Electric fence and hummingbirds dying

[monkeybreath]

I have always understood that to receive the shock of an electric fence you had to be grounded - i.e. in contact with the ground. But there must be another law of physics working out there, because we are finding humming birds dead and swinging upside down with feet locked around the electric fence wire. It is obvious they died while perhed on the electric fence, but I am not sure how this is happening since they would have had no contact with the ground. Any ideas ? (by the way my first contact with an electric fence involved a stream of water and an onery uncle, but that is another story.

 

[PhilNH5]

I know little about hummers and even less about electric fence. But I do know that hummers can enter a near deathlike state called torpor that they use to conserve energy. So it seems like a stupid question - but are you sure they are dead??
I have never seen it myself but have read reports of hummers hanging upside down from thin twigs in this state.

Phil

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue">...can enter a near deathlike state called torpor that they use to conserve energy </font>
I work with some people that can do this! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[chim]

"Ground" isn't necessarily "dirt". It may be possible for delicate creatures to get enough of a current path through them by sitting on the wire and contacting a piece of nearby vegetation - tall weeds, etc...............chim

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Even the air can be a conductor if the humidity is high. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif How many have you found?

 

[monkeybreath]

First, oh yeah they are dead. And no vegetation nearby or anywhere near the wire. I thought at one point that they were possibly landing next to the post and touching it, but they are not near posts either. Just dead and swinging upside down on the wire. We have found, over the past 2-3 years, perhaps 8-10 or so. We have a lot of them around here and I hate to see this happen, but need the fence for the cattle. I thought about stringing an uncharged wire just above the hot wire - maybe will try that.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Boy I don't get that. So there's no way they could reach any other grounded object from where they are to complete a circuit? Weird! I hope somebody can explain it.

Just out of curiosity, how do you run your wire? Do you run a complete circuit all the way around and back to the charger or do you run from the charger and dead end to an insulator and then run the other terminal to a ground rod? I've got mine dead ended at an insulator and the other terminal to ground. I showed it to a local guy who's been raising horses for years and he says "that'll never work!" So I say "grab a hold of it!" He declined but still insisted that after the ground dried up it would quit working. I've checked it several times and it always lights up all the lights on my fence checker from anywhere along the fence. With it hooked up that way, the wire at my gates are dead as soon as I unhook them. Otherwise they'd be hot no matter which end I had the handle on.

No matter which way you have yours hooked up I still don't see how it could be killing birds without them touching something else along with the charged wire.

Kevin

 

[monkeybreath]

I am equally puzzled. I run it from the box to an insulator at the far end. This particular run is only about 100 yards. The grounding rod is at the box. Everything under the wire is mowed or taken out by cows. There must be something here happening - must be an explanation.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Is this single conductor wire or electric tape?

George

 

[Chief]

Electric fences and me don't mix especially if you don't see it and pee on it by accident! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[monkeybreath]

Single wire.

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> ...can enter a near deathlike state called torpor that they use to conserve energy </font>

<font color="red"> I work with some people that can do this! </font>

HHHAAAWWWW HAAAWWWWW!!!

Man, you've got that right!!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[MossRoad]

A friend of mine has dead birds stuck to her electric fence quite often. But she says that it is right next to a normal fence and she suspects they are stepping off of that onto the hot wire and that completes the circuit.

Very puzzling /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[GaryM]

I've read articles, but not recently, that hummingbirds have been known to mistake the brightly colored plastic insulators used on tee posts for flowers. They hover and stick their beaks and tongues into the center of the insulator, if they hit the post at the same time the fence charger has the wire hot....

But that doesnt seem to be the case here.

 

[Typhoon]

I am not 100% sure on this, but I have a family full of electricians so im very familiar with the properties of it. I would say that inductance is playing a part in this. I would bet money on it. Inductance would be present (in small amounts of course) around the fence during the surge period. I also happen to like hummingbirds and know a bit about them. It would only take a minute amount of inductance to interrupt a hummingbirds heart beat. There you have it. That is my theory. The little fellas are having heart attacks!
Good luck!

 

[monkeybreath]

Thanks, that must be it - I did an Internet search yesterdy on hummingbirds generally, and one site recommended not having red insullators because they would attract hummingbirds who would then possibly be killed. They said to paint them black or something. My insullators are yellow, but still may be a problem. I think I will have to run another wire above the hot line - which will not have current - for them to perch on. Our hummingbird population has definitely decreased around the house.

 

[Chief]

My theory is that the little hummers are developing a static electrical charge from the flapping of their wings much in the same way a helicopter develops a static charge from its rotor blades clubbing the air into submission. When the little hummers get close to landing on the fence they get zapped by the built up static charge which jumps to ground causing a fatal shock. I have seen this alot during my 20 years as an Army helicopter pilot picking up sling loads. If the soldier who hooks up the load does not touch the airframe with a static discharge wand grounded to earth prior to hooking up the load; he or she gets a nasty surprise that is strong enough to render them unconscious and in some cases cause serious injury. I would always key the FM radio to discharge any static build up right before the hook up but not all pilots did this. The little hummers are very delicate creatures and probably would not take much to kill them. Well, the is my theory and I am sticking to it! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif