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Home Beekeeping
Find out more about keeping bees in your garden for honey
grow your own
15:40, 4th Jan 2012
Storing Apples
Find out how to store apples
fruits
12:23, 28th Jul 2011
Pear and Lemon Jam
Instructions for making pear and lemon jam
preserving
14:59, 27th Jul 2011
Making Apricot Jam
Instructions for making your own apricot jam
preserving
15:44, 26th Jul 2011
Grow and Make Harissa Paste
A recipe for harissa paste with ingredients you can grow yourself
grow your own
11:57, 30th Jun 2011
Grow Your Own Chilli Peppers
Find out how to grow your own chilli peppers
grow your own
16:06, 17th Jun 2011
Dry Chilli Peppers
Find out how to dry fresh chilli peppers
preserving
16:05, 17th Jun 2011
Make Lavender Biscuits
Find out how to make delicious fragrant lavender biscuits
foraging
12:22, 16th Jun 2011
Electric Fencing
Learn about the uses of electric fencing
Electric Fencing
smallholding | buildingGood quality Fencing, hedges or walls are essential if you are to keep livestock where they are supposed to be. Electric Fencing has many uses and is very quick and easy to install and move around as required.
An electric fence can be used to keep cattle, horses, and pigs in an area, or to keep dogs, deer, and rabbits etc out. The electric shock given to the animals is harmless, but it is memorable enough that they will not continue to attempt to pass through the fence again.
Electric Fencing usually operates off a 6 or 12 Volt battery, or off mains electricity. With a battery a solar panel can be used to provide all the necessary power. With mains power up to 25 miles of fencing can be powered by one unit!
Mains, battery or solar power is converted into pulses of electricity by an Energiser (or fencer). Energisers (one of which is pictured above) are available from around £50 to many hundreds of pounds depending on your requirements. The cheapest units are powered from a couple of D sized alkaline batteries (which will last a couple of months 24hrs per day) and can energise around half a mile of fencing. The more expensive energisers will power much longer lengths of fence, and also offer night and day economy modes, monitoring of fence status, lightening protection, and much more.
With an electric fence there is no need to strain the wires or to use large posts. Thin lightweight stakes are used with insulators. The wire is loosely wrapped around the insulators and on in a loop around the field. The live wire should be positioned at around hip height for cattle, or higher for horses, or about one foot off the ground for pigs.
Electric fence is not very effective for sheep and so more elaborate fence designs are required mixing live (aka hot) wires at 10, 17, 26, and 36 inches.
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Article Published: 02:35, 20th Apr 2006
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