground systems, that everyone on the East Coast has great ground soil and it is always moist enough for a good ground. Yeah, right, I am in PA and we have ground that is like the Sahara 2 days after a soaking rain and by day 3, my fence has no charge on it with our old charger. For everyone, buy the low impedence charger, it will save you tons of aggravation later. We got 2 little Speedrites from Premier a couple of months ago to replace the old charger, and they kick butt.

Now, with Premier's mesh fencing, unless you have too much grass on the lines or there is a defect in the mesh itself, it is pretty much plug and play ready, set it up, put the charger on it, ground it, and it works. Make sure all of your meshes are connected, both tied together, but also electrically, they have tabs on the tops of the first and last post to tie into the next mesh. Next, attach the charger to one of those tabs also to charge the fence, make sure you get the right connection to the charger or it won't charge the fence either. Next the ground, with our low impedence speedrites, we are using 10" ground rods or hooking it up to our main fence to ground it, like I said, some much less painful, our old charger required 3 3" ground rods and still needed watered in dry conditions to keep it at 3000V, I don't think that fence ever saw 8000K unless it was pouring down rain, it just was what it was. If you don't have the low impedence fence charger, I was talk with Premier about returning it for one that is.


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