Using Electric Fencing Polycord/Polywire
Electric fencing ‘cord’, or ‘polycord’ as it is sometimes referred to, is a type of fencing conductor made from polyethylene strands and thin stainless steel or tinned copper wires and is used for containing many types of stock animals and poultry and for deterring various pests.
Cord has the advantage of being suitably conductive yet very light in weight and very flexible. This means that far less tension has to be put into the fence line than with solid or stranded galvanised steel wire. Sizes vary little from 1.8mm to 2.5mm.
Cord is not suitable on it’s own for use with horses and ponies because of it’s low visibility but it is suitable for a wide range of applications from protecting garden ponds to creating large cattle or sheep enclosures.
Plastic posts have numerous support positions suitable for electric cord, many at low levels for use for smaller animals and pests such as poultry, rabbits, otters, mink, badgers, foxes, cats, dogs, herons etc.. Higher positions are used for cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, deer etc.
Moveable steel posts have top insulators suitable for cord and adjustable ‘clip-on’ insulators can be used lower down.
For permanent wooden posts a variety of ‘nail-on’, ‘screw-on’ and ‘screw-in’ insulators are suitable for use with cord.
At ends, corners and gate posts it is important to provide adequate anchorage insulators, double loop insulators being the most popular and cost effective.
Lengths of electric cord can be tied together but for better and neater results cord joiners are an inexpensive alternative. These joiners are also useful for connecting your fence to the energiser live line and for connecting upper and lower fence lines together.
The use of cord can also be an effective solution to cribbing of wooden post and rail fencing by horses. Because the rail itself is clearly visible the electric fencing conductor doesn’t need to be, so cord is a suitable and inexpensive alternative to tape or rope. Sometimes extended ring insulators are the best option to keep the animal well away from the rail.
Simple gate handles can be used along with Polycord to create access gates as an alternative to coiled spring gates.