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