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Everyone has heard of electric fences. We see them in films and popular media, often used for comedic purposes.

However, the electric fence is widely misunderstood, with many people wildly overestimating their power and misinterpreting their intended function.

If you’ve ever wondered how electric fencing works and what it’s actually used for, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to find out more.

How Does Electric Fencing Work?

Before we get into the various uses for electric fencing, it’s important to understand how it works.

Electric fences are made up of three primary components. First, the energiser is used to generate the power that creates the electric current. Energisers are often battery-based, but there are mains alternatives available. In more recent times we have also seen an increase in solar powered electric fence energisers.

This energiser generates electricity and then sends a current of it along the wire of the fence, which is connected between the fence posts. The energiser must be grounded, as this will complete the circuit if the electrified wire is contacted and send the current back to the energiser.

When something, usually an animal, touches the wire on an electric fence, the circuit will be complete and the animal will receive a short, harmless but unpleasant electric shock. The current will travel down the animal’s feet, through the ground and back to the energiser.

What Is Electric Fencing Used For?

The most common use for electric fences is for livestock enclosures and control. Animals are quick learners, once they receive a shock from an electric fence, they will understand to stay away from it in the future. With other types of fencing or enclosures, livestock can regularly attempt to escape which can damage the enclosure or the animals themselves. Electric fencing reduces this risk and will help ensure that animals stay where they are supposed to be.

While electric fences are used for keeping livestock, they are also effective at keeping predators out. While we don’t have many large predators in the UK, there have been reports of foxes attacking lambs and piglets, so an electric fence can be the perfect way to keep a wily fox away from livestock. 

There are a range of different kinds of electric fences, check out some of them at a reputable stockist. However, the benefits and advantages are largely similar. They are incredibly easy to install and construct and, contrary to popular opinion, do not necessarily require any specialist knowledge to set up.

Electric fences are also surprisingly affordable. This is partly due to the fact that they require far less materials than other fencing options. Perhaps most importantly, electric fences are highly effective at keeping livestock contained within their enclosure.

Common Myths About Electric Fencing

Unfortunately, there are a number of myths surrounding electric fences that have been propagated over the years and that have worked to give them something of a bad reputation.

One of the most commonly held misconceptions about electric fences is to do with their power. Popular media has led many people to believe that electric fences can deliver enormous amounts of electricity, enough to seriously injure or even kill anything that happens to touch it. This couldn’t be further from the truth, electric fences deliver a relatively mild current of electricity that, while unpleasant, certainly isn’t strong enough to cause any lasting damage.

Another criticism many people levy at electric fencing is that they believe it is a cruel practice. As we mentioned above, animals learn quickly. Often, livestock will only need to touch the fence once to figure out that it’s not worth going near again, and they will then leave it well alone in the future. If livestock were to attempt to escape from a traditional enclosure, they could seriously injure themselves in the process. If they did manage to escape, they would face threats from traffic and predators. Using an electric fence is far from cruel, it can often be the safest option for the animals.

Some people also believe that electric fences are dangerous to humans and other animals such as dogs. This isn’t the case, touching an electric fence will only give you a mild shock and will not cause humans, or dogs for that matter, any lasting damage.

Conclusion

There are a number of myths and misconceptions when it comes to electric fences, both in terms of function and use. However, they have proved to be an incredibly effective method of controlling and containing livestock and pose no real danger to either animals or humans.

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