Parmak Solar Fencer



We have now had our Parmak Solar Pak 6 fencer installed for a few weeks and what a SUPER BUY!  We couldn't be happier with it.  Every day I check it and it's so easy to check with the charge gauge on the front.  All I have to do is look at it to know if there is a problem!

The installation was super easy too.  It took minutes to do it.  We did already have a ground rod in, but it would have only taken a few more minutes to put in a straight copper 6-8 foot ground rod with the fence pounder.  All we had to do was mount it and hook in the wires and turn it on.  Immediately the charge gauge went up to the green and a little beyond.  We even ran the fence about twice as far as we had planned due to the cows kept getting on another part of the fence in the pen they were in to eat lucious grass on the other side.  We figured this way any animal in there would stay off it.

The cows have been out pasture grazing once again (saving my hay for when its really needed) and staying away from that terrible south fence.  We used the electric tape with the fencer and that works great.  It is easily visible so the kids, or I, don't forget it's there.   Kudos to Parmak for making a fencer that works tremendously well, is easy to see if there is a problem and is pretty affordable!  Thank you also to jefferslivestock.com for selling it at a great price and shipping in a reasonable amount of time.  (I did see today that horse.com has it on sale right now for $157.)

Solar Fencers

After much time spent researching solar fencers I finally decided on one.  I didn't know much about them at all in the beginning.  Now, I feel a little better versed in solar fencers!  I had no idea when I began that there were so many brands and so many differences between them -it was a bit overwhelming.  I read tons of reviews and looked at the specs of many.  I do believe in knowing which item will give me the most for my $$$.  All the local guys told me Parmak was the best.  Only one of our local stores, however, carries Parmak.  I ended up ordering the Parmak Solar Pak 6 from www.jefferslivestock.com with a savings of nearly $40 even after shipping!  (I usually try to buy local but the savings was just too much to pass up this time)  I did buy all the fencing and stakes local, though.  This Parmak fencer says it will do 25 miles of fence.  There was only 1 bad review I came across when researching it, all the others were highly praising.  It really made the choice easy. 

The Parmak fencers seem to have a high range capability compared to some other brands.  This was a factor in our choice.  It also seems to be a quality built product that should last for years with minimal problems.  Some of the other brands I researched are Gallagher and Zareba.  I'm not at all saying these aren't good fencers, it just seemed to me that the Parmak would work better for us.

It took only a few days to get here and I was so excited to get it out there so the cows could go into the big pasture that still has much to eat and we could stop feeding hay so soon this season.  I unpacked it and saw a tag on the front "must charge outside 5 days in off position before using".  My excitement turned to "wish I would have known that" very quickly.  So, here I sit with the fencer outside charging and still feeding hay to the cows.

We will be able to put it up on Tuesday.  I also thought that we could get all the 1/2" electric fence tape up early so it would be ready to go, but got quashed on that idea as I was informed by my husband that the deer would probably tear it up jumping the fence and would make a mess of it.  I will be more than ready on Tuesday to get it all up and turn the thing on!  The cows will be so excited to go out there and eat like, well, like cows! 

Each day I have thrown around the idea that if we just put the cows out there they would have so much to eat that they wouldn't care about the almost non-existent fence at the south side of our property.  Then pictures of me chasing cows out of the neighbors corn field would fill my head and I just didn't want to risk it. 

When all of our pastures are reseeded and the south fence done this fencer will be used to run each of our paddocks.  Hopefully we chose wisely and it will work like a charm!

Fences are My Nemesis!

Fences are my nemesis!  We have been battling old hedge post fences from day 1.  The fences weren't something we gave much consideration to when we bought this place since we had no animals at first, but we knew they weren't in top condition.  They have contained our animals for the most part for the past few years.  As the interior and property fences get worse, we have been replacing them as fast as we can afford but FENCES ARE EXPENSIVE!

Our dilemma now is that our whole south fence is pretty much barely a fence anymore.  The horses stay in there and we're not sure why.  They could easily walk right over it.  Our problem is that we have the cows in the small pasture that is almost out of vegetation for them and the large still lush pasture is the one with that awful fence and a corn field on the other side.  Much too inviting for the cows!!  It is roughly 1325 feet long so it will be an expensive venture.  The cows need to eat so we either will have to replace it quickly or buy electric fence. It is too far out to run electricity, though so we will have to use solar.

After pricing the solar electric fencer from Parmak, which I am told is the best, our decision is clear for now.  For about $350 we will have electric running the whole fence with maybe a day for installation.  The new fence would cost at least $2000 and take lots more time to install.  Eventually that will have to be done, but hopefully the electric will hold them until the pastures are reseeded.  

It always seems as though if it's not one thing, it's another around here.  Someday I am hoping that we will have all new fences that will last the rest of my lifetime!  Too bad I don't have a secret fence fund just to get them all done!  Lesson learned this time that maybe we should have looked into fence cost a little more closely when we bought this place and replaced them before we got any animals.  That would be my sound advice to anyone thinking of buying an old farm that needs updating.