Benefits of Electric Over Traditional Barbed Wire Fencing
,
by Nicholas Hiner,
4 min reading time
1. Ease of Installation
Electric fences are much easier to install as compared to traditional barbed wire fences. With electric there are no heavy awkward materials or large poles to put in the ground. If you are installing barbed wire, not only will you have to dig all those holes, but it also requires much more planning to make sure everything comes out just right. When installing electric, changes to the fence lines or design are very simple and can be modified at any time!
2. Safety
I don't know about you, but I have had my fair share of barbed wire injuries. Not only installing it, but also trying to remove old rusty barbed from the existing fence lines. We also like to share our farm with neighbors and friends, who may or may not be as careful around the barbed wire as they should be. Yes... It hurts when you accidentally touch the electric fence, but I would rather have a short sting than a scar that lasts a lifetime! Animals are also more likely to injure themselves by getting tangled in the barbs, with severe cases resulting in death to your livestock. Barbed wire is non-discriminatory, it will do harm to not only your livestock, but also your working dogs or deer that might not be aware of the dangers.
3. Cost
Electric fence is much more cost effective than traditional fencing solution such as barbed wire. This is due to the lower amount of wooden poles needed as well as fewer lines being as effective if not more effective than barbed wire. This greatly reduces the overall cost of building fence lines.
4. Portability- Changing things up!
When was the last time you pulled out your barbed wire fence in order to move it to another location on your property? NEVER... That's because the materials are heavy, awkward and hard to manipulate, even when they are new.
Electric fencing on the other hand uses lightweight materials that are relatively easy to un-install and reuse. Moving an existing electric fence to a new location to allow your livestock to graze on new ground is much easier. This works especially well when using goats to clear new property. When they are finished clearing an area, simply move the electric fencing to a new location and let them continue.
5. Maintenance
Yes... There will be the occasional maintenance tasks, but electric fence wire requires minimal maintenance and care after installation. One thing to keep in mind, you must ensure that the battery and fence charger are kept clean and dry at all times.
6. Effectiveness - Animals usually only get shocked ONCE...
When an animal (or human, LOL) touches electric fence wire, it receives a short but memorable shock. The shock received is harmless, but if you have ever received one of these "snaps" you will never forget it. This trains the animal to stay away from the fence.
You can even adjust the amount of current flowing through the electric fence based on the size energizer you choose. This means that you can effectively keep even the most stubborn of bulls all the way down to the gentlest miniature goats. Barbed wire does nothing to physiologically train your animals. Stubborn livestock will test barbed wire much more than the electric counterpart.
"They Would not have used them in Jurassic Park if they didn't work!"
We at LockJawz are committed to bringing education and better solutions to the electric fence industry. We hope you enjoyed the blog! Support our effort to bring better fencing products to the livestock industry by checking out our T-360 t-post insulator.
- Nik Hiner (Co-Owner/Inventor)
Want to get involved? Like, Tag, Comment, & Share! Spread the word and help Wade and I reach as many people as you can to build awareness that there are better options when it comes to there electric fence insulators.